02-17-05

More on Green Tea's Benefits

Green tea extract is able to target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone, researchers report. This adds further support to its potential as a cancer prevention agent. A UCLA team also has discovered more about how green tea extract counteracts the development of cancer.

About 500 metric tons of green tea extract were sold in Europe during 2003 alone, most of its use was for cosmetics and beverages, however the extracts have been increasingly used in supplements as its benefits become more widely known.

In 2003 US researchers found that the active ingredients in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (ECGC), blocked the growth of Bladder Cancer. Green tea extract has been shown to induce death in cancer cells, as well as inhibiting the development of an independent blood supply that cancers develop so they can grow and spread.

Courtesy American Longevity Archive