Green Tea May Protect Against Colon Cancer

Accoring to Reuters Health, an extract of green tea wards off colorectal cancer.

According to research reported at the Sixth International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention, sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research, a standardized green tea polyphenol preparation (Polyphenon E) limits the growth of colorectal tumors in rats treated with a substance that causes the cancer.

"Our findings show that rats fed a diet containing Polyphenon E are less than half as likely to develop colon cancer," Dr. Hang Xiao, from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, noted in a statement. These results are consistent with previously published results, which showed that green tea consumption was associated with lower colon cancer rates in Shanghai, China, he also noted.

In the study, Xiao and colleagues injected rats with azoxymethane, a chemical known to produce colorectal tumors that share many characteristics with colorectal cancer in humans. Then they fed the animals a high-fat Western-style diet with or without Polyphenon E for 34 weeks. The amount of Polyphenon the animals took in was roughly equal to about four to six cups of green tea per day.

Polyphenon E decreased the total number of tumors per rat and decreased tumor size, compared with control rats that were not given Polyphenon E, Xiao told the conference.
"In the control group," he said, "67 percent of rats developed malignant tumors while in the treated group only 27 percent of rats had malignant tumors. Most important, tea polyphenols decreased the number of malignant tumors per rat by 80 percent compared to the control group."

When the researchers analyzed blood and colon tissue samples, they found a "considerable amount of tea polyphenols in those samples in treated animals, and those levels of tea polyphenols were comparable to the human situation after ingestion of tea leaves or tea beverage," Xiao noted. The researchers believe these findings will pave the way for clinical trials with green tea polyphenols in humans.

Green Tea; Glaxo; Diabetic Mice

Found this from Bloomberg:

Friday, September 21, 2007

WASHINGTON -- A chemical found in green tea helped moderately diabetic mice tolerate sugar and produce insulin as well as GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia pill did in a study. Five-week-old moderately diabetic and severely diabetic mice were fed the compound, an antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, or given Avandia. The rodents' blood sugar and insulin levels were studied after five and 10 weeks of treatment. The moderately diabetic mice fared as well on green tea extract as they did on Avandia, also known as rosiglitazone, the researchers reported. EGCG was not as effective in the severely diabetic group.

"Although EGCG was less potent than rosiglitazone, it exerted changes that were similarly beneficial," researchers led by Ake Sjoeholm of Sweden's Karolinska Institute wrote in an abstract of the study presented Wednesday at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Amsterdam. The animal study suggests that supplements of green tea extract may help prevent and treat the disease in people.

Green tea was suggested as a treatment for diabetes more than 70 years ago. A study of more than 16,000 Japanese men and women, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine last year, found that those who drank more than six cups of green tea a day were less likely to develop type-2 diabetes than those who drank less than one cup a week.

Other studies have shown possible benefits of green tea in cancer and heart disease prevention. Theanine, an amino acid present in black, green and oolong teas, may improve the ability to concentrate, according to a study presented Tuesday at a conference at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington. The research was sponsored by Unilever Plc, which includes Lipton Tea among its more than 400 brands.

The Great Leap Forward

We have finally (I even thought of capitalizing the letter "F") sorted out our supply problems with Japanese cast-iron teapots. I know the market is flooded with Chinese made "tetsubin" and that there have been an abundance of low priced, cheaply made Chinese cast-iron pots that look like the original Japanese pots. We have stuck with Iwachu (Made in Japan) and have begun receiving shipments this week. I personally apologize to those customers that have had to wait. Paperwork received indicates that we are going to be getting a fair amount of inventory over the next few weeks and should have all items in stock again by Labor Day. For those tea drinkers who know -- there really is a difference.

For those who wish to contribute to our school supply drive, please send me an e-mail at rick@potlucktea.com. Basically, we will collect and distribute school supplies free of charge to anyone who claims a need. Donations are not tax deductible - we are not a registered charity -- this is just a do-the-right-thing kind of thing. Bookbags, calculators, pencils, etc. are all appreciated. School starts in a few weeks.

Finally, I don't usually use this forum to tout other web sites, but I wanted to tell you about Freecycle. I moderate our local Rockland County freecycle through yahoo groups. The goal is to give things away with no strings attached and to receive free items that would otherwise end up in landfills. There is a lot of good that can be done in the world; the trick is to get started somewhere, doing something. After all -- there is Power in Our Union.

Green Tea, Lung Cancer, Rabbits & Compost

Small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), represents 15-20 percent of all lung cancer cases, and is fatal within five years in more than 85 percent of the patients who develop it. The disease typically becomes resistant to drug therapies, and is particularly insidious and difficult to treat.
That’s the bad news. The better news is that the active ingredient in green tea appears to arrest the disease’s progress at the cellular level. We've reported the studies before and posted links to relevant articles. This article is in the new issue of "Cancer News" and rather than republish it, we offer the following link: http://www.cancermonthly.com/iNP/view.asp?ID=183.

Now I digress. A rabbit has found its way into my vegetable garden. I noticed the tops eaten off my carrots, my peppers peppered with chewmarks, and my low hanging tomato branches nibbled. I have looked for the opening in my fencing, but I fear the rabbit is burrowing its way in. I have only seen it once or twice, but I believe it has taken up residence. I don't mind sharing within reason, and would not consider harming the rabbit. Any ideas on how to minimize my garden losses would be appreciated.

By the way, my wife and I make several pots of loose leaf tea every day and add the spent leaves to our compost pile. The plants seem to really thrive with our tea enhanced compost.

Tea In The News

Tea & Stress

A study by University College London (Oct. 2006) revealed that people who drank tea after stressful events were able to de-stress more quickly than those who did not drink tea. The researchers discovered that black tea lowers the levels of cortisol, a harmful stress hormone, by a significant average of 47 percent.

Green Tea, Antioxidants & Flavonoids
Erica Wald, RD, a wellness coordinator with the MFit Health Promotion Division at the University of Michigan Health System says, "Drink tea green tea. If you like to drink tea, consider choosing green tea instead of black, oolong or other darker teas. Green tea next to white tea packs the biggest punch when it comes to antioxidants. It also contains flavonoids, a class of naturally occurring plant compounds that function as antioxidants that are good for the heart."

Tea & Skin Cancer
The American Cancer Society estimated that 2006 would bring with it 1 million new diagnoses of skin cancer in the United States.

Santosh Katiyar, Ph.D., an associate professor in dermatology, is convinced that the rich polyphenol content found in green tea is the most potent tumor-inhibitor found in nature. His studies show that an antioxidant called epigallocatechin-3-gallae (EGCG), which is found in green tea, appears to protect the skin from ultraviolet radiation-induced damage and prevent skin tumor formation.

"I've found that green tea, whether applied topically or taken orally, is certainly beneficial in the area of cancer prevention, at least in laboratory animal models," Katiyar says. "Green tea prevents UV radiation-induced suppression of the immune system, which has been considered as a risk factor for the development of skin cancer."

Katiyar recently had articles published in Cancer Research and Clinical Cancer Research that stated EGCG prevents UV-induced skin cancer in mice. This is complicated stuff, but basically through the enhancement of an immunoregulatory cytokine interleukin-12-dependent DNA-repair device, the interleukin-12 molecule has the ability to repair UV-induced DNA damage," Katiyar says. "The polyphenols in green tea have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but they enhance the production of interleukin-12. And if the interleukin-12 can play a role in DNA repair, then they can prevent skin cancer."

"It's crucial that people consume the tea on a regular basis to achieve the maximum benefits," Katiyar says. "Constant, regular consumption will be helpful in preventing skin cancer."

We're all for that! Visit us at www.potlucktea.com.

Green Tea, Catechins, Antioxidants and Health

Green tea contains catechins, which are antioxidants that have been shown to fight viruses, slow aging and have an overall beneficial effect on health.

The most important catechin is known as epigllocatechin gallate, better known as EGCG. EGCG is considered the most important because it reduces the growth of cancer cells, has been effective in lowering cholesterol levels and inhibits the formation of blood clots.

The antioxidants in green tea have shown to increase the speed of metabolism and burn fat naturally. The tea causes carbohydrates to be released slowly, which prevents an increase in blood-insulin levels. When this happens, fat is burned. The EGCG combined with the natural caffeine in tea may raise the metabolic rate by at least 4 percent, according to some studies. Nutritionists agree that drinking tea can help people lose weight because its calorie free and a good source of fluids.

See our Green Tea selection at: http://potlucktea.com/Portfolio.htm#Green%20Tea

Green Tea Targets Cancer

New Research Finds More Effective Than Cancer Drugs Against Cancer-Sparking Protein Found Throughout the Body

WASHINGTON, DC – Speaking at an international conference on diet and cancer, researchers funded by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) presented evidence that a major component in green tea may short-circuit the cancer process in a striking new way that scientists had not foreseen.

“We have determined that a unique quirk of biochemistry allows green tea’s protective effects to extend to many different kinds of cells,” said Dr. Thomas A. Gasiewicz, a Professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “In fact, the active green tea substance – called EGCG – seems to target one protein that is particularly common throughout our bodies, and it does so with a degree of precision that cancer drugs still aren’t able to match.”

The protein in question is called HSP90, which is present at higher levels in many cancer cells. Scientists believe that in some circumstances, HSP90 helps to trigger the cascade of events that eventually leads to cancer.

When EGCG binds to this protein, however, it helps prevent these events from happening. This is important, because HSP90 is found throughout our bodies, in many different cells and tissues.
“If further research confirms that EGCG’s ability to bind to such a basic and pervasive protein enables it to extend its protective effect throughout our bodies, it explains a scientific mystery,” said Gasiewicz. “Studies that track the diets of human subjects over several years – particularly studies conducted in Asia, where green tea consumption is common – have associated regular usage of green tea with lower risk for cancers that are vastly different from one another.”

EGCG Does What Cancer Drugs Can’t Do…Yet

The protein called HSP90 is essentially a “helper” or “chaperone” protein, in that it exists to
help stabilize other proteins and keep them together. Because it has to bind to so many different proteins it is present, in varying amounts, in all of our cells. In fact, it is referred to as a “promiscuous protein” because it is so pervasive.

But scientists have recently discovered that cancer cells tend to have higher levels of HSP90 than healthy cells. This has led scientists to try to develop pharmaceutical means to block HSP90, to keep it from sending the specific biochemical signals that can trigger cancer. So far, they have been unable to perfect a drug that is both highly specific and easy to administer.
What the AICR researchers have discovered is that the active substance in green tea already does what drugs still can’t do: “EGCG targets HSP90, binds directly to it, and keeps it from passing on signals that can start the cancer process,” said Gasiewicz. “As a result, potentially harmful genes are less likely to get turned on, and the cascade of events leading to cancer is cut off before it begins.”

The fact that EGCG binds directly to a protein that is found everywhere in the body suggests that it may be able to provide effective and simultaneous cancer protection in vastly different tissues and organs, Gasiewicz said.