Time for coffee and tea
Tea and liver cancer
Much has been made of the health benefits of drinking tea. These are mainly a result of the antioxidant properties of the polyphenols that the teas contain. The antioxidants that are found in green tea are mainly in the form of catechins, whereas black tea, which undergoes a fermentation process during its manufacture mainly contains partially oxidised polyphenols such as theaflavins in addition to catechins. This section of the time for tea and coffee sites looks into the relationship between drinking tea and the reduction in the risks of developing liver and pancreatic cancers.
It has been shown that the catechins that are found in green teas are able to suppress the ability of pancreatic carcinoma cells to act aggressively. Additionally research using cancerous human pancreas cells has shown that green tea catechins are able to suppress their growth.
Research has shown that drinking a solution of 2% black tea was able to reduce the incidence of induced liver cancer by three fold in rats. Additionally extracts of black and Oolong tea, or those of the catechins found in green tea has been demonstrated to reduce the formation of hepatic preneoplastic foci.
In humans cohort studies have been done looking into the risk of developing liver cancers in people who drink alcohol and those who smoke. It was found that the risk of developing liver cancer was 78% lower in green tea drinkers for those who drank alcohol; and 43% lower in smokers.
The existence of both in vivo and cohort studies that show a reduction in liver cancer risks strongly suggests that drinking of black and green teas may have major health benefits in the fight against liver cancer.
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