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Green tea protects against colorectal cancer
According to Foodconsumer.org, drinking four to six cups of green tea a day may dramatically reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in humans. According to an animal study presented at the Sixth International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention, sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research.
In the study, Dr. Hang Xiao at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey and colleagues found a standardized green tea polyphenol preparation called Polyphenon E inhibits the growth of colorectal tumors in rats treated with a carcinogen.
“Our findings show that rats fed a diet containing Polyphenon E are less than half as likely to develop colon cancer,” Dr. Hang Xiao said in a statement.
The study was consistent with some previous studies that have showed that green tea consumption was associated with lower colon cancer risk.
In the current study, Xiao and team injected rats with azoxymethane, a chemical known to cause colorectal tumors that mimic human colorectal cancer in many characteristics.
Afterwards, one group of rats was fed a high fat Western-style diet and another with Polyphenon E for 34 weeks. The dose rats received was equivalent to four to six cups of green each day for humans.
Xiao and colleagues found Polyphenon E not only decreased the total number of tumors per rat, but also decreased the tumor size, compared with control rats that received no green tea preparation.
Specifically, 67 percent of control rats that received no green tea preparation developed malignant tumors compared to only 27 percent in the rats receiving Polyphenon E. The treated rats also reduced the number of tumors by 80 percent compared to the control groups.
Xiao noted that considerable amounts of tea polyphenols were found in the samples from treated rats. The levels of the compounds were comparable to the amount found in people who ingest tea leaves or tea beverage.
What is coffee? What is tea?
First and foremost, lets learn what is our favorite drink, coffee and tea.
What is coffee?
Coffee is a widely consumed stimulant beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called beans, of the coffee plant. Coffee was first consumed in the 9th century, when it was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia. From there, it spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century had reached Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe and the Americas. Today, coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide. Coffee is also a drug. Most people don’t realize this but it is true. Coffee has a lot of caffeine in which makes it a stimulant which is a drug.
Coffee berries, which contain the coffee bean, are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown species are Coffea canephora (also known as Coffea robusta) and Coffea arabica. These are cultivated in Latin America, southeast Asia, and Africa. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted, undergoing several physical and chemical changes. They are roasted to various degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented by a variety of methods.
Coffee has played an important role in many societies throughout history. In Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. It was banned in Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century for political reasons, and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe. Coffee is an important export commodity: in 2004, coffee was the top agricultural export for 12 countries; and in 2005, it was the world’s seventh largest legal agricultural export by value. Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Many studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain medical conditions, but whether the effects of coffee are positive or negative is still disputed.
What is tea?
Tea is made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, in hot water for a few minutes. The processing can include oxidation, heating, drying, and the addition of other herbs, flowers, spices, and fruits. The four basic types of true tea are (in order from most to least processed): black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea. The term “herbal tea” usually refers to infusions of fruit or of herbs (such as rosehip, chamomile, or jiaogulan) that contain no Camellia sinensis .(Alternative terms for herbal tea that avoid the word “tea” are tisane and herbal infusion.) This article is concerned exclusively with preparations and uses of the tea plant C. sinensis.
Tea is a natural source of the amino acid theanine, methylxanthines such as caffeine and theobromine, and polyphenolic antioxidant catechins. It has almost no carbohydrates, fat, or protein. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavor.