Green tea and Stomach Cancer

A study about green tea and stomach cancer found that regular drinkers are half as likely to develop stomach and oesophageal cancers compared to non drinkers.

This extensive study was carried out jointly by the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Rutgers University and Shanghai National Cancer Institute.

18,244 men from Shanghai participated in the study, beginning in 1986.

Researchers checked for the amount of catechins in urine. Catechins are powerful antioxidants found in green tea.

They found that the presence of catechins in urine was associated with a lower risk of gastric and oesophageal (gullet) cancer. This was true even after adjusting for smoking and alcohol drinking.

Regular green tea drinkers are half as likely to develop stomach and oesophageal cancer compared to non drinkers.

Mimi Yu, professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, said: "This study provides direct evidence that tea polyphenols may act as chemopreventive agents against gastric and oesophageal cancer development."

The results were presented to the American Association for Cancer Research in April 2002.

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