Green tea cuts fatal illness risk

BBC ^ | 9/13/06 | BBC

[Mark Felton]

Drinking green tea can substantially cut the risk of dying from a range of illnesses, a Japanese study has found.

The research, which looked at over 40,000 people, found the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease was cut by more than a quarter.

But British heart experts said the benefits may be linked to the whole Japanese diet, which is healthier than that eaten in the west.

The work is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It is questionable whether drinking the same amount of green tea a day in the UK would have a significant impact on levels of heart disease Ellen Mason, British Heart Foundation

Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, aside from water.

Three billion kilograms of tea are produced each year worldwide.

Studies carried out in laboratories and on animals have suggested green tea in particular has extensive health benefits.

Women 'greater benefit'

In this study, which began in 1994, researchers from Tohoku University, looked at how humans could benefit.

They examined data on 40,530 healthy adults aged 40 to 79 in north-eastern Japan, where green tea is widely consumed.

Around 80% of people in the region drink green tea, with more than half consuming three or more cups each day.

The people in the study were followed for up to 11 years (1995-2005), when 4,209 people died from all causes.

The researchers also looked at seven years' worth of data (from 1995-2001) to look at deaths from specific causes,

In that period, 892 people died of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 1,134 participants died of cancer.

Compared with people who drank less than one cup per day of green tea, those who consumed five or more had a 16% lower risk of dying from any cause during the 11-year study.

They also had a 26% lower risk of dying from CVD in the seven years of follow-up.

There was no significant association between green tea consumption and death from cancer.

Throughout the study, the benefits of green tea appeared greater in women.

Those who drank five cups or more of green tea each day had a 31% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who had less than one.

But the study failed to find a beneficial link between drinking black or oolong tea and a reduced risk of dying from CVD.

'Low disease rate'

Dr Shinichi Kuriyama, who led the research, said: "The most important finding is that green tea may prolong people's lives through reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease."

But Ellen Mason, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said the Japanese diet as a whole was particularly healthy, and the findings may not apply to people eating western diets.

"The rate of heart disease in Japan is already one of the lowest in the world, and the Japanese diet is believed to play a substantial role in keeping this low.

"Drinking 3-4 cups of green tea in parts of Japan is a daily habit."

"The average British diet contains more saturated fat than the average Japanese diet, and our levels of heart disease are relatively high compared to many other countries in the world.

"It is questionable whether drinking the same amount of green tea a day in the UK would have a significant impact on levels of heart disease."

She added: "Clinical trials are now needed to discover whether something as simple as green tea really can prevent deaths from heart disease."

[Larry Lucido]

Drinking exclusively green tea reduces the risk of dying while drinking some other color tea by 100%.

[The Great RJ]

New week there will be another study that shows green tea increases the risk of toe nail cancer.

[Maneesh]

It is an acquired taste but you can train your taste buds in about 20 days to like it. If your BMR (Base metabolic rate) is about 1700 calories then drinking 4 cups of green tea will increase it to between 1750-1800. That means you will burn 50-100 more calories per day if you make no other change in your lifestyle. Multiply that over a year and the cumulative impact is huge.

Of course if you want to increase your BMR even more then eat six small meals (every 2-3 hrs) instead of 3 meals and have NO CARBS after 8:00 p.m. but that is a whole different topic........

[xsmommy]

all great ideas! thanks!

[Popocatapetl]

The Chinese medical community is so convinced of its efficacy for bowel disorders, including cancers, that when you are diagnosed, the first thing they do is pour in strong green tea in *both* ends. And they don't stop doing it.

I'm reminded of the story of the old man prescribed hot tea enemas for theraputic reasons. When they turned on the nozzle, he pursed his lips and made a disapproving sound.

"What?", asked his nurse, "Too hot?"

"No," he replied. "Too sweet!"

[No.6]

This is non-news; green tea has been known to be a huge source of anti-oxidants and other beneficial compounds for a long time now.

[Maneesh]

So has the fact that cigarette smoking causes cancer but people still continue to do it. Maybe this study will wake up one more person so reinforcing is worth it. There is always a brand new generation of consumers coming of age who have not been exposed to a lot of past information so just like for conservative principles we can never stop educating people on good health. With the epidemic of obesity and drug (pharmaceuticals) addicted people out there, it is a great time to turn people on to the benefits of green tea.

[XR7]

Drinking green tea can substantially cut the risk of dying from a range of illnesses, a Japanese study has found.

The results of a vast Japanese conspiracy.

[SirLinksalot]

I'm confused with the so many competing claims out there.

We have Japanese Researchers claiming that Green Tea he;ps cut the risks of cardiovascular disease by > 25% ( a significant benefit ). Then we had an FDA study last year rejecting this claim.

How do you account for this for instance :

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http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/10/144156.php

The Food and Drug Administration has rejected the petition of Ito En Ltd, a Japanese company and supposedly the world's largest green tea manufacturer that wanted to sell this tea and make the claim that drinking five ounces a day can reduce the risk of cardio vascular disease.

Despite the wide spread popularity of green tea there has been no scientific evidence to indicate that these unfermented tea leaves offer any preventative health benefits whatsoever.

The FDA found "no credible evidence to support qualified health claims for green tea or green tea extract and a reduction of a number of risk factors associated with cardio vascular disease." Translation: green tea does nothing for you.

This latest FDA ruling gives green tea a batting average of .000, as the FDA has already ruled that this tea does not offer any protection from contracting any type of cancer.

Despite these rulings people will still cling to the superstitious belief that green tea offers some kind of benefits. And in the face of this stake through the heart, I fully expect the green tea believers and the other natural remedy folks to make the claim that the FDA is somehow in cahoots with the drug companies in the effort to discredit an alternative remedy, or some other conspiratorial nonsense.

People can still buy Green Tea, but they will have to face the reality that it does nothing for them.

Perhaps this ruling — which adds more weight to the preponderance of scientific evidence that these panaceas don't work — will help some people understand that there are no individual foods that can prevent disease or cause disease, and to understand that the term "lifestyle" means more than just drinking something or not eating something

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SEE ALSO HERE :

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12718769/

FDA rejects green tea health claims
No credible evidence that drinking it reduces heart disease risk

The Associated Press


Updated: 7:53 p.m. ET May 10, 2006
WASHINGTON - There is no credible scientific evidence that drinking green tea reduces the risk of heart disease, federal regulators said Tuesday in rejecting a petition that sought to allow tea labels to make that claim.

The Food and Drug Administration said it reviewed 105 articles and other publications submitted as part of the petition but could find no evidence to support claims of the beverage’s health benefits.

“FDA concludes there is no credible evidence to support qualified health claims for green tea or green tea extract and a reduction of a number of risk factors associated with CVD” or cardiovascular disease, Barbara O. Schneeman, director of the agency’s Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, wrote in a letter denying the petition. The FDA posted the letter to its Web site Tuesday.

Ito En Ltd., a Japanese company that bills itself as the world’s largest green tea company, and its U.S. subsidiary, Ito En (North America) Inc., petitioned the FDA in June 2005, seeking to make the claim that drinking at least five ounces of green tea a day may reduce the risk of heart disease.


A message left for a spokesman for Ito En (North America) Inc. was not immediately returned late Tuesday. A message left for the AAC Consulting Group, a Rockville, Md. company that filed the actual petition, also was not immediately returned.

Green tea is brewed from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, also known as Thea sinensis. Unlike black and oolong tea, green tea is made from unfermented tea leaves.

The FDA previously has said that green tea likely does not reduce breast, prostate or any other type of cancer risk.

Nonetheless, the belief that drinking green tea confers health benefits has driven its popularity over the last decade, the Tea Association of the United States has said.

A health claim, in the language of the FDA, characterizes the relationship between a substance and a reduction in the risk of contracting a particular disease.

---

So, who to believe, the Japanese Researchers or the FDA ?
ANYONE WITH A BETTER OPINION OUT THERE ?

[JFC]

I think I will go get me some green tea bags on my lunch hour. Do you think it helps lower cholestrol?

[Maneesh]

We have exchanged views before and have always agreed. On this I beg to take issue. The FDA is de facto against any preventive approaches and believes that drugs are the only things that solve diseases but that also keeps the FDA in business. Anything that cannot be patented is viewed with suspicion by the FDA and drug companies and obviously green tea falls in that category. The preventive benefits of green tea have been known for thousands of years and it is a very inexpensive way to add a layer of protection. It is not a panacea and does not take off the hook from living a healthy lifestyle. I am 37 and in better shape and health than anyone including 99% of doctors that base their health on drugs. I will take phramas only in a life and death situation and have fights with my doctor because I refuse her prescriptions. Meanwhile she is 80 lbs overweight and I have 12% body fat and feel like 20 !

[Maneesh]

Green tea is actually a component of several natural supplements that help lower cholesterol. Unlike a drug this will not lower it right away but then you don't have the hideous side effects of most drugs. Over 3-4 months green tea will have an impact on lowering cholesterol. It is not a panacea and does not get you off the hook from doing all the other things to have a healthy heart. It is part of a multi-faceted healthy preventive lifestyle so that you have never have to use drugs to stay alive. The human body is god's most marvelous creation and can heal itself if we just treat it right. Drinking green tea is one of the many things we can do to achieve that.

Double or triple the amount of anti-oxidants you consume daily as most of the degenerative diseases known to man are directly linked to free radicals and are largely preventable.

[JFC]

I have taken 5 different statins to lower my cholestrol. They all cause my legs to hurt. I am on low dose Crestor now, but I would love to get off totally, since it has the side effects.

My last cholestrol blood test... I was at 270. I hope it is lower. Stange thing is my parents neither one have had high cholestrol, neither have my siblings. I am 46 and suppose I have had it all my life. I walk daily, don't eat great, but really am starting to want to change my life. I am also have cronic insomnia, and would love nothing more than sleep!!! Drinking chamomile hot tea now, I could not find any green tea in the break room.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Strictly technically speaking, off course, is the fact that the typical green tea tastes so bad it only makes you FEEL like you're living forever...

[theDentist]

Actually, I like the taste of green tea.

[Robert A Cook PE]

yes, but you probably floss too.

[theDentist]

Lots of things can be done with floss, aside from flossing...

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I thought the whole green tea is a miracle thing had been debunked, or bunked...?

[No.6]

I'll go against the FDA on this one ... they are single-mindedly against the idea that anything except a prescription drug might prevent or cure any condition.

Remember, this is the same FDA that fights marijuana and approves a pharm pill containing THC approving it for the same uses the pot advocates claim. (Not to bring the liberdopians into this, but you see the inconsistency).

I've seen firsthand the effect "unproven" supplements have on people, whether it's plain old fish oil cheering people up or CoQ10 staving off senility in the elderly.

The FDA just approved fish oil (same stuff you can get in any supermarket) as a prescription drug. The difference is that in the store a bottle is $20 or less; from the drug corp it's called "Omacor" and costs $236 a bottle.

[No.6]

Try steeping it for only 90 seconds instead of the 3-5 minutes used for burnt tea.

Overly steeped green tea is terrible...