Green Tea & Lung Cancer
A Taiwanese medical student presented a study on January 12th at the Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of Lung Cancer of the American Association for Cancer Research and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer that suggested that “green tea could dampen the growth of cancer cells caused by smoking.”
The medical student, I-Hsin Lin, conducted this study with additional researchers at the Chung Shan Medical University.
“The team studied 510 subjects, 170 of whom were lung cancer patients. Using questionnaires, the researchers established smoking and green tea drinking habits, as well as genotypes of subjects.
They found that, across the entire group of subjects, non-tea drinkers were five times more likely to have lung cancer than those who drank at least one cup of green tea per day. Looking at smokers only, non-tea drinkers were nearly 13 times more likely to have lung cancer. The findings also indicated that genetics play a role in lung cancer risk from smoking.
Lin concluded, “Our study may represent a clue that, in the case of lung cancer, smoking-induced carcinogenesis could be modulated by green tea consumption and the growth factor environment.”
This came from an article published in World Tea News.
I hope this is true. I smoked for 7 years and by the grace of God, was able to finally quit. My father died of lung cancer, therefore, I am at an even higher risk. I love green and white teas and will continue to drink them and hope for the best!
Happy Tea Drinking!