Green Tea

By Janice M. Horowitz

In Asian societies green tea is consumed in about the same quantities as coffee is in the West. Green tea is loaded with polyphenols, a class of phytochemicals with 100 times the antioxidant punch of vitamin C. Laboratory experiments suggest that one group of polyphenols in green tea called catechins may inhibit the growth of new blood vessels, which some scientists think may help prevent cancer by depriving early tumors of nourishment. (Catechins may also prevent DNA damage caused by carcinogens from occurring in the first place.) Indeed, population studies in China link drinking green tea daily with a lowered risk of stomach, esophageal and liver cancers. Studies from Japan show that consuming 10 cups a day may reduce the risk of heart disease. If that much tea seems hard to swallow, consider using it is a mouthwash; reports suggest that swishing green tea around the mouth may inhibit cavity-causing bacteria. Applied to the skin of laboratory mice, it also seems to reduce the incidence of skin cancer. What about black tea? Made from the same leaves as green, though processed differently, it may be equally effective, scientists suspect.