For centuries, people in Asia have been drinking tea for enjoyment, as well as for health benefits that had been widely claimed but little supported by science. But some new studies seem to have finally brought the evidence needed to prove the health benefits of drinking tea, with studies showing possible effectiveness against certain cancers and allergies.
Tea drinkers in Shanghai, China, were about half as likely to develop stomach cancer as non-tea drinkers, according to a study conducted by the Kedk School of Medicine at the University of Southern California along with scientists from Rutgers University. In addition, the shanghai Cancer Institute also contributed to the study.
Mimi Yu, a member of the research team, and professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School, stated, "This study provides direct evidence that tea polyphenols may act as chemopreventive agents against gastric and esophageal cancer development."
The study followed 18,244 men between the ages of 45 to 64 in the Shanghai. They measured the levels of polyphenols in each of the men under observation. They also checked for levels of several chemicals produced when polyphenols break down in the body.
The researchers found that people in which these chemicals were present had a lower risk of gastric and esophageal cancer. They noted that Green Tea was the best at elevating these levels, while Oolong and Black tea followed.
In another study, Japanese researches found that green tea might be beneficial in fighting the symptoms of allergies. In lab tests, they identified a compound that blocks a cell receptor which is involved in producing an allergic response.
Hirofumi Tachibana, the leader of the study and an associate professor of chemistry at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, stated that, "Green tea appears to be a promising source for effective antiallergenic agents. If you have allergies, you should consider drinking it."
But while the lab tests are promising, it seems that there is still no absolute proof that there is an actual therapeutic effect in humans from drinking green tea. What they do know for a fact is that green tea is extremely rich in antioxidants, and previous studies have shown that those antioxidants help fight allergic reactions in rodents.
Nothing has been mentioned whether there is any difference between drinking decaffeinated green tea, or whether it has to be the normally occurring caffeine version. Scientists do say that since green tea has more antioxidants than Oolong and black teas since it is less processed than the other two types of tea.
But whether the effects of green tea turn out to be scientifically backed or not, they have caused a wave of increased sales amongst the trendy, urban classes of Japan. and that boom has had an effect on the coffee shops in the major cities, where there are new mixtures of lattes available that use green tea instead of espresso in the drink.
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