Green tea suggests cancer cure
7/19/2005 Washington, DC Eva A. Sylwester ScienceDaily (www.sciencedaily.com) New research reaffirms the potential value of green tea as a natural substance able to stop cancer before it starts. "What we do in our conference every year is focus on what the scientists are talking about," said Jeffrey Prince, vice president for education and communications of the American Institute for Cancer Research. Prince and others spoke at a news briefing at AICR's annual International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer in Washington. He said this year's conference includes six separate presentations on the benefits of green tea -- and no tea companies were involved in the research. The AICR also released the "New American Plate Cookbook," featuring recipes designed to promote smaller portion sizes and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. "The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends a mostly plant-based diet to people concerned with reducing cancer risk," Prince said. Many plant-based foods are rich in anti-oxidants, which limit damage to cells and tissues that toxins and pollutants cause by slowing the rate of certain chemical reactions. The active ingredient in green tea is a compound called epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, a stronger anti-oxidant than is contained in either vitamin C or E, according to an AICR fact sheet. Green tea is made from the same plant as black tea and oolong tea, but the leaves are not fermented during processing, which apparently preserves the plant's cancer-fighting compounds. In a study using cancer cells in mice, Thomas Gasiewicz, a [...]