Fighting Cancer with Tea

[AmyLynn43]

Tea experts - I need your help!

Consider me a complete amateur. The only tea I have ever consumed is Brisk Iced Tea.

However, after recently discovering that I have stage 3 cervical dysplasia and am on the fast track to cervical cancer (might I add - I am only 22!) I have decided to take charge of my health and completely change my diet. I have read boatloads of information on the power of tea, specifically green tea, for your health - there have even been reported cases of it reversing abnormal and cancerous cell changes. I have read about Matcha powder and the concentrated antioxidants (EGCG) within it - but from there it gets pretty confusing (people disagree about how to prepare it, how to store it, etc, in order to preserve these antioxidants). Taste does not matter to me at all - health does.

So the question I pose to you is - What is best possible tea I can drink for my health, and where can I buy it? How can I take advantage of the most EGCG as possible? And how should I prepare this stuff (I actually prefer cold tea, but would drink it warm if it had more health benefits). And finally, where and how should I store it? Thanks for your patience - Like I said - I'm an amateur

[Xell]

Drinking and storing matcha is quite simple, at least if you don't mind not following all steps and conditions required for tea ceremony. And about antioxidant amounts you're also probably right, matcha is most "green" among green teas It's not a miracle medicine, but i know one person, who had cancer chemotherapy. He and his doctor saying that regular drinking of green tea helped him to survive this destructive treatment.

If you will drink matcha regularly then it won't have time to get bad, just don't forget to close your can and don't put in places with direct sunlight.

[Kevangogh]

In Japan they have done a zillions studies. The consensus is that deep steamed green tea has the most impact of all the green teas. There was a TV show about this in Japan last year, which is why deep steamed tea sales are brisk this year. "If it were me", that's what I would gulp down the most.

[rdl]

there are many opinions and philosophies concerning your question. you could go to a health food store and buy green tea extract or other pills derived from tea. macrobiotic practitioners don't drink many teas, or any products with caffeine. that diet has other recommendations to help the body fight cancer.
and many others.
i wish you the best of health and a full recovery, but i would stress, you should discuss this with a trusted, trained healthcare worker to make sure you are doing the best for your situation and your body.
usually one element of our diet won't cure if not balanced with a carefully planned overall diet.

[brlarson]

Matcha capsules are another option.
http://www.maiko.ne.jp/english/shopping/pure.htm
This page lists 21.2 mg of EGCG, but it isn't clear if this is per capsule or per dose (2 capsules). Maiko tea is an extremely reliable source for high quality matcha and gyokuro.

I drink at least some Japanese green tea every day as part of my plan to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You should also look into the negative aspects of doing this. Here is a site that lists some possible side effects of drinking or ingesting green tea
http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/green- ... fects.html.

Having tea successfully help with health issues seems to be hit or miss. I hope the TeaGods favor you!

You might also want to look into a source for Acai berry which when processed quickly and correctly can reduce the free radicals in your system. Mona Vie is the premier acai juice blend available. If I had unlimited funds I would probably drink a short glass of Mona Vie every day (how much health can you afford?).

Best wishes and best of luck with your efforts.

Bruce

EDIT: Looks like you're getting a load of opinions:-)

[Cole]

+1 for the matcha. Powdered sencha is also a cheap, antioxidant-packed alternative, but matcha has more of the ECGCs you're looking for.

Personally, I'd start with a small canister (<40g) of O-Cha's Kiri No Mori, or Den's Matcha Kaze to get a taste for the tea. These are very tasty "starter" matchas that do well hot or cold, and are relatively inexpensive (~$14) to start with. If price isn't an issue, you might want to look into some of the fancier matcha made for "thick tea" (Koicha), as you use twice the amount of powdered leaf preparing it. I've never drank it, but I'm assuming that more leaf = more ECGC goodness.

If you're worried about taste (or happen to hate it), Maiko has matcha capsules that you can easily swallow instead. As for storage, I keep my matcha in my cupboard, in its can, with a bit of saran wrap between the lid and the tea so that I can a slightly more airtight seal in its canister.

P.S. If you can't pick up a whisk and tea bowl (chawan) for your own personal tea ceremony, a milk frother and cereal bowl works fine for starters

[lkj23]

I have read in the past a lot of studies about capacity or tea to fight cancer, only found one study wich shows an increased risk of bladder cancer

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10565741

However others about bladder cancer don´t show this asociation and inclusive show apoptosis:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20715171
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19957334
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21743966
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19729851

Despiste this, I think many studies show its potential but future studies are necessary because of conflicting evidence. Need high methodological quality studies and clinical intervention in human trials. Here a good review from 2009

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19588362

[beecrofter]

Be careful what you do.
During parts of my chemotherapy I had to stop my consumption of tea because it was either protecting the cancer cells or interfering with the chemo.

[AmyLynn43]

Well now I am only getting more confused Would the capsules work just as well? Or would there be benefits to actually making the tea? Capsules would be much easier and a time-saver for me, but I know some people say supplements aren't always as effective as their original sources.

However, the website posted above about the dangers of green tea consumption states the following:
"The healthiest way to enjoy tea is to brew and drink the liquor. When you drink tea, you are protecting yourself from harmful insoluble solids that may be present in the leaves (such as synthetic pesticide DDT).

Matcha green tea sellers claim that when you consume tea powder, you are maximising its health benefits. This is garbage. Drinking green tea is the safest and most proven way of ingesting green tea antioxidants."

Therefore, would I be putting myself at danger by consuming the capsules?

[sherubtse]

However, after recently discovering that I have stage 3 cervical dysplasia and am on the fast track to cervical cancer (might I add - I am only 22!)

Very sorry to hear this. My best wishes are with you for a full and speedy recovery!

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[sherubtse]

In Japan they have done a zillions studies. The consensus is that deep steamed green tea has the most impact of all the green teas. There was a TV show about this in Japan last year, which is why deep steamed tea sales are brisk this year. "If it were me", that's what I would gulp down the most.

Music to my aged ears, as I love the fuka-s!

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[a.serrao]

Tea experts - I need your help!

Consider me a complete amateur. The only tea I have ever consumed is Brisk Iced Tea.

However, after recently discovering that I have stage 3 cervical dysplasia and am on the fast track to cervical cancer (might I add - I am only 22!) I have decided to take charge of my health and completely change my diet. I have read boatloads of information on the power of tea, specifically green tea, for your health - there have even been reported cases of it reversing abnormal and cancerous cell changes. I have read about Matcha powder and the concentrated antioxidants (EGCG) within it - but from there it gets pretty confusing (people disagree about how to prepare it, how to store it, etc, in order to preserve these antioxidants). Taste does not matter to me at all - health does.

So the question I pose to you is - What is best possible tea I can drink for my health, and where can I buy it? How can I take advantage of the most EGCG as possible? And how should I prepare this stuff (I actually prefer cold tea, but would drink it warm if it had more health benefits). And finally, where and how should I store it? Thanks for your patience - Like I said - I'm an amateur

Catechins are what you need, mainly EGCGs (epigallocatechin 3-gallate).
The more sun the tea plant receives the more the catechins. So you should need later flushes tea, like second or ever third. Gyokuro and Matcha (derived from tencha - a kabusencha) have less catechins.
White tea has even more than green tea.

However some other important factors play a key role. pH of the solution you steep your tea with is important, for example. Adding a drop or two of lemon juice can help. Then the type of cultivar, sun exposure, soil type, season, processing and etc... can also play a key role.

To sum up: I think taking green tea extract (trited) is the best way.

You should also not overweight the power of catechins. What is seen in vitro is usually not what's seen in vivo. Clearance of EGCGs is a variable to take into consideration.

http://www.encognitive.com/files/Catech ... pacity.pdf

[Kevangogh]

This is correct - Sun grown green tea has higher levels than shade grown green tea. You would be better off with powdered sencha than matcha. Fukuamushi (deep steamed) is probably the best all around tea for this purpose.

[entropyembrace]

This is correct - Sun grown green tea has higher levels than shade grown green tea. You would be better off with powdered sencha than matcha. Fukuamushi (deep steamed) is probably the best all around tea for this purpose.

+1 I´ve read one study which compares EGCG and other cachetin levels of loose leaf tea from various regions. From what I remember first flush fukamushi green tea had significantly higher levels of EGCG than virtually all of the other teas tested, this was attributed to the steaming process preserving EGCG the best. Also interesting was that all teas from Darjeeling they tested were very high in EGCG, with the Darjeeling green tea rivaling Japanese Fukamushi and even the black teas beating most greens from other regions. Pan fired green teas were generally not as impressive and white tea had barely higher levels than typical black teas and less than Darjeeling blacks...contrary to all the advertising hype they get.

Also if you need a reason to stay away from tea bags...the tea bags they tested all had drastically lower levels of all beneficial compounds than any of the loose leaf teas which were tested.

I don´t have the link handy at the moment...I may have posted it a while ago back when I first read the study....if I can find it again I´ll add the link here.

[sherubtse]

Also interesting was that all teas from Darjeeling they tested were very high in EGCG, with the Darjeeling green tea rivaling Japanese Fukamushi and even the black teas beating most greens from other regions.

Yes, that is very interesting. Can you remember why the Darjeelings did so well?

Please post the link to this study if you come across it again.

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse