If you read the paper, listen to the news and try to keep up with information on the Internet,
I am sure you hear quite a bit of data about breast cancer. It is a topic that is written about frequently
and I feel it is vital to stay current with the latest news about treatment and possible prevention methods.
With that being said, I would like to address a interesting study that I came across in the media that I found
worthy of discussion.
A team of US researchers led by Dr. Jagi Kumar at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, studied 5,000
women aged between 20 and 74 who had been treated for breast cancer. They compared medical histories and lifestyles
with a similar group of women free of breast cancer.
They found that the changes of developing a tumor dropped by 37 percent in women under 50 who drank tea at
least three times daily. But older women who drank a similar amount did not see any benefits,
according to the study.
Researchers believe the anti-cancer properties of tea may have a more potent effect on the types of tumors that
tend to grow in younger women. The researchers also found even greater benefits when it came to "lobular" breast
cancer, with tea reducing the risk by 66 per cent.
Lobular cancer, where cancer affects the lobes deep inside breast tissue, accounts for one in ten cases of the
disease. It can be hard to detect, so is often quite advanced by the time it is diagnosed. The researchers said,
"Regular tea consumption, particularly at moderately high levels, might reduce breast cancer risk in younger women.
Given that tea is the most common beverage consumed in the world, it makes an attractive candidate for breast
cancer prevention."
Coming from England and growing up drinking tea at least 3 times a day, I was very excited to learn that it has
another purpose besides comfort!
Best regards,
Dr. Belinda Barclay-White, M.D.
Following is a great article that lists
more reasons to drink tea!
Top 10 Health Benefits of Drinking Tea
By: Lynn Grieger
YourTotalHealth.com - A service of NBC and iVillage
There are lots of reasons why I enjoy a hot cup of tea: I love the aroma of various flavors of tea;
holding onto a hot tea mug warms my hands on a cold winter morning; sipping tea in front of the fireplace
is a great way to relax. And those are just the feel-good reasons. If you're not drinking tea yet, read up on
these 10 ways tea does your body good and then see if you're ready to change your Starbucks order!
1. Tea contains antioxidants. Like the Rust-Oleum paint that keeps your outdoor furniture from rusting,
tea's antioxidants protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution.
2. Tea has less caffeine than coffee. Coffee usually has two to three times the caffeine of tea (unless
you're a fan of Morning Thunder, which combines caffeine with mate, an herb that acts like caffeine in our
body). An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg caffeine; tea contains only 30 to 40 mg per cup.
If drinking coffee gives you the jitters, causes indigestion or headaches or interferes with sleep -- switch to tea.
3. Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Unwanted blood clots formed from cholesterol and
blood platelets cause heart attack and stroke. Drinking tea may help keep your arteries smooth and clog-free,
the same way a drain keeps your bathroom pipes clear. A 5.6-year study from the Netherlands found a 70 percent
lower risk of fatal heart attack in people who drank at least two to three cups of black tea daily compared to
non-tea drinkers.
4. Tea protects your bones. It's not just the milk added to tea that builds strong bones.
One study that compared tea drinkers with non-drinkers, found that people who drank tea for 10 or more
years had the strongest bones, even after adjusting for age, body weight, exercise, smoking and other risk factors.
The authors suggest that this may be the work of tea's many beneficial phytochemicals.
5. Tea gives you a sweet smile. One look at the grimy grin of Austin Powers and you may not think
drinking tea is good for your teeth, but think again. It's the sugar added to it that's likely to blame
for England's bad dental record. Tea itself actually contains fluoride and tannins that may keep plaque
at bay. So add unsweetened tea drinking to your daily dental routine of brushing and flossing for healthier
teeth and gums.
6. Tea bolsters your immune defenses. Drinking tea may help your body's immune system fight off infection.
When 21 volunteers drank either five cups of tea or coffee each day for four weeks, researchers saw higher
immune system activity in the blood of the tea drinkers.
7. Tea protects against cancer. Thank the polyphenols, the antioxidants found in tea, once again for their
cancer-fighting effects. While the overall research is inconclusive, there are enough studies that show the
potential protective effects of drinking tea to make adding tea to your list of daily beverages.
8. Tea helps keep you hydrated. Caffeinated beverages, including tea, used to be on the list of
beverages that didn't contribute to our daily fluid needs. Since caffeine is a diuretic and makes
us pee more, the thought was that caffeinated beverages couldn't contribute to our overall fluid
requirement. However, recent research has shown that the caffeine really doesn't matter -- tea and other
caffeinated beverages definitely contribute to our fluid needs. The only time the caffeine becomes a
problem as far as fluid is concerned is when you drink more than five or six cups of a caffeinated beverage at one time.
9. Tea is calorie-free. Tea doesn't have any calories, unless you add sweetener or milk. Consuming even
250 fewer calories per day can result in losing one pound per week. If you're looking for a satisfying,
calorie-free beverage, tea is a top choice.
10. Tea increases your metabolism. Lots of people complain about a slow metabolic rate and their inability
to lose weight. Green tea has been shown to actually increase metabolic rate so that you can burn 70 to 80
additional calories by drinking just five cups of green tea per day. Over a year's time you could lose eight
pounds just by drinking green tea. Of course, taking a 15-minute walk every day will also burn calories.
Also, to add.........
1. Which tea is better -- green, black, white?
There really isn't enough difference to get overly excited about. All teas generally contain
the same amount of flavonoids. Green and black tea come from the same plants, but green tea is
dried for a shorter time and doesn't go through a fermenting process used for black tea.
2. Are decaffeinated teas just as good for you?
Some companies use chemicals to decaffeinate tea; others use a water process. The
chemical process removes more of the beneficial polyphenols, so read labels carefully when choosing decaf.
3. How do you brew a perfect cup of tea?
For hot tea:
Bring one cup of water per tea bag, or teaspoon of dried tea, to a rolling boil.
Measure the tea into a glass container (plastic and metal pick up unwanted flavors).
Pour the boiling water over your tea and steep to the desired strength. Steep too long and you'll get an acidic taste.
For iced tea:
Brew your tea with boiling water, as described above.
Chill with ice and keep in the fridge.
