Fighting Cancer With Green Tea

Posted by dxavier on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

green-teaWe’ve all seen the ads. We’ve all been exposed to the marketing (mumbo jumbo), and by now we should all know of the many health benefits of drinking green tea. But did we know that it could slow the development and onset of prostate cancer? According to a study published in the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, men with prostate cancer who consumed the active compounds in green tea demonstrated a significant reduction in serum markers associated with the progression of prostate cancer.

So considering green tea is the world’s second most popular drink (any guesses as to what drink is the most popular?), this is good news right? Well…yes and no.

Green tea in its natural state is a great source of rust-removing antioxidants, good cholesterol (HDL), and has been used in Chinese society as an effective medicine for years. However, green tea can also come in the pre-made form, in easy to drink colorful bottles, with what seams like an endless list of flavors (green tea fused with lemon, green tea with a hint of lime or even green tea enhanced with ginseng). Unfortunately, this form of green tea can (at times) be produced with added sugars, artificial colors and flavors and even artificial sweeteners.

Using the FoodEssentials tool, I wanted to see if there were any green teas without artificial sweeteners. So the following list of products have been analyzed for the presence of Aspartame:

FoodEssentials Information
Information provided by FoodEssentials.com
As you can see, almost half the list contains aspartame. Other ingredients to look out for in pre-made green tea include preservatives like sodium benzoate and even high fructose corn syrup. To me, It it seems like such a shame that a natural product like green tea, which has many recorded health benefits and cancer fighting properties, can be spoiled and diluted with the addition of these artificial ingredients.
In conclusion, I guess it really is great news that this study has highlighted some more fantastic benefits of drinking green tea, but unfortunately, Its disappointing that some will believe these proposed health benefits can be obtained from drinking pre-made, artificially flavored green tea.

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