A large Japanese study tracking the health of some 40,000 adults (ages 40-79) found green tea may be healthy preventative against cardiovascular problems like strokes and heart attack, but, perhaps, not cancer. Over the course of the 11-year study, more patients died from cancer (some 1,100) than heart disease (almost 900). Moreover, women benefited more by drinking green tea than men did. By the numbers:
- Women drinking five or more cups of green tea a day lowered their risk of cardiovascular disease by nearly a third versus those who drank a cup or less daily.
- Among heavy tea drinkers, women reduced their mortality risks from clot-related strokes by 62 percent and men by 42 percent.
- Heavy tea drinkers were 16 percent less likely to die than those who drank little of it.
Still, there's no doubt green tea is a far better alternative to candy or fruit that comes in a bottle, but only in moderation because many conventional brands contain high amounts of health-harming fluoride. Just a reminder, if you are unable to find a green tea that isn't high in fluoride, consider the green tea extract I sell in my Web store.
Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 296, No. 10, September 13, 2006: 1255-1265
USA Today September 12, 2006
Chicago Sun-Times September 13, 2006