Special Report

by Jean Carper

If you listen to the Food and Drug Administration, green tea has no proven health benefits.

But if you listen to scientists around the world, green tea possesses one of nature's most powerful antioxidants, called EGCG, that in many tests has stopped cancer cold. I first heard of this miracle in 1987 from a National Cancer Institute researcher who was excited by new Japanese studies claiming EGCG blocked cancer.   

Today, thousands of scientists are saying the same thing.

New research piles up daily, showing that modest doses of EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) in green tea fights development and progression of cancer. EGCG saved 90% of men at high risk from developing prostate cancer and reversed leukemia (CLL) in women.in recent studies. 

In test tubes, EGCG thwarts the growth of human cancer cells--of the breast, prostate, lungs, ovaries, and liver. Dozens of studies link green tea and EGCG to dramatically lower rates of a variety of cancers.

A flurry of new studies also suggests EGCG has broad-spectrum powers against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, heart disease, infections, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, arthritis, dental cavities, gum disease, weight gain and premature aging.

EGCG is increasingly recognized as a ubiquitous miracle worker among the world's top researchers at leading medical centers. Here's the latest research you need to know about this amazing green tea chemical. 

EGCG Stops Prostate Cancer

Taking green tea capsules virtually wiped out the development of prostate cancer in men at high risk, says Italian researcher Dr. Saverio Bettuzzi, University of Parma.

He gave men 600 mg a day of concentrated green tea catechins, containing 300 mg EGCG, or a placebo for a year. All the men had premalignant lesions, putting them at risk of progression to full blown advanced and potentially fatal prostate cancer.

After a year, only one man (3%) in the group on green tea capsules developed prostate cancer compared with 9 men (28%) on placebo. Thus, the green tea was nearly 90% effective in preventing prostate cancer, said researchers.

They attribute the anti-cancer activity to the daily 300 mg of antioxidant EGCG. (the amount in 3 cups of brewed green tea or 1 capsule of Stop Aging Now! High-Antioxidant Green Tea Extract.)

As to whether green tea's EGCG can prevent prostate cancer, "the answer is clearly yes," says Dr. Bettuzzi. (Betuzzi S. Cancer Res 2006 Jan15;66(2): 1234-40)  

EGCG Reverses Leukemia

The stunning news that green tea can stop leukemia comes from  researchers at the world-famous Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. They  documented that chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) did not progress or regressed dramatically in four patients who took green tea capsules or drank green tea.

The researchers had previously found that green tea's unique antioxidant, EGCG, killed leukemic B-cells in test tubes. Some patients, hearing this news, started taking EGCG in capsules or drinking more green tea on their own.

Here are the remarkable results in four patients, as reported in the medical journal (Leukemia Research) by hematologist Tait Shanafelt, M.D. and colleagues at Mayo. 

• Patient One--A 58-year-old woman, diagnosed with CLL in June 2001 began taking green tea capsules in March, 2004. She took two capsules per day, each containing 315 milligrams of antioxidant polyphenols, including EGCG. Before taking the green tea capsules, signs of her leukemia steadily worsened as verified by CT scans.
  
  After a month of taking the concentrated EGCG-green tea capsules, a CT scan showed regression of her cance. The leukemia continued to regress over the next year, shrinking cancerous lymph nodes by 50% to "near normalization," as clearly documented by CT scans.
  
  "She contines to do well taking daily oral green tea polyphenol capsules 44 months after diagnosis and has not required conventional therapy," the Mayo doctors write.
  
  
• Patient Two--A 55-year-old woman with non-Hodgkins lymphoma (similar to CLL in lymph node involvement) began drinking a cup of green tea every day (made from two tea bags.) Within three months, CT scans showed regression, and within ten months, revealed a 50% decrease in the largest lymph node areas.
  
  
• Patient Three--A 50-year-old woman with CLL for about six and a half years, experienced a decline in white blood cell counts after she began drinking green tea that provided about 300 milligrams of polyphenols, including EGCG, a day. "She continues to do well without conventional therapy," her doctors say.
  
  
• Patient Four--A 60-year-old woman with CLL of five years duration, began drinking eight cups of green tea a day in 2004 because she was alarmed by a rise in her white blood cell count. Within a week of starting the green tea, her white blood cell count plummeted, and declined further over the next four and a half months. She continues to drink green tea daily, and still has no symptoms from her CLL, report the Mayo doctors.
  

Bottom line: Mayo's Dr. Shanafelt credits EGCG in green tea for the anticancer activity. "This agent may provide new hope for CLL patients," says Dr. Shanafelt. (Shanafelt TC, et al. Leukemia Research, 2005, Nov. 30)

EGCG Thwarts Breast Cancer  

Green tea's EGCG kills breast cancer cells and may help prevent the onset and progression of the malignancy. According to new studies at the Uniformed Service University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, EGCG killed breast cancer cells in cell cultures and blocked cancer progression in animals.

Animals were innoculated with human breast cancer cells and then given green tea polyphenols and specifically EGCG. Those getting the green tea and EGCG had fewer tumors and did not develop them as fast as animals given only plain water.

EGCG clearly killed breast cancer cells and inhibited spread of the cancer, concluded researchers.  Not surprisingly, new research also shows that Asian Americans who drink green tea have a lower risk of breast cancer. (Thangapazham RL, Cancer Lett 2006 Mar 3).

EGCG Kills Ovarian Cancer Cells

A new focus on green tea's potential to prevent and treat ovarian cancer shows that EGCG suppresses cancer cell growth by inducing them to commit suicide. In short, EGCG selectively killed ovarian cancer cells, leaving normal cells untouched. (Huh SW. Gynecol Oncol 94:2004: 760-768)

Further, EGCG may be important in treating ovarian cancer, says Marion M. Chan, at The State University of New Jersey. She finds that EGCG not only kills ovarian cancer cells, but also increases the potency of cisplatin, a common drug used to treat ovarian cancer, by six fold. This means a lower dose of cisplatin could be effective if combined with EGCG.

This is "potentially very important," says Dr. Chan, because high doses of cisplatin used to curb ovarian cancer have serious side effects limiting the drug's use. EGCG, she concludes "may alleviate the probelm of cisplatin toxicity and resistance, a major obstacle in chemotherapy for ovarian cancer."

Further evidence that green tea may help treat ovarian cancer comes from Australian research showing that Chinese women with epithelial ovarian cancer who drink green tea survive longer. Women who drank at least one cup of green tea daily were 57% more apt to survive three years than non-green tea drinkers. (Min Zhang. Int J Cancer, 112:465-469(2004).

Other new research in cell cultures finds that EGCG also inhibits activity that promotes colon cancer and liver cancer. 

How EGCG Short-Circuits Cancer 

Amazingly, EGCG, animal studies show, can inhibit cancer at all three stages--from the first stage of  mutations of cells' genetic material (DNA )that jumpstart malignancy;  the the second promotion stage or appearance of symptoms such as tumors, and the third progression stage, the spread or metastasis of the cancer to other sites.

EGCG works several ways, but new breakthrough research explains why EGCG is so universally anti-cancer.  Scientists have discovered that EGCG can actually short-circuit cancer by blocking a cancer-triggering protein. And EGCG does it better than cancer drugs do, says Dr. Thomas A. Gasiewicz, University of Rochester Medical Center.

"EGCG seems to target one protein that is particularly common throughout our bodies," says Gasiewicz, "and does so with a degree of precision that cancer drugs still aren't able to match."

Further, he says, EGCG appears to prevent cancer by stopping the process before it can even get started in tissues and organs including breast, prostate, bladder, colon, stomach, pancreas and esophagus.

Specifically, EGCG binds to and deactivates a protein called HSP90 that signals the start of the cancer process. "As a result, potentially harmful genes are less likely to get turned on, and the cascade of events leading to cancer is cut off before it begins," explains Dr. Gasiewicz.

Drug companies are trying to develop pharmaceuticals that stop cancer the same way EGCG does, but so far have been unsuccessful, says the American Institute of Cancer Research in Washington.

Why Capsules Over Brewed Tea?  

If you drink green tea, you get some EGCG, but you can't be sure how much. For optimal protection, you should also take capsules of concentrated green tea extract high in EGCG. Here's why: 

• The EGCG in brewed green tea varies greatly from brand to brand and cup to cup. You can't be sure you get a consistently high amount of EGCG.
• The EGCG is standardized in green tea capsules, guaranteeing a high dose, as noted on the label.
• Capsules are convenient, so you never need miss a day of high EGCG because you did not take time to brew and drink several cups of green tea. 

Bottom Line: Green tea capsules are the most reliable way to get high doses of EGCG every day. 

Safety Factor: Could long-term use of green tea be harmful? A recent study found no significant adverse effects from taking 800 milligrams a day of purified decaffeinated EGCG for a month. But for most people, 300 to 600 EGCG daily is sufficient, research suggests. Taking more may not be more effective and could lead to unknown side effects.  

21 Green Tea "Miracles" * 

Much research shows that green tea and its most active ingredient, EGCG, have  widespread antioxidant and antiinflammatory activity that may be beneficial to health in a variety of ways. Here is a compilation of recent scientific reports of green tea "miracles" from leading researchers around the world. 

• A daily dose of 300 mg EGCG in green tea capsules, stopped 90% of prostate cancer in high-  risk men. 
• Green tea polyphenols switched off genes that help clog and inflame arteries.      
• Green tea antioxidants inhibited bacteria that cause periodontal disease.
• Green tea extract reduced blood glucose in animals, helping prevent type 2 diabetes.
• A green tea extract capsule cut bad LDL cholesterol 16 percent in subjects on a low-fat diet.
• Twenty one studies showed green tea helps prevent polyps--tiny growths that can lead to colon cancer.
• Four daily cups of decaf green tea blocked DNA damage, a prelude to cancer, in heavy smokers.
• Green tea EGCG destroyed common type B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells (CLL) in 80 percent of patient's blood samples. 
• Antioxidants in green tea blocked progression of human prostate cancer in mice.
• Green tea's EGCG inhibited growth of 80 percent of human breast cancer cells in test tube studies. 
• Taking green tea (EGCG) cut body weight and waist circumference about five percent in moderately obese individuals within three months.  
• Green tea catechins reduced inflammation and cartilage breakdown induced by arthritis.       
• Green tea extract suppressed spread of Helicobacter pylori infections linked to gastrointestinal ulcers and stomach cancer.  
• Green tea (EGCG) blocked alcohol-induced liver damage in rats, including fat accumulation, inflammation and death of liver cells. 
• Green tea's antioxidant (EGCG) blocked enzyme activity that makes anthrax deadly in animals.
• EGCG reduced toxic iron and death of neurons in the brains of animals with Parkinson's-like damage, suggesting green tea may help prevent and treat Parkinson's.
• Green tea extract blocked collagen "crosslinking" that accelerates the aging of cells.
• Green tea catechins thwarted formation of blood vessels (angiogenesis) that feed cancer cells so they can spread.
• EGCG in green tea boosted animals' sensitivity to insulin that helps control regulate blood sugar.   
• EGCG slashed formation of Alzheimer's-like beta amyloid plaque by 54% in the brains of mice.
• EGCG protected animals against neurological damage resulting from a stroke.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any disease.