Green tea a day helps keep the oncologist away!!
Cozy up with a book and a cup of green tea. Green tea is rich in antioxidents which reduce the growth of the new blood vessels needed for tumor growth and metastases. Green tea is also a detoxifier and it facilitates the death of cancer cells! In a study of Japanese women suffering from breast tumors that had not metastasized, it was discovered that those women who consumed 3 cups of green tea a day had 57% fewer relapses than those who only drank a cup. And men with prostate tumors, 5 cups of green tea per day reduced the risk of their cancers advancing by 50%. Black tea and oolong tea do not provide the same protection since they have undergone fermentation. Steep for 10 minutes to release its catechins or more specifically, flavonoids (the old Vitamin P from the 1950s!). Don’t forget to drink within an hour of steeping. After an hour or two, it loses its polyphenols!
Source: Regular Consumption of Green Tea and the Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence: Follow-up Study from the Hospital-Based Epidemiologic Research Program at Aichi Cancer Center, Japan. Cancer Letters 167, no 2 (2001): 175-82
Comments
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Thanks Laura!
I drank a lot of green tea all during chemo but have slacked off and gone back to coffee now. After reading your post I will start on the tea again right now while learning from you wonderful ladies on this site.
Have a great day everyone.0 -
EXCELLENT! I was lax during chemo - tea and coffee made me sick!
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Unfortunately I can't drink green tea because I'm on a blood thinner. Wish I could; I love it.
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I prefer the flavor of black tea, but I've started drinking some of the "Fusion" blended teas from Stash. These are a combination of black and green tea. Since I probably drink at least six cups of tea a day, if these blends are half green that should be equivalent.
I will blame it on chemo-brain
that it has taken me several months to think of just buying loose green and black teas separately and mixing them myself, instead of the individually wrapped teabags with only twenty in a box! That way I'll avoid the excessive packaging and probably save money too.0 -
I LOVE green tea - it's my favourite drink and I became hooked about 12 years ago, while I was pregnant. Unfortunately I still got the dreaded breast cancer, but I am at high risk and sometimes wonder if all the green tea I've been drinking delayed it a while? No answer to that!
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I'm with you, mumofone. I've been drinking it for years and yet...
Lately I've been fooling around with brewing green tea cold. I toss the leaves and cold water into a jar and then put it into the 'fridge at least overnight. I only have Dragon Well and Imperial Gunpowder in the house but both are very good this way. Preferable, even, I think. The flavor is fuller and less astringent.
I don't know if this method extracts the healthful polyphenols as well as brewing with heated water. It must still be extracting the caffeine because I haven't had any caffeine withdrawal headaches.0 -
Does anyone else use the green tea macha powder? It is concentrated. One of my colleagues brought me back a bag from her home town in Japan, I have been adding it to smoothies and to sugar free hot chocolate, it is weirdly good. VERY green!
I hope it helps, cant hurt right?
Thanks for sharing on this topic!0 -
Matcha, as I understand it, is not simply powdered green tea. It's a particular type processed in a certain way, then ground into an ultrafine powder. The matcha powder is added to things or brewed and then not filtered out as one would with tea leaves. I have wanted to try it for years. I bulk order my tea. When I've seen matcha, it's been quite expensive. Someday, if I can ever find it in a small enough quantity to try.
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I love green tea in restaurants but all the brands I have found in the store (bags) produce a light brown colored tea and it does not taste anywhere near as good as what you get in a restaurant. Where do you get your loose green tea? I'd like to try upping my intake. By the way - have any of you tried Sun Soup (a chinese friend is encouraging me to try it - it comes in packets dehydrated and you have to eat two packets a day - she swears that after using it her mother was completely cured of cancer (lung)). I am nervous about trying it because although all the ingredients seem benign it does have two isoflavone components from soy and since I am on letrazole to zero out my estrogen I don't know if I should be eating plant derived estrogen like things. Also, since it is not regulated - there is no absolute guarantee that the contents of the packet are what they say they are. So trying to get my nerve up to try it .....http://www.sunfarmcorp.com/products.htm
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Simpson & Vail (svtea.com) and Upton Tea (uptontea.com) are two excellent sources for buying loose tea in bulk. There's a bit of sticker shock ordering once a year but it is better quality than most bagged teas. Proper brewing usually allows for at least two steepings.
Green refers to how the tea has been processed rather than the color of the beverage it produces. If you search, Upton has an excellent set of pages in which the distinctions between types of tea (e.g. white, green, black, oolong, etc.) and the processing necessary to produce each type. Both sites provide thorough descriptions of the brew a tea is expected to produce, including color.0 -
So, drinking green tea is the answer for preventing a recurrence? If so, what is the best brand to purchase and where?
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My favorite is BRASSICA Green tea with orange flavor - found in Wegmans.
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I LOVE the powder much more than the individual bags. Not sure which brand is best but try to stay with one that is organic if possible.
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Matcha is great in a smoothie... much higher dose of the active ingredient. If you hate green tea you can take the active ingredient in tea as a supplement. It's called EGCg.
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Thanks so much for the suggestion!
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Do the green teas supplements provide the same protection? I can't drink tea, kills my bladder....
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I think they do. I used to take some 40mg of caffeine green tea supplements and it also seemed to help my skin (vs. drinking tea or coffee). I also don't like having to tax my bladder/kidneys.
I hope 3 cups means tiny 8oz teacups... not sure I could drink 3 teabags a day
I find it way easier to eat carciferous vegetables as much as possible, broccoli, cauliflower etc.. not sure if it reallyhelps but I think it does0 -
Cruciferous vegs, alliums (onions, garlic etc) & mushrooms are some of the healthiest stuff you can eat. Plus green leafy veggies. Include all the colors of the rainbow, like purple cabbage and orange bell pepper... If you hate cruciferous veggies, the key ingredient is sulfurophane. I think healthy diet plus supplementing the key nutrients you may be short on is very sensible to prevent inflammation, which is cancer promoting.
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thanks for the information, I just switched from Black Tea to green. I can drink green tea straight but, I always added sugar to the black tea. After getting my diagnosis I've cut out as much sugar as possible.
Post Chemo I plan to go as far towards the Mediterranean Diet as I can
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Would people talk about the water they use to make green tea or just in general. How do we ensure the water we're drinking is safe? Do you drink tap water, spring water, reverse osmosis water or filtered water--if so what kind of filter and is it easy to change?
Thanks!
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When I was in active chemo, I purchased bottled spring water by the gallon. Yeah - I've read all the stuff about is it a real spring, but I don't want to go off the deep end. Now I'm back to tap water. If you are in a City, they are required to produce a water report annually. I expect it's likely as safe as eating beef - since that has hormones, or vegetables that have fertilizer, or corn that's GMO, or breathing air in traffic, etc. etc. I think we have to pick our battles and I can't fight this one.
Since I HATE to drink water, if I'm drinking it plain - I use a pitcher with a Britta filter in the fridge. Mostly that's because I have old galvanized pipes with some rust. If I'm making tea or coco or soup or whatever - I just use tap water & let it run a bit before filling the pot.
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I use a combo of tap water and filtered water through my refrigerator door. I actually love water and the water from my fridge is deliciously cold. I went through a short phase where I was extremely diligent about anything I ate or drank. It was not enjoyable or relaxing to maintain that level of vigilance, particularly since I already had a good diet. I have been stage IV with no progression for over 9 years. I am not going to claim that it is because of the water I drink or my diet but I think the stress and lack of enjoyment I experienced on a more restricted diet was not helpful. However, I know others find it comforting to be more proactive about water/diet and that’s great. It just wasn’t my cup of tea
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exbrn - "my cup of tea" - LOL. A good laugh to end my day.
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What brand of green tea would you recommend to be the best?
I like cold prefixed green tea, does it provide the same benefits?
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I use organic Matcha tea. I don't like tea in general but for health benefits, I started a cup of matcha tea. I drink it after a meal, otherwise makes my stomach uneasy. I get the organic matcha at Costco.
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I wonder if cold prefixed green tea preserves the polyphenols the same as it does when the leaves are heated or steamed. Thanks Lilly, I didn't know that Costco had it! I'm going to check it out. Here's an interesting link Dr. Veronique Desaulniers on the benefits of Matcha green tea.
https://breastcancerconqueror.com/matcha-green-tea-is-a-mighty-breast-cancer-buster/
Blessings,
Esther
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I asked a barista how to make matcha tea and she told me to put a teaspoon (or your favorite amount of matcha tea) in a cup then pour a bit of hot water and use a small mixer to mix it until foamy, then add the rest of hot water. I assume no boiling the tea. It is expensive but using small amounts makes it last a very long time. Make sure it is made in Japan and read the ingredients because some are mixed with sugar. This is the one I buy at Costco.
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