Printen
Groene thee is de op één na meest gedronken drank ter
wereld (water staat op nummer één). Vooral in het verre oosten wordt het in
grote hoeveelheden genuttigd. Het is in het westen niet erg populair, wij
drinken liever bruine of zwarte thee. Toch zijn er goede redenen om groene thee
te drinken. Uit diverse onderzoeken blijkt dat Groene Thee een sterk preventieve
werking heeft op het onstaan van kanker. Ook verkleinen drinkers van Groene Thee
het risico op hart- en vaatziekten. Uit een recente studie in het 'American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition' blijkt bovendien dat Groene Thee de
calorieverbranding stimuleert. U verbrandt tot wel 200 calorieën per dag extra.
Groene thee is derhalve een uitstekend hulpmiddel om af te slanken.
Two recent studies published
in medical literature highlight the benefits of green tea. In the latest edition
of the International Journal of Cancer, a population study was conducted
between 1995 and 1998 of Asian women living in California who have suffered with
breast cancer. A total of 501 breast cancer patients were studied with 595
controlled subjects. Detailed information on menstrual cycle and reproductive
factors were reviewed along with dietary habits and other lifestyle factors. It
was found that green tea drinkers showed a significantly reduced risk of breast
cancer after all other factors were eliminated. The reduction in breast cancer
incidence was up to 47% in those women who drank more than three ounces of green
tea every day.
In a related article published in the prestigious Journal of Urology in September 2003, researchers found that a chemical in green tea blocked the growth of bladder tumors in rats. This particular chemical is called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). EGCG has previously been shown in some laboratory studies to inhibit cancer growth. In this particular study, EGCG applied directly to the cancer cells killed 100% of them after two hours of incubation. In another study, rats were implanted with tumor cells. Thirty minutes after the tumor cells were injected, some of the rats were treated with EGCG whereas other rats were not. Eighteen of the twenty eight animals that were treated with EGCG were tumor-free after three weeks. In the rats not treated with EGCG, all twelve of them showed tumor growth. The author of the study suggested that EGCG could be useful treatment for bladder cancer.(2003)