The consumption of at least five daily cups of green tea was found in a ten-year study to reduce the risk of blood cancers by 42 per cent and lymph system cancers by 48 per cent.
The health benefits of drinking anti-oxidant rich green tea have been well documented, although they are more commonly associated with lowering the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The new study, conducted by Tohoku University, analysed the age, gender, lifestyle and health of 40,000 Japanese over a ten-year period for a range of scientific research purposes.
In relation to green tea consumption, Dr Toru Naganuma concluded that drinking the beverage may have a favourable effect “for particular cancers”.
Dr Naganuma examined the impact of varying green tea levels on the health of the people taking part in the study in conjunction with examining their diets in the context of alcohol, soybean and fish consumption.
The results showed that the overall risk of blood cancers was reduced by 42 per cent among participants who drank five or more daily cups in comparison with those who drank one cup or less a day while the findings were 48 per cent lower in relation to lymph system cancers.
Green tea is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East. Recently, it has become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally consumed. Many varieties of green tea have been created in countries where it is grown. These varieties can differ substantially due to variable growing conditions, processing and harvesting time.
Over the last few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting regular green tea drinkers may have lower chances of heart disease and developing certain types of cancer.
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WASHINGTON — Federal health regulators have issued warnings to the makers of Canada Dry ginger ale and Lipton tea for making unsubstantiated nutritional claims about their green tea-flavored beverages.
In a warning letter issued Aug. 30, the Food and Drug Administration takes issue with the labeling of Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale. The agency issued a similar letter Aug. 23 to Unilever Inc., over website and product labeling for its Lipton Green Tea.
Food processors increasingly have been adding vitamins and nutrients to their products to make them more appealing to health-conscious consumers. But the FDA letter to Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, which makes Canada Dry, states that the agency “does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages.” Furthermore, the agency states that the soft drink does not meet federal requirements to carry the claim that the drink is “enhanced with 200 mg of antioxidants from green tea and vitamin C.” According to FDA regulations, the ingredients in Canada Dry’s product “are not nutrients with recognized antioxidant activity.”
The FDA letter to Unilever takes issue with a company website that mentions four studies that showed a cholesterol-lowering effect with tea. According to the agency, the labeling is misleading because it suggests Lipton tea is designed to treat or prevent disease. The agency also cites antioxidant labeling claims on the company’s Lipton Green Tea, which do not follow federal guidelines.
The agency asks executives from both companies to respond to the citations within 15 days and to outline their plans for addressing the problems.
A spokesman for Plano, Texas-based Dr. Pepper Snapple Group said in a statement the company looks “forward to working with the FDA and addressing the issues raised.”
Unilever issued a similar response. The company’s U.S. operations are in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based, with headquarters in London and Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Once a niche market, nutrient-enriched beverages have grown into a multibillion dollar business that includes everything from calcium-enhanced orange juice to energy drinks containing ginseng, ginkgo and other organic products.
In recent years, the FDA has begun cracking down on food companies that overstate the benefits of their products.
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The FDA generally endorses health claims on foods only after government researchers have verified that the products help prevent actual disease. Food containing oats, for example, can carry the FDA-approved claim, “may reduce risk of heart disease.”
The FDA regularly issues warning letters to companies that do not follow regulations for manufacturing and marketing. The letters are not legally binding, but the agency can take companies to court if they are ignored.