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The great British cuppa is being hailed by US scientists as a medical miracle with the potential
to save thousands of lives.
Experts from the world's biggest coffee-drinking nation are now urging citizens to turn to tea in an attempt to help prevent cancer and heart disease.
New research shows that tea, the second most consumed beverage worldwide after water,
has amazing disease-fighting capabilities.
Protective effects
Delegates attending the Second International Scientific Symposium in Washington DC heard how just one humble cup of tea has components with protective effects
against cancer and heart disease.
Symposium Chairman Dr John Weisburger, a senior member of the American
health foundation, said: "Tea has great potential to help reduce the incidence
of major disease world-wide especially when combined with a healthy lifestyle.
"In the past eight years we have made tremendous strides in understanding the
potential of both black and green tea to prevent chronic illness which has
important implications for public health.
"By focusing on how things like tea can prevent disease we might not only
save hundreds and thousands of lives but also millions of dollars spent to treat
illness."
More than 135 million cups of tea are drunk in Britain every day but so far
Americans have failed to convert from their beloved coffee.
Tea slows spread of cancer
At the conference at the US Department of Agriculture, a study by Dr Junshi
Chen from the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine in Beijing, has revealed for
the first time direct evidence of the protective effects of tea on human
cancer.
His study used a mixture of green and black tea to treat pre-cancerous
lesions.
Given as a liquid and rubbed on to the affected area, the tea significantly
reduced the growth of pre-cancerous cells.
Dr Chen said: "This is the first time we have seen tea play a major role in
protecting against the formation of cancer in humans."
Tests on mice and rats showed that tea slowed the development of lung
tumors and colon cancer and the leaf is also thought to decrease the risk of digestive
tract cancer.
The beverage, which caught on in Britain when the Empire expanded to India, is
also associated with a significant reduction in heart disease and strokes.
Experts revealed it may have greater anti-oxidant power than most fruit and vegetables and drinking just one cup is equivalent to eating one portion of
vegetables. |
