These great summaries and references come from Mike Adams, NaturalNews Editor at NaturalNews.com. They support the claims that the least oxidized teas (Green and White teas) are highest in the Cancer-fighting antioxidants. These sources specifically address the antioxidant EGCG’s ability to help protect against Breast Cancer.
Green tea is the most popular tea in China and Japan, where the lowest breast cancer rates are found. There are many health-promoting properties to green tea, and thousands of published studies verifying its benefits. Tea is generally high in antioxidants, but green is highest. Green tea is the least processed of all teas (green tea leaves are simply steamed). Oolong tea has some antioxidant effect, but lower levels than green tea, and black tea has the lowest levels of the three.
Consumption of green tea was closely associated with decreased numbers of axillary lymph node metastases among premenopausal patients with stages I and II breast cancer. They also found that increased consumption of green tea was correlated with decreased recurrence of stages I and II breast cancer. The researchers concluded, “Our results indicate that increased consumption of green tea prior to clinical cancer onset is significantly associated with improved prognosis of stage I and II breast cancer.”
In a study published in 1998, Japanese researchers investigated the effects of drinking green tea on the progression of breast cancer. The study involved 472 patients with stage I, II, and III breast cancer. The results showed that increased consumption of green tea was linked to a decrease in the spread of breast cancer in premenopausal women. In a follow-up study, the researchers found that increased consumption of green tea was correlated with decreased recurrence of stage I and II breast cancer.
…women who regularly drank black tea, on the other hand, didn’t have a reduction in their breast cancer risk. The good news is that this study revealed that you don’t need to drink buckets full of green tea to benefit from it. The best green tea comes from the Shizuoka area in Japan; it grows organically and has no additives.