3 Rosemary is therefore a great way to spice up your food and live the adage to let food be your medicine. If you are going to take a rosemary supplement, it would be wise to choose one that is standardized to carnosic acid and carnosol to ensure you are getting that free radical-quenching activity. Epidemiological studies suggest a protective effect of green tea against a variety of cancers, including colon cancer. The way this works is not exactly clear, but there is some evidence to suggest some components in tea have a direct effect on the digestive tract. Green tea contains polyphenols and a specific family called catechins.
Individual catechins have names like epicatechin and epigallocatechin gallate.
It appears that most of the benefits of tea can be attributed to these catechins. A study on human volunteers suggested that these catechins increase lactic acid bacteria and decrease putrefactive bacteria in the gut while lowering the intestinal pH. 4 A similar effect has been found in animal studies. 5 Lactic acid-producing bacteria include lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, gut dwellers with many beneficial effects. Putrefactive bacteria, such as clostridia and enterobacteriaceae, generally appear to have some negative effects. Changing the balance of these bacteria is probably at least one reason green tea appears protective against colon cancer.