The bioflavinoid known as catechin is the chemical compound in tea that is reputed to fight cancer and kill bacteria and viruses. Tokyo s National Cancer Institute s research showed a much lower rate of chemical-induced duodenal cancer in mice that were given green tea extract. Not only is green tea reputed to prevent cancer, it may shrink existing cancers and stop their spread to other parts of the body. Evidence about green tea s amazing health enhancing properties remained anecdotal until the 1970s when epidemiological studies showed lower cancer rates in residents of Shizouka Prefecture in Japan, an area where green tea is grown and consumed in large quantities. Researchers found that the Japanese in this region had a low death rate from cancer.
Some scientists believe that green tea fights cancer by making cancer causing agents less toxic.
Green tea may also keep cancer cells from attaching themselves to healthy tissue. The antioxidants in green tea are said to gobble up free radicals, which are often a factor in cancer growth. Because green tea acts as a blood thinner, it may inhibit the clumping together of blood platelets that are a factor in cholesterol formation inside blood vessels. Green tea achieves this valuable health benefit by reducing the tendency of blood cells to stick to artery walls and create clumps that can narrow blood vessels. Studies in Norway, Israel and Japan confirm that tea drinkers have lower cholesterol and fewer deaths compared with control groups who do not consume tea.