Drinking green tea may counter the effects of smoking on lung cancer, a study in Taiwan found.
Researchers found for both smokers and non-smokers that those who didn't drink green tea had a fivefold greater risk of lung cancer than people who drank at least one cup a day. Smokers who didn't consume any had a 13-fold higher risk of the cancer compared with smokers who drank at least one cup.
The study, presented yesterday at a medical meeting in Coronado, California, may yield clues about how some chemicals in green tea could be used to thwart the formation of lung tumors. Cancer of the lung is the leading cause of all cancer deaths in Taiwan, said I-Hsin Lin, who wrote the study as her masters thesis at Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung city.
The study surveyed more than 500 people, including 170 with lung cancer, for their smoking habits, green tea consumption and other diet, lifestyle and medical factors. (Source: Jason Gale, Business Week, Jan 12, 2010).