The Evidence
For those of you who are interested in the scientific research, there is a lot available. We have reproduced below a non exhaustive list of a selection of research with a focus on the cancer fighting properties of tea. Although for fans of 'Thinny Tea' we list at the end, some of the research into Pu-Errh tea also.
You can 'google' the authors or the titles and generally you'll find the piece of research. 'Goolge scholar' is particularly good for find research papers. http://scholar.google.co.uk/
For some less academic articles click here
1 Hakim IA, Harris RB, Brown S, Chow HH, Wiseman S, Agarwal S, Talbot W. Effect of increased tea consumption on oxidative DNA damage among smokers: a randomized controlled study. J Nutr. 2003 Oct;133(10):3303S-3309S.
2 Roy M, Chakrabarty S, Sinha D, Bhattacharya RK, Siddiqi M. Anticlastogenic, antigenotoxic and apoptotic activity of epigallocatechin gallate: a green tea polyphenol. Mutat Res 2003;523-524:33-41.
3 Su LJ, Arab L. Tea consumption and the reduced risk of colon cancer -- results from a national prospective cohort study. Public Health Nutr. 2002 Jun;5(3):419-25.
4 Arts IC, Jacobs DR Jr, Gross M, Harnack LJ, Folsom AR. Dietary catechins and cancer incidence among postmenopausal women: the Iowa Women's Health Study (United States). Cancer Causes Control. 2002 May;13(4):373-82.
5 Zheng W, Doyle TJ, Kushi LH, et al. Tea consumption and cancer incidence in a prospective cohort study of postmenopausal women. Am J Epidemiol 1996;144:175-81.
6 Sun CL, Yuan JM, Lee MJ, Yang CS, Gao YT, Ross RK, Yu MC. Urinary tea polyphenols in relation to gastric and esophageal cancers: a prospective study of men in Shanghai, China. Carcinogenesis 2002;23(9):1497-1503.
7 Ji BT, Chow WH, Hsing AW, McLaughlin JK, Dai Q, Gao YT, Blot WJ, Fraumeni JF Jr. \Green tea consumption and the risk of pancreatic and colorectal cancers. Int J Cancer. 1997 Jan 27;70(3):255-8.
8 Ohishi T, Kishimoto Y, Miura N, Shiota G, Kohri T, Hara Y, Hasegawa J, Isemura M. Synergistic effects of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate with sulindac against colon carcinogenesis of rats treated with azoxymethane. Cancer Lett. 2002 Mar 8;177(1):49-56.
9 Isemura M, Saeki K, Kimura T, Hayakawa S, Minami T, Sazuka M. Tea catechins and related polyphenols as anti-cancer agents. Biofactors. 2000;13(1-4):81-5.
10 Kuo PL, Lin CC. Green tea constituent (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits Hep G2 cell proliferation and induces apoptosis through p53-dependent and Fas-mediated pathways. J Biomed Sci 2003;10(2):219-27.
11 Hakim IA, Harris RB, Weisgerber UM. Tea intake and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: influence of type of tea beverages. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2000 Jul;9(7):727-31.
12 Lu YP, Lou YR, Lin Y, Shih WJ, Huang MT, Yang CS, Conney AH. Inhibitory effects of orally administered green tea, black tea, and caffeine on skin carcinogenesis in mice previously treated with ultraviolet B light (high-risk mice): relationship to decreased tissue fat. Cancer Res 2001 Jul 1;61(13):5002-9.
13 Ahmad N, Mukhtar H. Cutaneous photochemoprotection by green tea: a brief review. Skin Pharmacol Appl Skin Physiol. 2001 Mar-Apr;14(2):69-76.
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14 Zhang M, Binns CW, Lee AH. Tea consumption and ovarian cancer risk: a case-control study in China. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2002;11(8):713-8.
15 Ahn S, Huh SW, Bae SM, Lee IP, Lee JM, Namkoong SE, Kim CK, Sin JI. A major constituent of green tea, EGCG, inhibits the growth of a human cervical cancer cell line, CaSki cells, through apoptosis, G(1) arrest, and regulation of gene expression. DNA Cell Biol. 2003 Mar;22(3):217-24.
16. Adhami VM, Ahmad N, Mukhtar H. Molecular targets for green tea in prostate cancer prevention.
Journal of Nutrition. 2003 Jul;133(7 Suppl):2417S-2424S
17. Gupta S, Ahmad N, Mukhtar H. Prostate cancer chemoprevention by green tea.
Seminars in Urologic Oncology. 1999 May;17(2):70-6.
18. Shankar S, Ganapathy S, Srivastava RK. Green tea polyphenols: biology and therapeutic implications in cancer. Frontiers in Bioscience. 2007 Sep 1;12:4881-99.
19. Khan N, Mukhtar H. Multitargeted therapy of cancer by green tea polyphenols. Cancer Letters. 2008 Oct 8;269(2):269-80. Epub 2008 May 22.
20. Can-Lan Sun, Jian-Min Yuan, Woon-Puay Koh and Mimi C. Yu. Green tea, black tea and breast cancer risk: a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. Carcinogenesis vol.27 no.7 pp.1310–1315, 2006
21. Hakim I.A., Alsaif M.A., Alduwaihy M., Al-Rubeaan K., Al-Nuaim A.R., Al-Attas O.S., (2002), "Tea Consumption and the Prevalence of Coronary Heart Disease in Saudi Adults: Results from A Saudi National Study", Preventive Medicine
22. Chi-Hua Lua, Lucy Sun Hwang "Polyphenol contents of Pu-Erh teas and their abilities to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis in Hep G2 cell line", Food Chemistry, Vol. 111, No. 1, (Nov. 1, 2008), pp. 67-71.
23. Lin, Jen-Kun; Shoei-Yn Lin-Shiau (September 28, 2005). "Mechanisms of hypolipidemic and anti-obesity effects of tea and tea polyphenols". Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (Weinheim: WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA) 50 (2): 211–217. doi:10.1002/mnfr.200500138
