Brassica Tea and BroccoSprouts

This is a summary from the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, Feb 2010 (accessible at www.tuftshealthletter.com via subscription):

What’s so special about green tea?

Jeffrey B. Blumberg, PhD, director of Tufts’ HNRCA Antioxidants Research Laboratory reports in the Feb 2010 Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, “As investigators continue to study the multiple effects that tea has on human health, more research supports tea’s potential in helping reduce the incidence of major
diseases,” he says. “In some respects, it is good to think of tea as a plant food, much like fruits and vegetables.”

Blumberg continues to say that “Observational studies in Asia show benefits of green tea and observational studies in the US, UK and the Netherlands show benefits of black tea.” But, herbal tea is not included in such research showing benefits against chronic disease, according to Blumberg.

The newsletter continues: “Yale University scientists have suggested that green tea might be the explanation for the so-called ‘Asian paradox’: Why don’t people in Asian countries, where smoking remains more popular than in the US, consistently suffer heart disease and lung cancer at the same rate as Americans? The flavonoids in green tea, researchers suggest, may be partly responsible by maintaining artery function, inhibiting clots and blocking tumor growth.

“Taken altogether, the evidence certainly suggests that incorporating at least a few cups of green tea every day will positively affect your health,” says Diane L. McKay, PhD, another scientist at Tufts’ Antioxidants Research Laboratory who’s studied tea. “It’s not going to cure anything and shouldn’t be consumed as a drug, but it can complement an overall healthy diet.”

Share on Facebook

Filed under: SGS on March 3rd, 2010