Nutraceuticals and nootropics for anti-aging

Tea polyphenols score against prostate cancer, leukemia

Both green and black tea are of great interest to cancer researchers because of their anti-cancer effects. A variety of different cancers have been shown to be sensitive to ‘polyphenol’ compounds found in tea, and epidemiological studies have shown heavy tea-drinking to be correlated with lower cancer incidence.

Among the most active tea polyphenols is EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) [EP-i-GAL-o-KAT-eh-kin GAL-ate]. In recent work at the University of California at Los Angeles, researchers studied prostate tissue from men who drank five cups per day of black tea or green tea for five days before prostate surgery. It was found that EGCG had accumulated in the prostatic tissue, and that prostate cancer cells in this tissue grew and reproduced more slowly.

Link to news reports of the study:

Tea a Promising Prostate Cancer Fighter

Tea Slows Prostate Cancer

Tea can slow growth of prostate cancer.

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Another recent study of tissue samples from patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) revealed that EGCG interrupts the communication signals needed by cancer cells to survive. CLL is a common white-blood-cell cancer that usually strikes people in their 60s and currently has no cure.

Link to news article:

Green tea fights killer disease

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LifeLink carries an EGCG supplement called Green Tea Rx — an extract of green tea. Each capsule contains 133 mg of EGCG plus about 300 mg of other polyphenols.