New research, the first study linking high dietary amounts of mushrooms and green teas to breast cancer risk, finds that women who had plenty of these foods as part of their diets seem to have a lower risk of developing this type of cancer. This study seems to add to weight to the others that show green tea side effects can be beneficial.
The mushrooms could be fresh or dried; though the tea is not the same type we commonly drink in the West.
It’s well known that breast cancer rates in China are 4 to 5 times lower than those in developed countries.
The traditional Chinese diet does include large quantities of both mushrooms and green tea and may be one of the reasons behind China’s lower breast cancer incidence, this according to lead study author Dr. Min Zhang of the University of Western Australia in Perth.
Sadly, even China’s lowered rate of breast cancer has been climbing over the past few decades in more affluent areas of the country.
The latest research involved just over 2,000 Chinese women - half were breast cancer patients aged 20-87, the other half were age matched healthy control subjects who’d been recruited from clinics in the southeastern Chinese city of Hangzhou between July 2004 and September 2005.
Besides having a confirmation of the subject’s physical status, the women were interviewed face-to-face about the frequency and quantity of mushrooms and tea consumption in their diet, other usual eating habits and lifestyle factors were also collected using a validated, reliable questionnaire.
While the study doesn’t prove cause and effect, it does present some interesting results.
Overall, the team found that women who ate 10 grams (about one button mushroom) or more of fresh mushrooms a day were about two thirds less likely to develop breast cancer than those subjects who didn’t eat mushrooms.
Women who ate 4 grams or more of dried mushrooms per day had half the cancer risk.
Green tea drinkers consumed beverages that included 1.05 g or more dried green tea leaves per day.
A mushroom eater who also drank green tea had an 82% to 89% reduced risk of getting breast cancer when compared to women who didn’t drink green tea or eat mushrooms.
In addition to lowering breast cancer risk, green tea and mushrooms also reduced the malignancy of any cancer that did form, the team found.
“The risk of breast cancer significantly declined with the highest intake of dietary mushrooms,” says Zhang. The good news is that either fresh or dried mushrooms are equally effective.
The team also accounted for risk factors for breast cancer like weight, education level and the amount of exercise they did even if they smoked or not.
While it’s too early to assume these foods will protect against cancer, it is a possibility.
Lab work has shown that mushroom extracts have anti tumor properties and may even stimulate our immune systems’ cancer defenses.
Green tea is known to be loaded with antioxidant compounds called polyphenols that have shown themselves helpful in fighting breast tumors in animal studies.
So, if you’re concerned about cancer it may prove worthwhile adding these two food items to your diet. So, as well as enjoying the refreshing taste of green tea, you also get the green tea side effects of potentially reducing your cancer risk.
Next just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information on green tea side effects and benefits, plus get 5 free fantastic health reports.
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