Why do people living in Asia have lower heart disease and lung cancer rates than would be expected, given their level of smoking?
Asian Paradox
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
“What’s so special about green tea?” asked my medical alma mater in their health and nutrition letter. Well, in just the last 12 months, we’ve learned two cups a day may drop our stroke risk 70%; may halve our risk of dying from pneumonia; and, keep us from losing our teeth. Three cups a day, started six weeks before pollen season, significantly reduces allergy symptoms. And four cups a day may decrease our risk of diabetes—in part because tea may be useful in the prevention of obesity.
Considered nature’s defense against malignancies, at least according to Dr. Butt. And it may even help if we’re bitten by a venomous snake. Can your coffee do all that?
According to the head of Tufts’ antioxidant research laboratory, we can think of tea as a plant food, much like fruits and vegetables. In fact, green tea may explain the so-called Asian paradox: why do people in Asian countries, where smoking remains more popular, suffer heart disease and lung cancer at the same rate as Americans? The phytonutrients in green tea may be partly responsible, by maintaining artery function, inhibiting clots, and blocking tumor growth.
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- “What’s So Special About Green Tea?” Special Report. Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter. February 2010.
- W. Liang, A. H. Lee, C. W. Binns, R. Huang, D. Hu, and Q. Zhou. Tea consumption and ischemic stroke risk: A case-control study in southern china. Stroke, 40(7):2480-2485, 2009.
- I. Watanabe, S. Kuriyama, M. Kakizaki, T. Sone, K. Ohmori-Matsuda, N. Nakaya, A. Hozawa, and I. Tsuji. Green tea and death from pneumonia in Japan: the Ohsaki cohort study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 90(3):672-679, 2009.
- Y. Koyama, S. Kuriyama, J. Aida, T. Sone, N. Nakaya, K. Ohmori-Matsuda, A. Hozawa, and I. Tsuji. Association between green tea consumption and tooth loss: cross-sectional results from the Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study. Prev Med, 50(4):173-179, 2010.
- The efficacy of early treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis with benifuuki green tea containing O-methylated catechin before pollen exposure: an open randomized study. M. Maeda-Yamamoto, K. Ema, M. Monoba, I. Shibuichi, Y. Shinoda, T. Yamamoto, T. Fujisawa. Allergology international. 2009; 58:437-444.
- Y. Jing, G. Han, Y. Hu, Y. Bi, L. Li, and D. Zhu. Tea Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies. J Gen Intern Med, 24(5):557-562, 2009.
- K. A. Grove and J. D. Lambert. Laboratory, Epidemiological, and Human Intervention Studies Show That Tea (Camellia sinensis) May Be Useful in the Prevention of Obesity. J. Nutr., 140(3):446{453, 2010.
- M. S. Butt and M. T. Sultan. Green tea: nature's defense against malignancies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 49(5):463{473, 2009
- P. Pithayanukul, J. Leanpolchareanchai, and R. Bavovada. Inhibitory effect of tea polyphenols on local tissue damage induced by snake venoms. Phytother Res, 24 - Suppl - 1:56, 2010.
Image thanks to Alain Limoges via flickr
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
“What’s so special about green tea?” asked my medical alma mater in their health and nutrition letter. Well, in just the last 12 months, we’ve learned two cups a day may drop our stroke risk 70%; may halve our risk of dying from pneumonia; and, keep us from losing our teeth. Three cups a day, started six weeks before pollen season, significantly reduces allergy symptoms. And four cups a day may decrease our risk of diabetes—in part because tea may be useful in the prevention of obesity.
Considered nature’s defense against malignancies, at least according to Dr. Butt. And it may even help if we’re bitten by a venomous snake. Can your coffee do all that?
According to the head of Tufts’ antioxidant research laboratory, we can think of tea as a plant food, much like fruits and vegetables. In fact, green tea may explain the so-called Asian paradox: why do people in Asian countries, where smoking remains more popular, suffer heart disease and lung cancer at the same rate as Americans? The phytonutrients in green tea may be partly responsible, by maintaining artery function, inhibiting clots, and blocking tumor growth.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- “What’s So Special About Green Tea?” Special Report. Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter. February 2010.
- W. Liang, A. H. Lee, C. W. Binns, R. Huang, D. Hu, and Q. Zhou. Tea consumption and ischemic stroke risk: A case-control study in southern china. Stroke, 40(7):2480-2485, 2009.
- I. Watanabe, S. Kuriyama, M. Kakizaki, T. Sone, K. Ohmori-Matsuda, N. Nakaya, A. Hozawa, and I. Tsuji. Green tea and death from pneumonia in Japan: the Ohsaki cohort study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 90(3):672-679, 2009.
- Y. Koyama, S. Kuriyama, J. Aida, T. Sone, N. Nakaya, K. Ohmori-Matsuda, A. Hozawa, and I. Tsuji. Association between green tea consumption and tooth loss: cross-sectional results from the Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study. Prev Med, 50(4):173-179, 2010.
- The efficacy of early treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis with benifuuki green tea containing O-methylated catechin before pollen exposure: an open randomized study. M. Maeda-Yamamoto, K. Ema, M. Monoba, I. Shibuichi, Y. Shinoda, T. Yamamoto, T. Fujisawa. Allergology international. 2009; 58:437-444.
- Y. Jing, G. Han, Y. Hu, Y. Bi, L. Li, and D. Zhu. Tea Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies. J Gen Intern Med, 24(5):557-562, 2009.
- K. A. Grove and J. D. Lambert. Laboratory, Epidemiological, and Human Intervention Studies Show That Tea (Camellia sinensis) May Be Useful in the Prevention of Obesity. J. Nutr., 140(3):446{453, 2010.
- M. S. Butt and M. T. Sultan. Green tea: nature's defense against malignancies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 49(5):463{473, 2009
- P. Pithayanukul, J. Leanpolchareanchai, and R. Bavovada. Inhibitory effect of tea polyphenols on local tissue damage induced by snake venoms. Phytother Res, 24 - Suppl - 1:56, 2010.
Image thanks to Alain Limoges via flickr
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Title
Asian Paradox
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
Check out these videos on the benefits of drinking green tea:
Cancer, Interrupted: Green Tea
Better than Green Tea?
Antimutagenic Activity of Green vs. White Tea
Why Do Asian Women Have Less Breast Cancer?
And check out my other videos on green tea.
For more context, also see my associated blog posts: Why Less Breast Cancer in Asia? and The Best Way to Prevent the Common Cold?
If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.
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