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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