Tea time
Black appears to be the new green. And I’m not talking about the upcoming fall fashions — I’m talking about tea.
In recent years green tea has gotten all the attention for its ability to help fight cancer, but now scientists in India have found that drinking black tea may be just as good as drinking green tea for oral cancer prevention.
Oral cancer often begins as precancerous lesions in the mouth called leukoplakia. Researchers found that after drinking black tea three times a day for a year, study participants had less mouth lesions and an improved appearance of the ones that remained. Tests also showed a decrease in micronuclei, which is used as a marker to indicate cancer risk, and less chromosome abnormalities in mouth cells.
The current study seems to be the first to show this effect for black tea. In 1998, study at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center showed green tea could slow the growth of precancerous mouth cells, but hadn’t examined the effect of black tea.
The difference between the two teas lies in the production process. Green tea leaves are lightly steamed and then dried, while black tea leaves are allowed to ferment before drying. This variation destroys a portion of the active compounds in black tea, but preserves it in green tea. The active compounds are a family of polyphenols, notably the potent antioxidant known as EGCg (epigallocatechin gallate).
In black tea the EGCg is converted into other compounds, which in the past have been compared unfavorably with those in green tea. It is only recently that the health benefits of black tea have garnered recognition.
So it looks like it won’t be long before drinking black tea will be the height of fashion, and good health.
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Parkinson’s news
Q: I read in a recent Health e-Tip that ovary removal can increase your risk of Parkinson’s disease. Since I have had a hysterectomy, this concerns me. What should a person do to prevent Parkinson’s disease, and if it happens, is there treatment?
JVW: You can cut your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by eliminating your exposure to synthetic, chemical pesticides. Granted, this may be hard to do since our society loves to have green lawns and no bugs, but a recent study indicated that even those with low levels of exposure (fewer than 30 days) increased their risk by 40 percent.
The study involved nearly 500 people with newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease and about the same number of individuals with no signs of illness. Those who had high levels of exposure, (defined as 160 days) increased their risk 70 percent. Given this information, it is just all around smarter to use the safe, natural alternatives available in every nursery, hardware, and home-and-garden store, like insecticidal soaps (made of fatty acids) orange oil, or mint oil.
There is other news on the Parkinson’s front. Researchers in Brazil have found that taking 30 milligrams of riboflavin every eight hours and eliminating red meat for six months increased patients’ functional motor capacity nearly 30 percent. The only side effect of this treatment was the usual bright yellow urine effect of the supplement.
The researchers found that riboflavin (or B12) deficiency was unanimous amongst the group of people they tested. Of the 31 patients that were tested, every single one had a B12 deficiency, despite their dietary sources being adequate.
Although the research did not explain why eliminating red meat was important, I’ve found that nearly all Parkinson’s disease patients have trouble digesting animal protein. After six months, red meat can gradually be added back into the diet and the riboflavin dosage can be increased to compensate. This approach should be combined with the entire B-complex to fully back-up the riboflavin. Consult a physician in natural medicine for more guidance.
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What is…leukoplakia?
A condition that causes raised white spots to appear on the mucous membranes of the mouth and tongue, leukoplakia is usually attributed to smoking. The spots or patches develop slowly and though sometimes harmless, can develop into a malignancy.
Yours in good health,
Amanda Ross
Editorial Director
Nutrition & Healing
Sources:
“Black tea (camellia sinensis) as a chemopreventive agent in oral precancerous lesions.” Journal of Environmental Pathology, Toxicology and Oncology 2005; 24(76):141-144
