According to researchers a meeting of experts at the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson, ginger, green tea and a Chinese herb may all help prevent the development of cancer.
The experimental findings - most coming from experiments on mice - do not yet merit a change in diet. But they do suggest there are some ways people may be able to further reduce their risk.
Scientists from the University of Minnesota used a ginger extract on mice infected with human colon cancer cells. The specially bred mice almost always grow tumours. But when fed extracts of gingerol, the substance that makes ginger spicy, fewer mice grew the tumours. After 15 days, they counted 13 tumours in mice fed normal diets compared to four tumours in mice fed the ginger extract before and after they were injected with tumour cells.
A second group tested the Chinese medicinal herb, Scutellaria barbata or Ban Zhi Lian.
The team at Union College in Nebraska found it slowed the growth of prostate tumours in mice.
In a third study, a team at the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson had 118 heavy smokers drink at least four cups a day of both green and black tea and measured a chemical called 8-OHdG, which the body releases in response to DNA damage like the kind that can cause cancer. Those who drank decaffeinated green tea for four months had a 31 percent reduction in 8-OHdG. Those who drank black tea had no reduction.
All research on this web site is the property of Leslie Beck Nutrition Consulting Inc. and is protected by copyright. Keep in mind that research on these matters continues daily and is subject to change. The information presented is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. It is intended to provide ongoing support of your healthy lifestyle practices.