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Tea is not only a drink. It’s the world’s best and tastiest panacea available in thousands of flavors, shapes and colors. Camellia sinensis, a plant used for making all real tea has a few dozen of different benefits including treatment and prevention of cancer and virtually zero side-effects. Or, does it? Is there truth is in these statements?

How tea became a cure

A few decades ago, when flavorful tea blends started appearing in the western market, health claims started appearing too. Each type was said to have a power of treating different health conditions. Even though the same tea was usually used as a base, one green tea blend was great for high blood pressure, and the other was perfect for treating diabetes. Third one was capable of curing cancer.

Legend says that tea was discovered 5000 years ago by a Chinese emperor Shen Nong. Shen Nong was not only an emperor, but a father of Traditional Chinese Medicine too. His transparent body gave him a unique opportunity to see how different herbs will affect his health and internal organs. One day, when he was asleep under the tea tree, one leaf fell into his cup. And so the tea was born.

Tea was always considered a very healthy drink. However, do all tea types and blends have the same benefits? Can they really make a difference?

Should you turn to alternative treatments?

WHO reports that cancer is a second leading cause of death worldwide[1]. There are over 120 types of cancer, and every person requires special care, approach and knowledge to get the best care and treatment. All treatments, alternative or not, may or may not give positive results. That’s why it’s important to seek professional medical help, instead of trying to treat yourself with alternative methods. They may, and may not work. However, including healthy ingredients such as tea, under the assumption your doctor concludes they will not interfere with the treatment you are receiving, can be a good option to enhance the quality of life and even the primary treatment.

What scientists say about tea and cancer?

Tea and cancer have been a subject of many scientific studies. Although every research is different and there is little uniformity in methods and tea samples, scientists have a very bright outlook on the role of tea in cancer prevention and treatments. All tea made from Camellia sinensis contains antioxidants. EGCg, an antioxidant found in green tea has the most potential in helping combat different health issues.

Many studies showed that tea might be a good anticancer agent,[2] for preventing, treating and reducing side-effects of drugs used for primary treatment. In fact, the American Institute for Cancer Research lists tea under the foods that fight cancer[3].  In treatment, tea might be beneficial even in later stages of cancer. EGCg proved to influence metastasis of skin, prostate, breast, lung, liver and gastrointestinal cancers[4].

Is it safe to drink tea if you are on chemotherapy?

Tea, especially green, is a great addition to a healthy diet and might even enhance the standard treatments and reverse the side-effects to chemotherapy[5]. However, the last thing you want to do is cause resistance or make side effects worse. A study in China showed that cancer of one patient progressed when he was drinking tea, and regressed when he stopped[6]. Because all chemotherapy treatments are different, tea might block the effect of some of them[7].

The danger of tea blends

If you are buying blends rather than pure loose leaf tea, check the ingredient list and ask your oncologist what can interfere with chemotherapy drugs. Some blends on the market are supposed to help with reliving symptoms and boosting immune system. They often include a lot of ingredients, but that doesn’t mean they are safe. Every drug is different, so check twice. If your doctor agrees, drinking green tea could be a good way to boost energy, potentially help with cancer treatment and help fight side-effect.

Where is the catch?

All real tea is healthy and contains similar substances, but in different amounts. That’s why all tea will offer the same benefits, but with some teas results may be visible, and in some negligible.

For tea to be effective, firstly, it would need to have a specific amount of EGCg. Because all studies use very different samples, dosage, and even study subjects to determine the effectiveness of tea, the amount is very unclear. Next, if one substance works in a controlled environment on mice, there is no guarantee it will work on people. All tea is different, and unless talking about pure EGCg extract, it’s impossible to know how much EGCg is in each tea.

500 mg of EGCg per day could be safe, which would be an equivalent of 3-6 cups of tea per day. A cup of green tea has around 10-120 mg of EGCg. 5 cups of low EGCg tea will give nowhere near as much EGCg as only a cup of high EGCg tea. Teas with the most EGCg per gram of dry leaf are usually steamed and shaded ones with smaller younger leaves, like sencha and gyokuro, and even Indian and Chinese steamed teas. Tea with the most EGCg per cup is matcha, because EGCg from matcha doesn’t need to be extracted into water. Loose leaf tea usually contains much more beneficial compounds than tea in bags.

If you are thinking of taking supplements instead, be aware. All cases of green tea overdose are linked to supplementation. Supplements may cause severe liver and kidney damage.

EGCg is best extracted with hot water, above 70 degrees Celsius and with longer steeping time. However, longer infusion time and hot water will cause bitter tea. Use suggested temperatures instead, and re-brew same leaves 2-3 times.

Disclaimer

Tea has a lot of proven health benefits, but you should never self-treat any condition, especially serious ones. Depending solely on tea to improve your condition is may even result in your health worsening.

Sources

[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5383982/

[3] https://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/Tea.html

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142888/

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5188417/

[6] http://blockmd.com/2014/04/30/matcha-tea-and-chemotherapy/

[7] https://news.usc.edu/14190/Green-tea-blocks-benefits-of-cancer-drug-study-finds/