We have all seen those television adverts that tell us drinking Green Tea can prevent or even cure cancer. Are these claims actually true, although Green Tea naturally contains many antioxidants there is no real proof that it can or will help prevent cancer. But it does now appear that Green Tea can help prevent the risk of clot related strokes.

To prove this theory, a recent study conducted in Japan, by the Japanese government and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. Shinichi Kuriyama of Tohoku University. Dr. Kuriyama suggested that the Japanese are less likely than Americans to suffer from heart disease and stroke. This study is a bit more particular because of the large number of participants that were used for the study, 40,530.

Most of the studies that have been conducted to date regarding Green Tea have ended with conflicting results, even those studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute. Nonetheless, tea drinking is very common in Japanese culture so the research seems to refute criticisms of previous studies.

In America, those who drink Green Tea tend to be of a wealthier status and much more health conscious, where as in Japan, green tea is pretty much used in their staple diet. But there were a few factors that created certain results. The heavy tea drinkers in this Japanese study also tended to eat more vegetables and fruits which is a diet that reduces cardiovascular disease and cancer risks. Another major factor of the study that sets the Japanese apart from Americans, the Japanese are a lot less over weight than most Americans.

Women who drank five cups or Green Tea a day had a 31% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease in comparison to those women who drank one cup a day. Cardiovascular disease consists of heart disease and stroke, the number one killer for women in the U.S, as for the men the risk was reduced by 22%.

As mentioned, tea naturally contains antioxidants – it is a substance that keeps the (red & white) cells in your body healthy. There are more antioxidants in Green Tea than in black, there have been studies on animals that show that catechins (a type of antioxidant) seems to shrink cancerous tumors but not prevent them. Studies on humans have shown that tea can lower cholesterol and keep arteries clean.

The main problem with this study is it “points you in a direction” but is not totally conclusive in it's findings. The study itself seemed to have a few loop holes. From the 40,530 participants that took part in the study over the seven years, 1134 participants did die of cancer and 892 died from cardiovascular disease. This is really not too surprising since a major requirement for entry onto the study was being diagnosed with cancer or cardiovascular disease, or at least having the possibility of getting either.