Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death due to cancer. Among women worldwide, breast cancer is the most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer death. In 2006, breast cancer caused 600,000 deaths. Women in the U. S. have a 1 in 8 lifetime chance of developing invasive which means around 13% of women can develop breast cancer.

While it may not be possible to pinpoint the various risk factors for breast cancer and avoid them certain steps can surely be taken.

Drinking green tea may help protect women from developing breast cancer. This is a gospel from a study by researchers at the Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health. According to the statistics the incidence of breast cancer in regions where green tea is consumed in large quantities, notably China and Japan and India is much lower than in western societies.

There is strong evidence to suggests that Green tea has been consumed for almost 6000 years, with India and China being two of the main countries to cultivate it. Green tea has been used as traditional medicine in India, China, Japan and Thailand to help everything from controlling bleeding and helping heal wounds to regulating body temperature, blood sugar and promoting digestion.

Green tea is accredited with a wide variety of health benefits. One important effect that green tea seems to have is to fight and/or prevent breast cancer. Green Tea contains EGCG (epigallo catechin gallate) one of the most powerful antioxidant of the polyphenol family.

When it comes to treatment and prevention of breast cancer , it's the polyphenol antioxidants that are important. Green tea has the highest bioavailable amounts of these antioxidants. Of all the different polyphenols. EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) is a very powerful antioxidant and is believed to be an important player in the cancer preventing and fighting qualities of green tea. How it works is still unclear, but it may inhibit cell replication enzymes (preventing cancer growth) as well as other cellular processes.

In various studies, rats with breast tumors were given green tea to drink and compared to similar rats that only drank water. The green-tea-rats had reductions in tumor size, and new tumors were slower to develop. Japanese scientists of the Saitama Cancer Research Institute have done considerable study of the delay of breast cancer onset with the consumption of Green Tea. The study shows that early stage breast cancer spreads less rapidly in women with a history of green tea consumption. As a result, there is a lower recurrence rate and a longer disease free period.

Although it remains to be proven conclusively that green tea by itself will prevent/slow breast cancer, it may prove beneficial when used in combination with other life style changes.