Ginger, Tea May Fight Cancer, Studies Show
(Washington, Reuters Health, 10/28/03)

Researchers speaking to a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research explained how they are seeking ways to lower cancer risk. Ann Bode and Zigang Dong of the University of Minnesota described how they had infected special "tumor-growing" mice with human colon cancer cells. After 15 days, the researchers said, they had counted only 4 tumors in the group of mice fed gingerol, a ginger extract, as compared to 13 tumors in the control group.

Researchers at the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson assigned 118 heavy smokers to drink at least four cups of green or black tea daily. When the scientists measured 8-OHdG, a chemical which the body releases in response to DNA damage, they found that the subjects who drank decaffeinated green tea for four months had a 31% drop in 8-OhdG, which suggests that the tea may have reduced the damage induced by the smoking. On the other hand, the subjects drinking black tea had no reduction.