Drinking Tea may Stave Off Bile Stones and Cancer
(NY, Reuters Health, 7/7/06)

Dr. Ann W. Hsing, of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, and team conducted a study on people living in China to determine the effect of tea drinking on the risk of biliary tract cancers and that of bile stones, which form in the ducts between the liver and small intestine  The investigators examined data from 627 patients with biliary tract cancer, 1,037 with biliary stones and 959 control subjects, comparing demographic, medical and dietary factors. The researchers found that subjects, especially women, who drank at least one cup of tea daily for 6 months or more had a reduced risk of both bile stones and gallbladder cancer. Scientists speculate that natural chemicals in tea may protect against these medical conditions by blocking abnormal cell growth and preventing inflammation.

(International Journal of Cancer, June 2006)