Breast cancer risk reduced by green tea, mushrooms

For the last several years, the benefits of green tea have been touted all over the air waves; the Wall Street Journal refers to the tea as an “herbal panacea” that lowers rates of cardiovascular disease, and lung, stomach and esophageal cancers. The polyphenols that are prolific in green tea are powerful antioxidants that limit the proliferation of cancer cells in laboratory animals.

Another “power food” is the mushroom. According to the online journal “Vegetarianism and Vegetarian Nutrition,” studies have linked mushrooms to lower incidents of prostrate cancer. Selenium, which is plentiful in mushrooms, is a powerful antioxidant that works together with Vitamin E to protect cells from free radicals.

And, apparently, the synergy of green tea and mushrooms combined may have newly discovered health benefits.

Mushrooms and green tea, especially in tandem, significantly reduce breast cancer risk. According to The International Journal of Cancer, results are in from a study performed by the University of Western Australia and the Zhejiang School of Medicine.

The research was done in China, where women are 5 times less likely to contract breast cancer than they are in westernized countries. Two groups of women were tested: one group of 1009 women who were confirmed to have breast cancer, and a control group of 1009 healthy, Chinese women.

Those who consumed the most mushrooms were two thirds less likely to develop breast cancer. In fact, scientists discovered that consuming only 10 grams (less than one button) of mushrooms can help fend off the disease, while 4 grams or more of dried mushrooms is beneficial. Those who consumed dried mushrooms were 56% less likely to develop breast cancer.

Additionally, those who appear to have warded off the disease even more successfully were those who ate mushrooms and drank and least 1.05 grams of dried green tea leaves per day. The Australian/Chinese study confirms what researchers have long touted regarding green tea, while shedding light on the benefits of fresh and dried mushrooms.

(By Rachel Stockton, and edited by Heather Kelley)