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# Green tea prevents colorectal cancer
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/green_tea_prevents_colorectal_cancer_0823110120/
- Published: 2011-08-23T14:18:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:44:11.000Z
- Description: Following 60,567 Shanghai men aged 40 to 74 for five years, researchers found green tea drinkers 46% less likely to develop colorectal cancer than non-drinkers, with each extra two grams of dry leaves tied to 12% lower risk. The benefit did not show up among smokers.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Cancer, Avoiding Illness, Colon Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Green Tea, Rectal Cancer, #vivvo-import

By David Liu, Ph.D.

Tuesda, AUg 23, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- Drinking green tea, which is more popular in Asia may help reduce risk of colorectal cancer in men, a new study in the Aug 19, 2011 issue of Carcinogenesis suggests.

The study found men drinking green tea were 46 percent less like to suffer colorectal cancer, compared with those who did not drink.

For the study, Gong Yang of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and colleagues followed 60,567 men aged 40 to 74 for five years during which 243 cases of colorectal cancer were identified. The participants were enrolled in the Shanghai Men's Health Study.

The researchers found drinking green tea and risk of colorectal cancer were inversely associated, meaning high intake of green tea was linked with lower risk of colorectal cancer.

Green tea has been demonstrated in lab and animal studies to have anti-cancer properties. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the main ingredient in green tea was found to promote apoptosis, programmed deaths of cells, which is missing in cancer tumor, according to Dr. C.S. Yang, cancer researcher at Rutgers University.

The current study also quantified the effect of green tea on colorectal cancer risk, intake of additional two grams of dry green tea leaves was correlated with a 12-percent reduction in the risk.

But these green tea benefits were not found among smokers.

Previous studies have linked drinking green tea or extract to enhanced weight loss and reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease or dementia, heart disease, thyroid cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, prostate cancer , glaucoma and breast cancer. It is also linked to boosted immunity, better vision, , lowered cholesterol and blood pressures.

Colorectal cancer includes colon cancer and rectal cancer. Colon cancer is diagnosed in 101,000 men and women and rectal cancer is found in 40,000 men and women in the U.S. each year. The disease kills about 50,000 annually, according to cancer.gov.