[200wannabe]

Im not worried by this, but food for thought...


United Press International

Thursday, March 10, 2005


UNIVERSITY, Miss., Mar 09, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A University of Mississippi study said Wednesday that supplements made from concentrated tea extract may help certain tumors survive and grow.

The study, published in a recent issue of the Journal of Natural Products, examined the effect of high doses of the active ingredients in green tea extract on hypoxia-inducible factor-1, a key regulator of how tumor cells adapt to low-oxygen conditions. The scientists found the large doses of the suppliments, meant to prevent and fight cancer, may actually help the tumors survive.

"Drinking green tea still is good for you," said Yu-Dong Zhou, lead study author and molecular biologist at the university's National Center for Natural Products Research. "There are thousands of years of evidence on that, but the idea of taking the equivalent of hundreds of cups of tea a day is something that needs to be looked at carefully."

[CEDeoudes59]

hmmm... I drink the tea, and swallow the pills too.

[insectgod]

Say goodbye to green tea extract. The potential lawsuits will take it off the market, and the FDA will probably ban it if someone dies from cancer who used the product.

Maybe they'll ban green tea altogether, which would be a disastrous interference in personal dietary matters. I almost wish they would do something stupid like this, maybe the public outcry would wake a few people up to the huge amount of power un-elected agencies working on behalf of our government wield over our daily lives.

[houseman]

I'd like to see the actual study.

I am tired of publication this-and-that saying that a study shows X and Y. Include the ****ing study so we can see for ourselves how the conclusions are arrived at and what context the study was conducted in.

[BodyWizard]

Originally Posted by insectgod

Say goodbye to green tea extract. The potential lawsuits will take it off the market, and the FDA will probably ban it if someone dies from cancer who used the product.

Depends on who's making the money - if enough big boys are involved, it'll stay on the market no matter how many it killed (remember tobacco?)...any "ban" would be in place only long enough for the usual suspects to get in the driver's seat. They will then release an "approved", "safe", semi-pharmaceutical cash-cow version.

[insectgod]

Originally Posted by BodyWizard

Depends on who's making the money - if enough big boys are involved, it'll stay on the market no matter how many it killed (remember tobacco?)...any "ban" would be in place only long enough for the usual suspects to get in the driver's seat. They will then release an "approved", "safe", semi-pharmaceutical cash-cow version.

And while I agree with you in principle, it is green tea we're talking about here. I think it would be pretty difficult to patent its extracts.

Personally, I think all 'drugs' should be available on the market no matter how many people they kill. As long as I am made aware of the risks, then I have no one to blame but myself when I off myself. If a lot of people believe that such and such product will likely kill them, they probably won't buy it. Take tobacco for instance. I was aware of the risks, yet I smoked for 18 years without much noticeable negative effect. Then, a few years ago, I found out that it was having an immediate, life-threatening effect on my health, and I quit the next day. You couldn't pay me to smoke now. The number of smokers has dropped drastically in the past decade. Notable that the only demographic that has increased is teenagers! Stupid kids! That was when I started smoking, when I was a stupid kid of 14...

Things like tobacco increase the risk of certain outcomes, but it is not certain in all cases. The best solution would be less legislation and more market awareness.

What do you wanna bet that when this study hits Big Media next month (they are SO up to date) that there are huge price drop offs of regular green tea! I almost hope so, then I can capitalize on that market and stock up a couple months worth of boxes! I drink about a gallon of the stuff every day.

[mtruther]

...,but the idea of taking the equivalent of hundreds of cups of tea a day is something that needs to be looked at carefully."

Who does this? That's like a kabillion caps unless you guys are somehow compacting that tea a heck of a lot more than I've been able to.

[rrgg]

The timing of this article is just perfect. Scientists also just announced positive findings about ECGC in green tea.

[dontknowaboutme]

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 activation by (-)-epicatechin gallate: potential adverse effects of cancer chemoprevention with high-dose green tea extracts.

* Zhou YD,
* Kim YP,
* Li XC,
* Baerson SR,
* Agarwal AK,
* Hodges TW,
* Ferreira D,
* Nagle DG.

National Center for Natural Products Research and Department of Pharmacognosy, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 1848, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677, USA. ydzhou@olemiss.edu

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a transcription factor that induces oxygen-regulated genes in response to reduced oxygen conditions (hypoxia). Expression of the oxygen-regulated HIF-1alpha subunit correlates positively with advanced disease stages and poor prognosis in cancer patients. Green tea catechins are believed to be responsible for the cancer chemopreventive activities of green tea. We found that (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG, 1), one of the major green tea catechins, strongly activates HIF-1 in T47D human breast carcinoma cells. Among the green tea catechins tested, 1 demonstrated the strongest HIF-1-inducing activity, while (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG, 2) was significantly less active. However, 2 is relatively unstable in the in vitro system studied. Compound 1 also increases the expression of HIF-1 target genes including GLUT-1, VEGF, and CDKN1A. In T47D cells, 1 induces nuclear HIF-1alpha protein without affecting HIF-1alpha mRNA. Both the induction of HIF-1alpha protein and activation of HIF-1 by 1 can be blocked by iron and ascorbate, indicating that 1 may activate HIF-1 through the chelation of iron. These results suggest that intended cancer chemoprevention with high-dose green tea extracts may be compromised, by the ability of tea catechins to promote tumor cell survival pathways associated with HIF-1 activation.

Still can't find the dosages used. But most antioxidants can have negative effects when mega dosed. As the saying goes, "too much of anything is bad".

Also of interest that was not mentioned in most of the news articles:

Both the induction of HIF-1alpha protein and activation of HIF-1 by 1 can be blocked by iron and ascorbate, indicating that 1 may activate HIF-1 through the chelation of iron.

[somewhatgifted]

Green tea

Points for and against

-1 +2938

I'll keep drinking my tea until a study comes out proving another tea, tastes better, has better antioxidant qualities, better ecgc content, and is cheaper. wont happen so im safe to keep on sippin. I'll pour out a lil for the ones implicated negatively.

[somewhatgifted]

Well actually white tea which is a less processed younger leaf of green tea is better but i drink both and sometimes mix them.

[dontknowaboutme]

Originally Posted by somewhatgifted

Green tea

Points for and against

-1 +2938

I'll keep drinking my tea until a study comes out proving another tea, tastes better, has better antioxidant qualities, better ecgc content, and is cheaper. wont happen so im safe to keep on sippin. I'll pour out a lil for the ones implicated negatively.

Well said, couldn't agree more with your comments or your avatar.