Green tea blunts growth of prostate cancers

As you know, I love my tea green. This antioxidant-rich brew has scads of health benefits that have been known for centuries. And now there's news that suggests one more plus: it could even slow the growth of prostate cancer.

Here's why this is important: most prostate cancers already develop at an incredibly slow rate. Mainstream medicine is finally starting to wake up to the fact that in many cases it's better to ignore prostate malignancies found in older men, since these men are more likely to die from natural causes before the prostate cancer could grow to a lethal size.

This new study examined a handful of prostate cancer patients between the ages of 41 and 72, all of whom were about to undergo the incredibly invasive and life-changing prostatectomy surgery. The men were given a regimen of four pills per day of Polyphenon E - the equivalent of drinking 12 cups of green tea. The result: a "significant" drop in the cancers' progress - and few side effects.

The study was small - just 26 men - but I'm not surprised that massive infusions of green tea had a beneficial effect. When it comes to something so chockfull of health benefits, if some is good, more is almost always better.