Green tea, the wonder antioxidant...

Green tea contains a group of potent antioxidant compounds. Among those polyphenolic compounds is a group called catechins. There is a litany of good primary research listing the positive health benefits (including reduction of the risk for heart disease, improvement of serum lipids, improvement serum glucose levels to name a few) that come from catechins and green tea. Interestingly, green tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world. It's no wonder given how healthy the drink is for you.

This study, conducted by a research group in at LSU, tracked serum biomarkers of prostate cancer including, "hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and prostate specific antigen (PSA)" in a group of 26 men who had tested positive for prostate cancer (h/t Futurepundit). This group was then assigned to consume four capsules containing polyphenols from green tea (1.3 g per day) until the day of their surgery (this ranged from 12-73 or a median of 34.5 days).

The results showed significant reductions in the following biomarkers, VEGF, HGF, PSA, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Furthermore, toxicity assays, measured by monitoring liver enzymes were negative indicating that the dosage was safe for consumption over that period of time.

This is one of many studies performed either on green tea or catechins but it's the first to measure significant reductions in the markers for prostate cancer. Also, the toxicity assays coincide with previous studies demonstrating the lack of liver toxicity, an issue that has been the source of some discussion with regards to green tea. Look for new Unicity products loaded with green tea!