348 per 100,000 U.S. men die of coronary heart disease each year compared to 186 per 100,000 Japanese men while less than 40 per 100,000 Korean men become lung cancer deaths each year versus 67 per 100,000 among U.S. men. Green tea catechins' -- particularly one called EGCG -- effects on "bad" LDL cholesterol, plus antioxidants inhibiting blood cells from sticking together and forming clots, plus EGCG helping to block tumor formation or growth, may explain the result.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-06-12T183422Z_01_COL266845_RTRUKOC_0_US-GREEN-TEA.xmlGreen tea may help explain "Asian paradox"
Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:34pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While smoking is a well-known cause of heart disease and lung cancer, the rates of these diseases have remained inexplicably low in Asian countries where smoking is common. But researchers say there is growing evidence that green tea is one piece of the puzzle.
Writing in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Yale University researchers detail the body of evidence linking green tea to better heart health and a lower risk of cancer.<snip>
Antioxidants help quench molecules known as oxygen free radicals that, in excess, can damage body cells and potentially lead to disease. Free radicals are natural byproducts of normal body processes, but they are also generated by external sources like tobacco smoke.
In Japan, China and other Asian countries, it is a social custom to drink green tea, which is less processed -- and richer in catechins -- than the black tea commonly consumed in the West.<snip>