Tea alters genes linked to cancer risk in women

Tea has the potential to change the way genes are expressed in women. New research suggests that tea may cause epigenetic changes in women that are linked to cancer risk and estrogen metabolism.

After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage on the planet, but a new study suggests it has more health benefits than just hydrating. The report found that tea can change the way some genes are expressed in women, a process known as epigenetic modification.

Tea appears to affect genes associated with cancer risk, but it is not yet clear whether drinking a lot of tea has a positive or negative effect on these cancer-associated genes.

The study, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, found that tea also caused epigenetic changes in several genes involved in estrogen metabolism. The changes in these genes were only seen in women.

Researchers are still learning what these changes mean for health, although many previous studies have found benefits of tea for general health and reduced cancer risk.

"Previous studies have shown that drinking tea reduces estrogen levels, highlighting potential differences in biological responses to tea between men and women. Women also drink more tea than men, so we focused on looking for associations in women," said Weronica Ek, lead author of the study.

While the effects of tea on our genes are still unclear, previous research has shown that many of the active ingredients in tea help prevent cancer at the molecular level. For example, according to Cancer.gov, the main polyphenols in green tea, EGCG, EGC, ECG, and EC, along with theaflavins and thearubigins in black tea, have antioxidant activity.

These components of tea help to find cancer-causing free radicals in the body and may also protect cells from DNA damage. Additionally, Cancer.gov reports that tea polyphenols have been shown to inhibit tumor cell growth and limit tumor cell invasion.

In addition to preventing cancer, tea may also be useful in treating it. A 2015 study found that the main antioxidant, EGCG, in green tea helps kill cancer cells as effectively as chemotherapy, but without the harmful side effects. The study found that EGCG has the ability to destroy the mitochondria of cancer cells, leading to cell death.

Of course, this research is still in the lab, and doctors do not recommend that patients rely on green tea to treat cancer. But drinking tea has so many other benefits unrelated to cancer that everyone has a reason to enjoy this beverage.

Most studies on the link between tea drinking and cancer risk have found that tea reduces the risk of several cancers, including colon, breast, ovarian, prostate, and lung.

Previous research has also found that a component in tea, called tea catechins, leads to epigenetic changes in test tubes and in cultured cancer cells.

This suggests that some of the health effects of tea are actually due to epigenetic changes, the study statement states.

According to Dantri