A study in The New England Journal of Medicine today suggests that drinking green tea does not prevent stomach cancer, as some assert.
Green tea, a common beverage in Asia, burst into the American market in the last few years, its sales driven by reports of its purported health benefits, including cancer prevention and lowering cholesterol.
But studies have been inconsistent. Some have shown green tea to be beneficial against disease; others have not.
In Japan, researchers looked at stomach cancer because of its high incidence there -- it is the most common cancer in Japan -- and the country's high consumption of green tea. The study compared cups of tea consumed daily and stomach cancer rates and found no connection.