Drinking This Regularly Could Stop Breast Cancer Cells from Growing

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Making smart choices about your diet can go a long way toward lowering your risk of breast cancer. Now it looks like choosing the right beverage can also help: Women who sip green or oolong tea may be able to gain extra breast cancer protection, according to a study published in the journal Anticancer Research.

Researchers at the Saint Louis University in Missouri, led by Chunfa Huang, PhD, an associate research professor in the department of internal medicine, tested extracts of various teas against several types of breast cancer cells. Huang included extracts from green, oolong, black, and other dark teas. His results indicated that green and oolong teas could stop the growth of breast cancer cells; the two types of tea worked equally well against all the cell lines Huang tested. Black and other dark teas had no effect, he says. Check out these 11 other health benefits of green tea.

The researchers noted that oolong is similar to green tea in helping inhibit breast cancer growth, in addition to benefits like lowering cholesterol, abdominal fat, and it may even offer protection against other types of cancer.

In the second part of the study, the researchers compared health statistics in Chinese provinces where oolong tea is popular to areas where people typically drink less. He found that regular oolong drinkers were 25 percent less likely to develop breast cancer; of the women who did, their chances of dying from the disease were half that of women who rarely drank oolong. What’s more, oolong tea drinkers were 68 percent less likely to suffer a premature death. Read up on these 15 breast cancer myths you can safely ignore.

Although the researchers indicate that more study is needed, they believe the results suggest drinking oolong tea regularly could potentially offer anti-cancer benefits. Here are 50 more everyday habits that can reduce your risk of breast cancer.