Green Tea

I found a really good book, Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD. The author is a psychiatrist who had a brain tumor. His book explains how cancer takes hold and what you can do to stop it. He has a lot of suggestions of things to do to support chemo, etc.

Like everyone else, he suggests Green Tea. He explains how it works:

Green Tea: Rich in polyphenols, including catechins, which reduce the growth of the new vessels needed for tumor growth and metastases. (In order for a tumor to grow, it commandeers blood vessels from nearby to feed itself--green tea keeps this from happening.) It is also a powerful anti-oxidant and detoxifier, and it facilitates the death of cancer cells. It also enhances the effects of radiotherapy on cancer cells.

Steep green tea for ten minutes and drink within an hour. Drink 2-3 cups a day. Do not store green tea after steeping, as it loses its beneficial polyphenols after an hour or two.

I love to drink tea. I have a small Japanese cast iron tea pot, a tetsubin, that Kevin bought me for our 25th anniversary. I have fancier teapots that I use for special occasions, but this is the one that greets me every morning, sitting on the counter, waiting to brew my tea for me. It has become a ritual. Measuring the tea leaves, boiling the water, smelling the fragrance as the tea steeps. Some mornings I make the tea; some mornings Kevin makes it. Either way, it's a gift, a reminder of goodness, warmth, and abundance.