You may have heard the expression knowledge is power.

Well, today we're going to give you more power to control your diet and lifestyle by giving

you the facts.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Today we look at the surprising power of green tea.

One of the healthiest beverages we can drink.

It has been associated with about a 30% reduction in breast cancer risk and may protect against

gynecological malignancy such as ovarian cancer and ometral cancer, as well as lower cholesterol,

blood sugar and body fat.

In our first story we look at how green tea appears to work by boosting the immune system.

The belief of green tea is a wonder weapon against diseases dates back thousands of years.

I've talked about it in relation to chronic disease, but what about infectious disease?

In the antimicrobial activity of tea dates back to a military medical journal in 1906, suggesting

that servicemen fill their canteens with tea to kill off the bugs that caused typhoid

fever.

However, this effect of tea was not studied further into the late 1980s when tea compounds

were pitted against viruses and bacteria and test tubes and petri dishes, but what we

care about is do they work in people?

I had dismissed this entire field of inquiry as clinically irrelevant until genital warts.

External genital warts caused by human wart viruses are one of the most common and fast

to spreading venereal diseases worldwide.

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