A green tea question?

saluki

This whole subject of supplements has got me to thinking about what I've taken over the past few years and those I have discontinued because I am ER+/PR+.  One of those I discontinued was green tea extract, in fact I threw out about four bottles from Life extension. 

I aso threw out the DIM and the Panax Ginseng---all unopened (Joan-Had I known you were taking it I would have sent it to you!)

I threw out the Green Tea Extract because I've heard that the Flavonoids it contains have a mild estrogenic effect. Here is my question:  If that is the case Does anyone know how much green tea you would have to drink to have it effect our estrogen levels--or is that not a concern if it is the actual tea?

I'm a little concern since I have been drinking alot of iced green tea since me, summer, and mega hot-flashes, have not been getting along.   Any idea?

Rosemary44

I can give you the list of foods with phytoestrogens, green tea looks pretty low considering the other foods listed.   We aren't going to get away from estrogen no matter how hard we try to.  I wouldn't give up drinking green tea now that I've found it.   I think they attribute the intake of green tea to why people in Japan have less lung cancer then other nations even though they smoke.  It seems to have its benefits.  Here's the list:

http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/phytoestrogen.php

I forgot one other thing that I recently read is that phytoestrogen foods are suppose to be helping the guys with prostate cancer.  More than likely, they haven't gotten around to testing them on us yet. 

I like this site on everything we ever wanted to know about green tea:

http://www.greentealovers.com/greenteahealthcatechin.htm

It even shows us the break down of the nutrients in the different teas.

saluki

Thanks Rosemary,  Great sites especially the first one.  You've eased my mind considerably.

Putting it all into prospective--looks like I can drink the stuff to my hearts content and probably

get more in my normal intake of Rye Bread. LOL 

I think the whole magnesium question put into perspective what part of all these supplements

we are sinking money into in hopes of pumping up our imunity and keeping the beast away can actually be used by our bodies and what may be better gotten in the form of diet.

Rosemary44

Susie,

I'll take food over pills any day of the week, but I only have room for so many meals, and a far greater need of the nutrients.  So the pills have to stay.  I know what you mean, it can get out of hand all the things we should be taking, but I have chosen the few that I do take carefully, and hope the food does the rest.

bomber410

Here is an article I came across today via WebMD regarding tea including green tea.  It is not related to BC but offers other benefits we can probably take advantage of.

Drinking Tea May Slow Bone Loss
Study Shows Elderly Tea Drinkers Have Higher Bone Density

By Jennifer Warner WebMD Medical News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 8, 2007 -- Drinking tea may be good for your bones.

A new study shows elderly women who drank tea had higher bone density in their hips and less bone loss than women who didn't drink tea.

Researchers say the results confirm previous studies that have suggested drinking tea may protect against bone loss and osteoporosis.

In the study, Australian researchers surveyed 275 women between the ages of 70 and 85 who were participating in a larger five-year study of calcium supplements and osteoporosis about how much black and green tea (but not herbal teas) they drank. Bone density measurements of the hip were also taken at the beginning and end of the five-year study.

The results, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that women who were regular tea drinkers had higher bone density in two sites in the hip compared with non-tea drinkers.

The bone mineral density in tea drinkers was higher than in non-tea drinkers. Tea drinkers also had less loss of bone density over a four-year period compared with non-tea drinkers. These results took into account factors such as smoking history and use of calcium supplements.

The researchers did not find a relationship between the number of cups of tea consumed per day and bone mineral density.

"Other variables, such as dietary calcium and coffee intake, physical activity, and smoking did not appear to be important confounders of the relation between tea and [bone density]," write researcher Amanda Devine, of the University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia, and colleagues. "Thus, overall our data support the concept that tea intake has beneficial effects on bone structure by reducing bone loss."

Researchers say more research is needed to determine how drinking tea affects bone density. Previous studies have suggested that phytochemicals in tea, such as flavonoids, may be responsible for the protective effect against bone loss due to their estrogen-like properties.

Hope you find this useful.

Debbie