Tip Another Great Reason to Drink Green Tea Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness EatingSupplements Tip Another Great Reason to Drink Green Tea It has tons of health and fat-burning benefits but here' s another reason you may want to cool off with iced green tea this summer by TC Luoma June 1, 2018April 5, 2021 Tags Diet Strategy, Nutrition & Supplements, Super Health, Superfood, Tips Make Skin Cancer Kill Itself Research has shown that the main catechin in green tea, EGCG, prevents the proliferation of leukocytes, which are white blood cells that sometimes indicate the onset of skin cancer. Furthermore, EGCG also induces cancerous skin cells to perform apoptosis, which is a technical word for cell suicide. That means that green tea appears to not only prevent sun damage, but may actually reverse it. It's also possible green tea, like aspirin, may even afford some protection against melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. How Much Green Tea Most experts think you need between 250 to 400 mg. of green tea extract (containing the four main green tea polyphenols) to possibly protect yourself against sun damage. You can get that from a cup of green tea, which contains an average of 253 mg. of catechins. However, some scientists say that it's one particular green tea catechin, EGCG, that's performing all the magic, and the average cup of green tea only contains about 50 milligrams. (And some store brands, like the Diet Snapple version of green tea, according to the New York Times, contains zero EGCG!) Clearly, science is unsure of the perfect dosage, and it's even more problematical given that cups of green tea (and different varieties and even different crops of the same type) vary enormously in their catechin content. My advice would be to take a standardized green tea supplement (250 to 400 mg. per day), or hack your cup of green tea by boiling loose leaves for four minutes. This should multiply catechin content by up to 3,4, or 5 times. If you already use Superfood, note that it also contains a good amount of EGCG. If you're stuck with bags of green tea leaves, steep the hell out of them. Let them sit for 5 to 6 minutes, and if you like milk with your tea, don't add it until the tea has stopped steeping. Alternately, you could just drink multiple cups (2-4) of normally brewed, potentially weak-ass green tea. Even that may be too daunting, but look at it this way: If you can't have three or four cups, one or two is better than nothing and, depending on the strength of the blend, may even give you what you need. References Vayalil PK, Mittal A, Hara Y, Elmets CA, Katiyar SK., "Green tea polyphenols prevent ultraviolet light-induced oxidative damage and matrix metalloproteinases expression in mouse skin." J Invest Dermatol. 2004 Jun;122(6):1480-7. Ahmad N, Feyes DK, Nieminen AL, Agarwal R, Mukhtar H. "Green tea constituent epigallocatechin-3-gallate and induction to apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human carcinoma cells." J Natl Cancer Inst 1997 Dec 17;89(24):1881-6. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Eating Lessons From a Change Maker John Berardi, PhD, talks about food, fads, and playing the long game in the fitness biz. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements Dani Shugart November 12 Diet & Fat Loss Diet Planning for the Long Haul Part Three of the Just Suck It Up Series Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements Lonnie Lowery, PhD January 23 Diet & Fat Loss Tip Don t Eat 6 Meals a Day Eating 5 or 6 meals a day is a losing strategy that not only makes it harder to stay lean, but can also cause premature aging. Diet Strategy, Feeding the Ideal Body, Insulin Sensitivity, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips TC Luoma February 11 Diet & Fat Loss Tip Make Low-Carb Mug Cake in 60 Seconds This protein packed cake is fast, easy, and it won't make you fat. Get the recipe here. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements, Protein, Tips Chris Shugart February 26