The most common cause of the development of lung cancer is directly related to cigarette smoking. Studies show that the risk of developing lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked over time. Pipe and cigar smoking also causes lung cancer but the risk is not the same as with cigarette smoking.
Cigarettes are primarily to be blamed for lung cancer because tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds with a majority of these chemicals known to be cancer-causing. The two primary cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke are called nitrosamine and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Once a person quits smoking however, the risk of developing lung cancer decreases.
Non-smokers can also develop lung cancer if they are exposed to second-hand smoke from smokers. About 3,000 deaths every year are caused by passive smoking. Another cause of lung cancer is the susceptibility of one to developing it. Genetics play an important factor to determine if one is at risk of cancer.
The presence of lung diseases and having a prior history of lung cancer are other reasons why an individual will have a slightly increased risk of developing the cancer. Aside from this, environmental factors such as air pollution are major contributors of lung cancer.
Since the disease is so prevalent nowadays, various treatment methods have been developed to combat it. These treatments include surgery and radiation therapy. But there is a recent development that involving a natural way of treating lung cancer and that is through the consumption of green tea.
A laboratory experiment has been done that tested green tea extracts to human lung cancer cells in a controlled and artificial environment. The cancer cells were placed in test tubes and were exposed to decaffeinated green tea extract. The cells were marinated in the extract for a maximum of three days. The result of this experiment shows that the green tea extract has altered a certain protein in the cancer cells making it stick together and move less. Scientists working on the experiment were not able to tell exactly what in the green tea extract worked to achieve the mentioned result.
And while the study is still not conclusive as to the consumption of green tea to be an effective treatment against lung cancer, it serves as the first step of developing drugs which will simulate the effects of exposing green tea extracts to the cancer cells. Through this breakthrough experiment, there is still hope for a lung cancer cure.
Nevertheless, one will not lose anything in believing that a certain natural remedy works for him. Besides, green tea is one herb that is very rich in antioxidants vital to the well-being of a person and known to combat other diseases as well.
Author : Natsuka Tsuchiya
Can Green Tea Prevent Lung Cancer?
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