Tea Creates Gene Changes in Women

By Jacob Levine, Natural Blaze

Recent Study Links Tea to Epigenetic Changes in Women

Uppsala University recently published the results of a new study in the Human Molecular Genetics journal in which researchers were able to link women’s consumption of tea with alterations, or epigenetic changes, in the genes that have been determined as interactive with estrogen metabolism and cancer.

See: Black Tea Drains Endocrine Disruptors from the Body

How Drinking Tea May Affect Disease-Risk in Women

The lifestyles we lead and the environment we live in, from chemical exposure and smoking to the food we choose to eat, have all been established as factors in bringing about epigenetic changes within our bodies. Prior studies have inferred that both tea and coffee act as vital contributors in reducing a person’s risk of disease through systems that are possibly influenced by epigenetic changes, including lowered levels of inflammation, regulating estrogen metabolism, and even the suppression of tumor progression.

Collaborating with researchers across Europe, Uppsala University researchers set out to investigate the connection between epigenetic changes and consuming tea and coffee. While the study did not establish that participants who drank coffee experienced epigenetic changes, researchers did find that epigenetic changes occurred within tea drinkers—but only women who drank tea. The epigenetic changes that were discovered took place in genes associated with cancer and estrogen metabolism.

Researcher Weronica Ek from the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology—the leader of the study—has said that “[p]revious studies have shown that tea consumption reduces estrogen levels which highlights a potential difference between the biological response to tea in men and women. Women also drink higher amounts of tea compared to men, which increases our power to find association in women.”

What These Findings Mean for Safeguarding Our Future Health

The results of this study showcase the parts played by components of tea that are pharmacologically active in estrogen metabolism and cancer, leading to the belief that the health effects of drinking tea may arise from epigenetic changes.

Despite the seemingly straightforward nature of these results, the study does not concretely determine whether it is healthy or unhealthy to drink tea; more research is necessary in order to comprehend how our heath is affected by the epigenetic changes analyzed within this study.

Previously, studies have shown that epigenetic changes arose from tea catechins in cultured and in vitro cancer cells, which could support the argument of tea’s health effects being derived from epigenetic changes.

Read more from Jacob

DISCLAIMER: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

BIO: Jacob Levine is a writer and content specialist for the Women’s Wellness Institute of Dallas, the area’s leading provider of cosmetic women’s health services. To learn more, visit our site today!

Photo: Photo, Lisa Fotios

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