A Japanese study published in the September 13, 2006, issue of the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) confirms that daily consumption of 100-500 ml of green teas purchased in northeastern Japan is associated with reduced mortality due to all causes and due to cardiovascular disease, but not with reduced mortality due to cancer.

This is the data that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) used to write the original language of two qualified green tea health claims granted to Dr. Sin Hang Lee. The FDA apparently intended to inform the consumers that consumption of the green teas similar to those purchased in the northeast of Japan "unlikely" reduces the risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer.

However, certain green teas that meet the National Cancer Institute (NCI) specification, like those consumed in Hangzhou, China, and by the Asian Americans in Los Angeles may help reduce the risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer. The data published by the NCI states that the lowest effective anticancer dose for a 70-kg person is 800 ml of green tea that contains 710 mcg/ml of the –epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) antioxidant. This is typically found in green teas traditionally consumed around the tea plantations of Japan and China. The quoted study, however, was conducted in the Miyagi Prefecture of northeastern Japan, where this quality of green tea is not typically found. Therefore, the results of this study should not be extrapolated beyond its regional significance.

Dr. Lee helped the Editor of foodconsumer.org to decipher the FDA green tea health claim language before the JAMA article was published. The more precise version of the qualified green tea health claim language, supported by the scientific data cited by the FDA, is printed on the health claim label of Dr. Lee's TeaForHealth on file with the FDA and FTC.

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