Study reports green tea could target pre-cancer proteins

WASHINGTON – Seated among the bustling lunchtime crowd at the gourmet tea shop Teaism, Shizuka Ogak, 27, poured herself a steaming cup of green tea.

She said she usually drinks about six cups a day, but that it would probably be more that day because at just past noon, she was already on her fourth cup.

Ogak, of Bethesda, Md., said she thinks “ryokucha” – the Japanese word for green tea – keeps her healthy, but she is not sure. Like many Japanese, she just grew up drinking it.

“We drink green tea kind of like Americans drink soft drinks, I think,” said Ogak, who is an administrative officer at the Japan International Cooperation Agency. “I'm pretty sure green tea is better for the body.”
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