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Green Tea vs. The FDA: Who's Right?
In June 2005, a green tea company called Ito
En Ltd. asked the FDA for permission to put a claim on their labels that
said drinking 5 ounces of green tea daily might reduce the risk of
cardiovascular disease (CVD). To back up their claim, they submitted 105
studies, articles and other publications. Nearly a year later the FDA
said no, insisting that, “There is no credible evidence to support
qualified health claims for green tea or green tea extract and a
reduction of a number of risk factors associated with CVD.”
Yet over the past 25 years, countless studies showing the positive
effects of green tea on several important risk factors for
cardiovascular disease have been published in scientific journals. So
was the FDA wrong? Or was the green tea claim untrue? The answer is a
resounding “neither.” The fault lay on both sides. Here’s why:
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The
petitioner’s claim was irresponsible
Ito En Ltd. wanted permission to say that drinking just 5
ounces of green tea daily could reduce several risk factors for
cardiovascular disease. Yet most studies have shown that green tea
reduces certain CVD risk factors with a daily intake of 4-5 cups,
1,2 and improves cholesterol at about 10 daily cups.3
One-half cup daily? That's a hard case to prove.
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The FDA used an antiquated
definition of CVD risk factors
The case got even harder to prove when the FDA narrowed the
definition of a cardiovascular disease risk factor to high total
cholesterol, high LDL cholesterol or high blood pressure. That meant
that all studies showing that green tea helps fight oxidized LDL,
obesity, stress, low HDL, diabetes or platelet stickiness simply
didn’t count.
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Many
studies were ignored
The only studies the
FDA deemed worthy of consideration were human studies – all animal and
“test tube” studies were ignored. And not all kinds of human studies
were included – review studies and meta analyses were considered
background information only.
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The evidence was winnowed down
Because of all of these restrictions, the
FDA managed to reduce the 105 submitted studies, articles and papers
to a grand total of only 11! And it was on the basis of these 11
studies that the FDA concluded that there was “no credible evidence to
support qualified health claims” for green tea and a reduction in CVD
risk.
Was the FDA wrong?
According to their current standards, no.
However, the FDA desperately needs to acknowledge such well-documented
and universally accepted CVD risk factors as increased LDL oxidation,
excess body weight, low HDL, diabetes and increased platelet
“stickiness” – all of which are positively influenced by green tea.
It would also help if future petitioners would consider recommending up
to 10 cups of green tea per day (or the equivalent in green tea extract)
instead of the ridiculously small amount of 5 ounces.
And, last but not least, we need researchers
to conduct more human studies on green tea’s effects on CVD. Then maybe
next time we’ll have the ammunition we need to get the FDA’s much-wanted
stamp of approval.
Footnotes:
1)
Kuriyama S, Shimazu T, Ohmori K, et al. Green tea consumption and
mortality due to cardiovascular disease, cancer and all causes in Japan:
the Ohsaki study. JAMA 2006;296(10):1255-65.
2)
Sasazuki S, Kodama H, Yoshimasu K, et al. Relation between green tea
consumption and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis among Japanese
men and women. Ann Epidemiol 2000;10(6):401-8.
3)
Tokunaga S, White IR, Frost C, et al. Green tea consumption and serum
lipids and lipoproteins in a population of healthy workers in Japan.
Ann of Epidemiol 2002;12(3):157-65.
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Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. presents
GreenTeaLibrary.com, the most comprehensive collection of scientific
information describing the many health benefits and properties of green tea.
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