Is it ok to drink Green Tea during radiation?

[Faith in Him]

Hi,

I started radiation three days ago and I am not sure if it is ok to drink Green tea. I have heard not to drink it the day before, the day of and the day after having herceptin. Didn't know if radiation works the same way.

Thanks

[AlaskaAngel]

Green tea is high in antioxidants, and here is what was said this month during a Q/A session on breastcancer.org:

"Dr. DuPree: Radiation therapy is a treatment modality that works by killing rapidly dividing cells and this occurs through the formation of free radicals. Antioxidants' role in cancer prevention is to prevent the formation of free radicals which can induce a potential cancer from beginning. Therefore we typically use antioxidants to prevent bad free radicals from forming, but during radiation therapy we use the free radicals to kill the rapidly dividing cells, such as treating fire with fire. Therefore the antioxidants during radiation could have a negative effect or counteract the effect of the radiation therapy and this would not be good. This is also true for certain types of chemotherapeutic agents such as Adriamycin-based regimens so it is incredibly important that every patient discuss whatever supplements they are taking with their treating physician."

(ME: Radiation acts in a kind of constant, steady way, having more effect over time, even for quite a while after the last treatment. So drinking it when you aren't actively being radiated probably isn't going to be good either. )

AlaskaAngel

[Sherryg683]

Should we not take Green Tea with Herceptin. I take 4 caplets a day..I don't do it the day of Herceptin but every day other than that..sherry

[Faith in Him]

AlaskaAngel: Thanks for posting that. I'll stay away from it for now.

Sherry: I am very confused about Green Tea and herceptin. Hopefully someone will come along to advise us.

[CLTann]

I am learning the mechanism of the cancer cell propagation is through the free radicals route. There are far more powerful free radical inducing agents we encounter daily. One of them is the UV light from the sun. The dentists use the UV light to trigger the "setting" of fillings by free radicals through polymerization of liquid monomers into a cross-linked solid hard structure. This is well known in the macromolecule chemistry. Another way of generating free radical is through the combination of an oxidizing agent and a reducing agent. In the intake of food, if there are such pairs, free radicals can easily generate. In comparison, green tea is a very weak reducing agent and the dosage is in such a low level that the danger of free radical formation is far less probable than exposure to sunlight. On the other hand, many people advocate the generation of vitamin D from the sun exposure. I can easily see the controversy in all of these in the good or bad of various food intakes. My comments are not intended to confuse people here but to alert those who are interested in this broad subject to consider all relevant factors before sanctioning or abandoning valid ideas. Green tea has been touted by Sloan Ketterling research people as a potential cancer treating agent in various published articles.

[Kathy S in Tokyo]

I asked about no-nos before radiation and green tea was never mentioned. Of course I live in Japan and have been drinking the stuff daily for almost 24 years now. :-)

[Shell]

I also never thought to mention that I drink green tea at work - oh well!

Regards,