Gargling with Green Tea protects children from fevers

Fever is a very common symptom in children and it is usually caused by respiratory tract infections caused by cold or flu viruses. Japanese health authorities recommend daily gargling to protect children from respiratory tract infections. 19,595 children aged 2 to 6 years were enrolled in this study from 145 nursery schools in Fukuoka City, Japan. Gargling with water reduced the incidence of fever by 30% but gargling with Green Tea reduced the incidence of fever by 68%. The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology.

Previously posted study abstracts of Green Tea and the flu:

Green Tea protects school children from the flu
posted Aug17,2011

Scientists at the University of Shizuoka School of Pharmaceutical Sciences state that “Green Tea is known to contain antiviral components that prevent influenza infection”. 2663 schoolchildren between the ages of 6 to 13 from a variety of elementary schools in a tea plantation region (Kikugawa City) were studied each year in 2008 and 2009. The incidence of the flu confirmed by a test for children consuming Green Tea for 6 or 7 days a week was 40% lower than for children who consumed Green Tea less than 3 days a week. If the children drank 3 to 5 cups a day they had a 48% decline in incidence of the flu compared to children who had less than a cup each day. The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Nutrition

Combining Green Tea and L-Theanine dramatically cuts down on flu infections in healthcare workers
posted 5.17.11

197 healthcare workers were split into two groups in a 5 month study carried out from November 9, 2009 to April 8, 2010. 98 were supplemented with 378mg of Green Tea Catechins and 210mg of L-Theanine daily and 99 received inactive placebo. Only 4% of those on Green Tea/L-Theanine developed the flu but 13% on placebo developed the flu. The supplement cut the risk of developing the flu by 75% in healthcare workers; people who work shifts, have a high stress career, and are exposed to infected patients. The length of infection was also much shorter in those on supplementation if they did get sick. The study is published in the February 2011 issue of the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Green Tea Capsules fight cold viruses and flu viruses
posted 11.01.07

Researchers at the University of Florida have proven that Green Tea Capsules fight both a cold and a flu virus very effectively. In this newly published, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study healthy adults from 18 to 70 were given either an inactive placebo or a standardized Green Tea Capsule twice a day for 3 months. Among the people taking Green Tea Capsules there was a 32% drop in the number of people with cold or flu symptoms, 23% fewer illnesses that lasted at least two days, and 36% fewer days with symptoms compared to people taking placebo.

In response to infectious viruses, those people on Green Tea capsules had a big improvement in the ability of their immune systems to quickly and strongly react to the infections and mount a strong counter-attack. The number of immune T-cells they created to fight the viruses jumped by 28% and the immune cells worked better by secreting a greater amount of their chemical arsenal; they secreted 26% more interferon in response to the infection improving the ability to kill the viruses.

The study is published in the October 2007 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

And in a related posting;

Green tea may cut the risk of dying from pneumonia in women
posted October 29, 2009

Drinking green tea continues to show health benefits, particularly among women according to the results of a new study from Japan . Drinking five or more cups a day cut the risk by "47 percent in Japanese women," but not Japanese men, Ikue Watanabe, from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan notes in an interview.

Pneumonia risk seems to be reduced even by drinking small amounts of green tea.

Drinking as little as one cup or less of green tea per day was associated with 41 percent less risk of dying from pneumonia among Japanese women, the investigators found. The findings, they say, "support the possibility" that green tea contains compounds capable of destroying or inhibiting the growth of viruses and microorganisms. Watanabe and colleagues assessed how drinking green tea affected the risk of dying from pneumonia among 19,079 men and 21,493 women receiving National Health Insurance in Japan . The study population ranged from 40 to 79 years old and participants had no reported history of cancer, heart attack, stroke at the start of the study.

Through more than 12 years of follow up in about 85 percent of the study group, 406 study participants died from pneumonia, the investigators report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. They found benefits from drinking green tea in women, but not in men, after allowing for age, physical function, and smoking status, plus numerous other health and dietary factors potentially associated with the risk for pneumonia.
Watanabe speculates that "green tea may have an effect on pneumonia in women in other countries as well." The study is published in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.