Green tea as drink or capsules and recommended... - CLL Support

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Green tea as drink or capsules and recommended dose, product

Xalos profile image
27 Replies

I have read that green tea is helpful with CLL. I was wondering if you would take this as a capsule or drink it (tea). If so, what is the recommended dosage? Which brand/product do you recommend? So far, no symptoms so doctor wants to wait for treatment.

What do you recommend to try? Home remedies?

Title changed from CLL so content can be more easily found - Admin

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Xalos profile image
Xalos
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27 Replies
AussieNeil profile image
AussieNeilAdministrator

If you change your title to Green Tea, you should see plenty of Related Posts appear. You can't get a therapeutic dose by drinking green tea unless you drink in the order of 30 cups a day!

(You can edit any of your posts by selecting the 'More v' and 'Edit' :) )

Neil

Newdawn profile image
NewdawnAdministrator

Welcome to the forum Xalos as I see it was your first post and you may not have found your way round the site yet.

As suggested by AussieNeil, it may be useful to change the title to reflect your question. Admin can do this if you wish.

Glad to hear you’re holding steady on W&W. After 6 years untreated, my advice is a healthy, varied diet lower on carbs and sugar. Some swear by green tea but I don’t care for it and have never used it.

Best wishes,

Newdawn

AussieNeil profile image
AussieNeilAdministrator

I'm at my computer now, where Search works. Here are the previous posts on Green Tea:

healthunlocked.com/search/p...

Lily_Pad_Master profile image
Lily_Pad_Master in reply to AussieNeil

Neil, nothing seems to be showing up at this link. Glenn

lankisterguy profile image
lankisterguyVolunteer in reply to Lily_Pad_Master

try this link:

-

healthunlocked.com/search/p...

-

And this pinned post:

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

Len

Lily_Pad_Master profile image
Lily_Pad_Master in reply to lankisterguy

Those work.

AussieNeil profile image
AussieNeilAdministrator in reply to Lily_Pad_Master

Works if you do a refresh - HU revamped the Search facility :(

NWcllfighter profile image
NWcllfighter

Greetings....I too have CLL, now in about my 6th year. So far my Dr. has kept me on WW (wait and watch) though my numbers jumped at our last meeting (another one coming toward end of October).

I have been self-treating with EGCG (green tea extract) and Curcumin; both in capsule form on alternating days. My 1st 60 days were EGCG only, 3x/day, and now I've added Curcumin (tumeric extract) 3x/day - again: every other day, not together. Why am I self-treating? Because I do not like to wait around to see things fall apart i.e. you fix the roof before it rains, not during.

I do not know if the action I've taken will or has helped until I see my Dr. I will report my findings after our next visit. All the best to you on your journey, for it is unique to each of us.

Cllcanada profile image
CllcanadaTop Poster CURE Hero in reply to NWcllfighter

Your EGCG needs to be taken twice a day..not once... and dose is important...

Hope you are having your liver monitored... EGCG can cause problems.

~chris

NWcllfighter profile image
NWcllfighter in reply to Cllcanada

Apparently you missed my comment about my dose/timing = 3x/day i.e. 3 times per day. 1 capsule per dose: EGCG @ 400mg (net 200mg/dose); Curcumin @ 500mg (95% net). On alternating days.

vinnet profile image
vinnet in reply to NWcllfighter

NW

Can u share the capsule name/ brand to help in purchasing...

my onco ( here in india) does not even want to hear about green tea effect on cll..

I am wnw for approx 2yrs..

I take ayurvedic supplements, Alievera juice, Giloy and Godhan Ark 20ml each, every morning. Also one teaspoon curcumin powder.

regards

vinnet

NWcllfighter profile image
NWcllfighter in reply to vinnet

These are US sources (mail order): EGCG - NOW brand, 400mg, 180 veg capsules. Curcumin - Jarrow Formula brand, Curcumin 95, 500mg, 60 veg capsules.

Cllcanada profile image
CllcanadaTop Poster CURE Hero in reply to NWcllfighter

Based on mouse studies the ratio of EGCG and curcumin is important for synergy as is dose, also you want liposome coated curcumin, but it quite expensive... Piperine and olive oil might help uptake...

~chris

vinnet profile image
vinnet in reply to Cllcanada

thx chris. I am confused.

Can I be helped with dosage of

egcg curcumin and olive oil so that i can start..

vinnet

Cllcanada profile image
CllcanadaTop Poster CURE Hero in reply to vinnet

You need a theraputic dose of pure EGCG twice a day. The ratio of EGCG to curcumin is 10:1 etc...

This paper spells it out.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Its not something I would bother with. Its no longer recommended, because commercial EGCG is an unknown...

~chris

Lola69 profile image
Lola69

I can’t digest green tea

Hoffy profile image
Hoffy

See my past posts.

Be well ,

Hoffy

Beattiem-UK profile image
Beattiem-UK

I'm five weeks into treatment with Ibrutinib. I'd been drinking green tea all through Watch and Wait. When I showed my specialist the list of vitamins and supplements I was taking she told me not to take the green tea extract. Now, reading Chris's post, this could have been because i'm also being investigated for a liver problem.

gfreiman profile image
gfreiman

I took green tea extract for about a year while on W&W and it did reduce the size of my lymph nodes. I cant say that it did anything to reduce my numbers, but I clearly saw a reduction in the nodes after taking the extract. I was aware of the danger of liver damage, so I would take it for a few weeks than take a week off.

While geen tea extract can help and make you feel like your doing something, it is no substitution for rear treatment. My lymph nodes almost disappeared after just the first treatment of FCR,

GMa27 profile image
GMa27 in reply to gfreiman

Just finished 3 rounds of FCR! In remission. My nodes were gone after first round! My doctors do not support green tea.

Famburt profile image
Famburt in reply to gfreiman

How bad/big were your lymph nodes when you began treatment? I am really struggling as my oncologist thinks it time to start FCR but I would much rather explore natural alternatives before getting blasted with chemo. And did the FCR do anything for other symptoms (fatigue, joint paint, etc.)?

AussieNeil profile image
AussieNeilAdministrator in reply to Famburt

If your oncologist thinks it is time to start treatment, then you really don't have the time to explore natural alternatives. There's a low probability of them working compared to the proven effectiveness of FCR, but check this post for details: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

While there's generally considerable latitude on when to start treatment compared to acute blood cancers, if you leave it too late, you will put yourself at increased risk of needing blood transfusions and are likely to have a rougher treatment journey. That's because all treatments (FCR in particular) can suppress blood counts and reduce immunity.

Neil

Suzivida profile image
Suzivida

Hi Xalos, I don`t drink any form of tea or coffee as they dehydrate you, even green tea. I nourish my body with good hydrating foods like lots of organic fruit and veg.

GrapeGrower1 profile image
GrapeGrower1

I was diagnosed two years ago and am on w&w. My wbc was coming up quite fast about a doubling every 9 months. I started green tea extract and it did seem to slow things down and my lymph nodes in my neck definitely got smaller at least for a while. I tried stopping after about 8 months and my wbc jumped quite drastically. So I'm a believer. There is a real study that was funded by the Mayo Clinic that did support the benefits but there are other less credible studies that refute Mayo's findings. I think it helped me. I would re-affirm what was mentioned previously that you need to have your liver function monitored during this treatment. Dosage I found to be effective but not to hard on the liver is 400mg twice per day. I've used two different types. The first is made by the suppliment company called NOW, but has about 40mg of caffine in each capsule. The other is a de-caffinated bulk suppliment made by the company Bulksupplements and comes in a 250 gram pouch. I like the Bulksupplements because it doesn't have the caffine but I don't think it works quite as well. Hope this helps.

Lily_Pad_Master profile image
Lily_Pad_Master

Nothing seems to be showing up at AussieNeil's link (at least not from where I sit). In the upper-right and corner of your browser window, you'll see a search box that should read, in greyed-out letters, "Search CLL Support Association." Enter "green tea" and you'll see more posts on this topic than you'll want to read in one sitting. You can also Google "Greeen tea extract CLL" and you'll find a number of studies. You can read most of the NIH stuff. My CLL doc recommended EGCG (the part of the green tea you want) based on research some colleagues had done at the Mayo Clinic. There are no guarantees here. It was a Phase 2 study that was terminated because the supplier stopped making the product.

I started off with green tea extract and discovered, quickly, then when you're taking in roughly 5 cups of green tea per capsule, that caffeine adds up quickly when taking three tabs at a time, twice a day. I then tried a couple different "decaffeinated green tea extracts" and discovered (by the way I felt) they weren't as decaffeinated as they claimed to be, which I verified by becoming a monthly member of ConsumerLabs. I eventually ended up with a brand that was truly decaffeinated and had a high percentage of EGCG. Then, that company began raising their prices. I went back to ConsumerLabs and looked at their test results and costs-per-capsule of a variety of brands and landed on "Andrew Lessmans' Green Tea ECGC 200 which had more EGCG per capsule than the other brand with a much lower cost. What surprised me was that the best price was through the Home Shopping Network. I just checked the price and it looks like HSN has caught on and that price has skyrocketed. Do your research. ConsumerLabs is a great resource, but you have to pay. It's not much and you can cancel at any time.

While you're at it, consider Curcumin. The best deal I found was Doctor's Best High Absorption Curcumin with BioPerine. Curcumin is not well absorbed. A small amount of black pepper extract seems to be what people say helps the absorption.

Lab research seems to suggest alternating the ECGC and Curcumin, taking one one day and the other the next. I was taking 1200 mg ECGC one day (split between morning and evening) and 2000 mg Curcumin the next day, again, split between morning and evening.

*Only* do this either with the consultation of your CLL specialist (if you don't have one, find one) or at least informing whoever treats you. Because I was seen by a CLL specialist from the start, I received regular blood work. You want to be certain these two supplements have no negative impacts on you.

I am chiming in here because I was on W&W for five years (a little longer than I was expected to have been). I think these supplements helped. I am off them now because I have started treatment and my doc wanted me off them.

Best of health to you,

Glenn

Lasweetpea profile image
Lasweetpea

Hello Xalos,

I use organic Japanese Matcha green tea powder, 1 teaspoon in my green smoothie every other day. It blends in easily and I find it quite tasty. I also take 2 Curcumin extract capsules from Gaia herbs, every day. I am on W&W, eating lots of vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds, no sugar. Lots of exercise, yoga, mindfulness and reducing stress as much as possible helps me stay strong. My blood levels are remaining constant and my energy is good. I wish you blessings and a clear path ahead.

KatieBlue profile image
KatieBlue

I have used Sir Jason Winters Tea. I can’t give a resounding recommendation as its difficult to know if it’s helped or not. A friend said it helped a relative beat cancer.

I’ve used the blend with sage. It’s got a week taste. So I normally add something for flavoring.

I don’t believe it is a green tea.

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