An individual can feel very scary while visiting to a hospital, but the quick relief from the hospital depends upon the precise descriptions that he provides to the doctor. Therefore, it is suggested to reveal all the information such as when the problem was started and the period of early symptoms of arthritis. If any common symptoms such as joint pain, joint stiffness, physical joint changes and other symptoms are witnessed, then it is necessary to consult with a physician. Generally, the early symptoms of arthritis will become easy for the physicians to offer an effective treatment to avoid any further consequences.

Joint Ache:

Joint pain is one of the early symptoms of arthritis. Arthritis is usually a term that shelters around 100 kinds of swellings related to the joints. In this case, joints do not pertain to any kind of herbal smokes, but to the natural flexible joints of the individuals’ body. Joints are in ankles, neck, hips, wrists, knees, shoulders and neck therefore the pain could be experienced only in these joints. Joint pain is normal pain that an individual never have, prior to performing any tasks and once it started there could be many problems in performing certain chores such as opening a container, turning the book pages or walking on the flight of steps.

Joint Stiffness:

Joint stiffness is the other major early symptoms of arthritis. While moving, joints and limbs not only harm, but they also turn down from moving. This kind of early symptoms of arthritis can be differed such as an individual’s hand is refusing to unbend from the fist position made the result will be complicated movement of legs. This early symptoms of arthritis can be safer all throughout the day, but it is likely to worsen in winters.

Alterations in Physical Joint:

Alterations in physical joints are the other common early symptoms of arthritis, which do not occur to everybody in the early stage of arthritis. At this stage, the excruciating places of the individual’s body become apparently inflamed, redder or very tender and discolored, more often the only thing which they will bear to have contact with them is the air. Hence, such particular early symptoms of arthritis need not to be overlooked.

Other Guidelines:

For diagnosing an individual with the help of the above mentioned early symptoms of arthritis, a physician needs to know the medical records of both the patient and his or her parents and sibs, if achievable. If they are ready to reveal, ask over and write down the type of arthritis detected. It is also advised to draft their early symptoms of arthritis also.

The term arthritis is derived from the Greek: “arthron” meaning “joint” and “itis” meaning inflammation.

It refers to more than 100 different types of arthritis conditions. These 100 different conditions pose special problems for both diagnosis and treatment.

Some of these conditions involve inflammation and others do not. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or infection.

For an example of inflammation, take a simple scratch…your body automatically releases chemicals that cause fluids to accumulate and white blood cells to gather around the area of the scratch. As your body fights foreign substances and bacteria, inflammation…redness…heat…swelling…and pain occur at the sight of the injury.

In arthritis, unfortunately, this natural defense mechanism goes awry. Elements from the blood designed to fight infection and repair injury attack the body instead.

And, unless this inflammatory process is stopped, it will continue to attack the body and cause joint destruction.

So you can begin to see how treatments that just relieve the pain associated with the problem – but that do not completely halt inflammation – may not adequately treat this disease.

Getting proper treatment early on is important…because proper care can help sufferers lead more active and comfortable lives.

Let’s examine some of these types of arthritis…

Osteoarthritis is the arthritis people think of as being associated with aging. osteoarthritis affects weight-bearing areas such as the spine, hips, knees, base of the thumbs, and feet. Genetics and mechanical factors also play a big role. Research is being done on medications that will slow down the progression of this disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common serious inflammatory form of arthritis. It affects roughly 1 per cent of the population and is the prototypical autoimmune form of arthritis. Because it may do most of its damage in the first year, early diagnosis and aggressive therapy is critical. Left untreated RA may shorten life expectancy by as much as 18 years!

Psoriatic arthritis is a potentially serious inflammatory form of arthritis that is often found in association with psoriasis. Because it may begin and progress insidiously, it can cause serious problems. Early diagnosis and aggressive intervention are recommended.

Polymyalgia rheumatica occurs in people after the age of 50 and presents with severe stiffness and aching in the neck, shoulders, and hips. Because it is very treatable, accurate diagnosis is needed. Because so many other conditions look like it, an accurate diagnosis is not always easy.

Ankylosing spondylitis affects the spine and the sacroiliac joints. Since it often presents with low back pain, it is often misdiagnosed. AS is very treatable; accurate diagnosis and agressive therapy are advisable

Reactive arthritis is a form of arthritis that comes on after infections… the most common being types of infections being intestinal or genitourinary. Young adults are often affected. Appropriate medical treatment is very effective.

Gout is due to deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. In addition to joints, the kidneys are a big target of this disease. Dietary changes and medicines are very effective in treating this disorder.

Pseudogout is also due to crystals- deposits of calcium pyrophosphate or hydroxyapatite in most instances. Pseudogout may mimic other types of arthritis such as gout and rheumatoid arthritis. Further, it may coexist with other types of arthritis making it very difficult to diagnose.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease that affects many organ systems.

SLE most often affects women in the child-bearing years. Early diagnosis and management are necessary since this disorder is potentially life-threatening.

Polymyositis is an inflammatory form of muscle disease that is often associated with arthritis. Because it is a systemic condition that affects all muscles- including those that are responsible for the functioning of the heart, lungs, etc., careful examination and appropriate aggressive medical therapy are necessary.

Fibromyalgia is a soft tissue form of arthritis that is due to defective neurotransmitter function in the brain. Because these neurotransmitters are responsible for many sensory functions, patients with fibromyalgia present with bizarre symptoms. It is imperative that other forms of arthritis be ruled out first.

Lyme disease occurs as a result of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. The organism is transmitted by a deer tick bite. Early recognition and antibiotic therapy is effective in most cases.

Leukemia is cancer of your body’s blood-forming tissues, including your bone marrow and lymphatic system. The 3 main forms of the disease are;

1. Acute Leukemia which is a malignant proliferation of white blood cell blasts in bone marrow or lymph tissue.
2. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia also known as granulocytic leukemia.
3. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia which is common in the elderly and accounts for about 25% of all new leukemia cases.

Acute leukemia accounts for about 20% of leukemias, it’s most common forms are:
1. Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
2. Acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML)
3. Acute monoblastic leukemia ( Schilling’s type )

Incidence of Acute Leukemia
Leukemia can occur at any age, acute forms of leukemia can occur in children and young adults and in fact in this age group it is the most common form of cancer. It is more common in females than in males, in whites ( especially those of Jewish extraction ) and in urban and industrialized populations.

Risk Factors
Several congenital conditions may increase the risk of leukemia; the most common is probably Down syndrome, which is associated with a 10 to 18 fold increase in the risk of AML.

In general, nonidentical twins and other siblings of children with leukemia have two to four times the average risk of developing the disease. Also, children who have received prior radiation or chemotherapy for other types of cancer have a higher risk of contracting leukemia.

Signs and Symptoms
Signs of acute leukemia may include; high fever, abnormal bleeding, easy bruising and prolonged menses. Sometimes the onset of symptoms is more gradual with low grade fever, weakness, chills, recurrent infections or lassitude, lasting for days or months before visual symptoms occur.

In addition, all AML, ALL and Schilling’s type leukemias may cause anemia, fatigue, dyspnea, palpitations and abdominal or bone pain. Specific AML symptoms include, local infections such as laryngitis, joint pain and abdominal fullness. Specific ALL symptoms include, night sweats, anorexia, weight loss and shortness of breath.

Leukemia that has spread to the brain may produce central nervous system effects, such as headaches, seizures, weakness, blurred vision, balance difficulties, or vomiting. Leukemia cells may spread to the gums, causing swelling, pain, and bleeding.

Causes of Leukemia
Current research points to a combination of viruses, genetic factors, and exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation.

Treatment
Medically leukemia is treated mainly with chemotherapy, although radiotherapy and biological therapy can be used in certain subtypes of leukemia.

Nutritional supplements offer help support the healthy function of the immune system, and in particular, the white blood cells in leukemia patients. In addition, some nutritional supplements are able to kill leukemia cells. Interestingly a number of people have experienced considerable benefit from the use of Lifewave acupuncture patches.

Prognosis for Acute Leukemia
Untreated, acute leukemia is usually fatal, often because of complications that result from leukemic cells infiltrating into the bone marrow or vital body organs.

With treatment prognosis varies, survival rates in leukemia have risen dramatically in the last 40 years with improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Children between 2 and 8 have the best survival rate (around 50%) but overall, treatment does induce remission in about 90% of cases.

Arthritis is, sadly, a very common and very painful condition. It can make working and even basic living extremely difficult. In order for treatment to prove effective in combating the symptoms and to allow the sufferer to live as normal a life as possible, it is essential to correctly diagnose which type of arthritis the patient has. The two most common types of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, are very different in character and require completely different methods of diagnosis, as well as very different methods of treatment.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition that affects as many as one in every hundred people. It is caused by a malfunction in the body’s defence systems and nobody has yet been able to discover why this happens. The genes that are responsible for the problem, have been identified – but the exact means by which the trouble occurs remains unknown. The disease is not hereditary, no increased risk has been found if you have a sufferer in your immediate family. In rheumatoid arthritis extra blood flow causes joints to become swollen and painful and in extreme cases can even permanently damage the joint. It is essential to seek medical help to reduce inflammation, as the damage to joints is permanent and irreversible.

Osteoarthritis is a completely different condition, which affects the bones. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, there appears to be no genetic factor involved with osteoarthritis, although there are several factors that increase the risk of the condition developing. Osteoarthritis is rare in young people, suggesting that in certain cases it is wear on the bones that causes the disease to develop. Overweight people are far more susceptible to the condition, especially with the knee joints, which suggests that excess strain put on a moving joint area will be a major factor in bringing on the condition. Stiff joints are the main symptom of osteoarthritis.

Although these two forms of arthritis account for the vast majority of sufferers, there are in fact over two hundred distinct types, These types affect all sections of the population, young and old alike. Some forms of the condition, such as ankylosing spondylitis, affect more men than women – which is in direct contrast to the two major types, where far more women are affected. Systemic lupus erythematosus, another very uncommon form of arthritis, is found in nine times the number of women than it is in men. One of the most common forms of arthritis, which is usually thought of as a completely different condition, is gout. This extremely painful problem is caused by uric acid and is at least controllable with correct treatment. Sometimes arthritis can be a purely reactive condition brought on by another kind of medical condition. In this case, the symptoms will usually disappear of their own accord, always provided that no permanent damage has occurred.

As arthritis comes in so many diverse forms, it is essential to get a correct diagnosis before attempting to treat the condition. The first port of call is usually the general practitioner, who will often be able to do some basic tests immediately. Usually, however, the patient will need to be sent to a local hospital for blood testing and X rays. In larger medical centres more advanced tests may be available and specialists in the condition may be on hand to advise. Once a correct diagnosis has been completed, there is much that modern medicine can do to relieve the pain of the condition and allow the sufferer to live a normal life, even if the arthritis cannot actually be cured permanently.

A variety of new asthma drugs are under research by many pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately progress tends to be very slow, as it takes as much as 10 years to get FDA approval start commercial production and bring the drug to the market. Costs too are prohibitive as it takes up to $350 million to bring a new molecule into the market.

One interesting development is older drugs used for treatment of other diseases like arthritis, cancer etc. are used for the treatment of asthma. They are being found to be more effective and costs are low. One such drug is Nedocromil sodium a medicine used for arthritis. Nedocromil, commercial name Tilade is more effective and potent than Cromolyn sodium. The ketotifen groups of drugs are new range of medicines for asthma. Ketotifens do not have any broncho dilataing action but they will prevent the asthma symptoms from occurring. It is not a rescue medicine but a preventive one. They have antihistamine and anti inflammatory properties. They have to be taken for several weeks before the results are visible. Ketotifens are available as an ophthalmic solution and oral drug. The ophthalmic solutions are used in the treatment of allergic eye problems like conjunctivitis, itchy and red eyes. The oral form is used for the treatment of asthma.

Several new asthma drugs that are derived from the ketotifen family Zaditen are quite promising. The active ingredient of zatiden is ketotifen hydrogen fumarate. Side effects of these drugs are minimal like drowsiness and weight gain. .Zatidine is normally prescribed for those asthma patients who have hives, sinus problems or hay fever.

Nowadays antibiotics are used widely in asthma treatment. While they may not help in all cases they do help when acute sinus infections and asthma coexist. There are Vaccines available for certain type of asthma caused by influenza virus. Annual flu shot can prevent this type of asthma. Asthma Patients should also get pneumonia vaccine particularly if they are 40 years and older.

Cancer has become one of the most common diseases with millions of people being diagnosed each year. Despite the fact that cancer is so common, medical science has yet to find a cure for this deadly disease. The cancer treatments that do exist, such as chemotherapy and radiation are very difficult on the cancer patient and are often more physically painful than the cancer itself. More and more, people are searching for alternatives to these harsh medical treatments and are turning to natural cancer cures in the hopes of sending their cancer in to remission. Read on to learn about some of today’s most promising natural remedies for cancer.

Diet Modification Therapy

The old saying goes “you are what you eat” and it has been widely speculated that our modern diet has contributed directly to the rise in cancer cases in recent years. It further goes to reason that by correcting the diet, we can reverse the damaging effects of unhealthy eating habits.

The enemy is fats, salt and refined sugars. Today’s processed foods contain high levels of each. The solution is to completely eliminate all unhealthy foods from your diet in favor of natural raw foods.

Why are fruits and vegetables essential? Recent research has discovered phytochemicals in many fruits and vegetables. These chemicals, also known as phytonutrients are believed to not only prevent cancerous growths but to also be able to reverse existing cases of cancer.

Oxygen Therapy

Oxygen therapy (also known as ozone therapy) for naturally treating cancer is a rather new idea, but one that shows great promise. The biggest benefits of oxygen treatments is that there are no side effects and the treatment is cost effective enough to be affordable.

It’s a well known fact that our bodies need oxygen to survive. Oxygen therapy works based on the premise that oxygen deters the growth of cancer cells by neutralizing and correcting the pH balance of the body. It is also suggested that diseased cells and pathogens can not survive in an oxygenated environment due to their anaerobic properties. Beyond this, oxygen provides other important benefits to the human body.

Oxygen therapy to treat cancer (and other aliments) is already being used by many alternative treatment clinics across the country.

I got rid of my arthritis and arthritis pain forever by eating a natural living food diet. I found relief from my arthritis pain, naturally, and you can do it too.

Arthritis concentrates in one or several joints where deterioration occurs. To get the arthritis pain relief you’re seeking it’s helpful to understand how arthritis works. The first step when looking for solutions to an arthritis pain problem is to understand how arthritis works.

The combination of the collagen meshwork and high water content tightly bound by proteoglycans creates a resilient, slippery pad in the joint, which resists the compression between bones during muscle movement. Collagen is the main protein found in all connective tissues in the body, including the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. The ability to make repairs to cartilage becomes limited as cartilage cells age.

Most experts now believe that osteoarthritis results from a genetic susceptibility that causes a biologic response to injuries to the joint, which leads to progressive deterioration of cartilage. Genetic factors are thought to be involved in about 50% of osteoarthritis cases in the hands and hips and a somewhat lower percentage of cases in the knee. An inflammatory response causes cytokines, to gather in injured areas and cause inflammation and damage to body tissue and cells; it’s known to play a role in rheumatoid arthritis and other muscle and joint problems associated with autoimmune diseases.

Try massaging your fingers or other affected joints with coconut oil twice a day. Some foods and beverages to avoid that are inflammatory are: caffeine, salt, sugar, meat, dairy products, additives, soft drinks, white flour, white rice, alcoholic beverages, fast food, processed vegetable oils, refined, packaged and processed food. Studies done on antioxidant vitamins question the value of these supplements; it’s clearly better to consume these antioxidants in living foods because they may also need to work with other nutrients present in the foods to work properly.

If you really want to get rid of your arthritis pain forever it may take a radical change in your diet and an ongoing commitment. Make smoothies with fruit only using a base of two bananas, adding a cup of frozen or fresh blueberries and mango chunks or substitute any other fruit and add an energy boost of two tablespoons of coconut oil; add one or two leaves of kale for another highly nutritional boost — no one will ever know. Making a ginger tea, by adding a thin slice or two of fresh gingerroot to hot water, is helpful to many people I know.

Try avoiding the eight most allergic foods, wheat being the most allergenic; they are wheat, corn, eggs, milk, peanuts, fish, shellfish and some nuts, not all. One natural treatment method involves avoiding all inflammatory foods, that is, foods that are not alive.

I know quite a few people who are drinking tart cherry juice to relieve their arthritis pain; but is has to be the tart kind though. Some of the supplements commonly used for relieving arthritis pain, but I don’t know if any of these work, are: glucosamine, chondroitin, bromelain, grapeseed extract, omega-3 and omega-6, cod liver oil, manganese ascorbate, MSM, boron, niacinamide, pantothenic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E.

To be on the safe side always seek your doctor’s advice before starting or changing your exercise program. A good exercise routine is the key to beating arthritis and relieving arthritis pain. If you have pain and swelling in your fingers, try squeezing Thera-putty made for this purpose or exercising with two Chinese chime balls called Taiji balls. Even the lightest exercise can go a long way to maintaining your joint mobility and overall health.

Your body has 147 different joints that are in motion every day of your life. Exercise your affected joints every day, to keep them flexible. Stretching and warming up the joints should always be the first step in your exercise routine to make your joints more flexible, just be careful you don’t do further damage-proceed slowly..

Be aware that the use of NSAIDs or Cox-2 inhibitors do not halt the progress of osteoarthritis and may even hasten the onset.

Once you become more informed about arthritis you’ll be able to plan an arthritis treatment program, natural or conventional or a combination of both. For conventional treatment of arthritis – if you do choose to take drugs or medications, be very careful and read the labels thoroughly.

Following these suggestions can help you get back in the swing of things fast and allow you to spend your days enjoying life once more. Arthritis pain relief is the ultimate goal – understanding arthritis is a good way to get there. Begin your treatment program with a diet change, exercise and weight loss plan to see incredible results and fast pain relief.

Rheumatoid Arthritis can be a big hindrance to daily activities and patients are often faced with many difficulties. Categorized under the autoimmune type among the seven main arthritis conditions, rheumatoid arthritis is a disorder occurring when the body’s immune system starts to attack itself because of some external trigger. The most commonly found arthritis condition is osteoarthritis, which affects the joints due to age, trauma or infection. Rheumatoid arthritis is a gradual condition, developing over several months and years. The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis begin with little joint aches and pains.

Rheumatoid arthritis, described in a nutshell, is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disorder. The joints inflame and degenerate gradually, causing pain and discomfort throughout. The first symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are usually inflammation and pain in fingers and toes. While the condition mostly affects the joints, about 15% of the patients develop extra-articular (external to the joints) rheumatoid arthritis as well.

In general, the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are not uniform, rising up and dying down sporadically. This is known as “flare-ups.”The symptoms can appear day or night, but the swelling and pain are often at their worst during the morning, just after waking. Since you move around during the day, or at least try to, and the joints grow less stiffened, the symptoms ease out by afternoon and often reduce dramatically by nighttime.

When rheumatoid arthritis begins to spread, it usually affects other joints, including the jaw, shoulders, elbows and hips. The pain and inflammation often affects joint pairs, such as both elbows or both knees. This is a common tendency seeing in patients with the condition. The typical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are joint pain, swelling and stiffness, often accompanied by a warming sensation and redness around the joints.

A set of symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, are referred to as secondary symptoms. These are connected to general health conditions as a response to the pain. These could be loss of appetite, anxiety, stress, depression, anemia, nodules under the skin, and a general feeling of being ill. Over 25% of the patients complain of skin nodules, specifically in the forearms and in the elbows. Though painless, they are small lumps that can be felt and sometimes seen as bumps on the skin. Anemia is a condition of inadequate red blood cells to carry oxygen to the whole body, and it leads to fatigue, and laziness. This is found in over 80% of the patients.

There are instances of all symptoms combining to lead to weight loss and fever in patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis. It does not end with just these, it also leads to inability to sleep, constant discomfort due to pain and weakness. This leads to a feeling of illness worse than before. Other symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include swelling of blood vessels, glands like the tear and salivary glands, and inflammation of the lining of the heart and lungs.

The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis point to a series of risk factors like age, gender, genetic history and harmful habits like smoking. Women in the 40-60 age group are at a higher risk. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is rare but not unheard of. This condition is generally not hereditary, but dormant genes can flare up with certain triggers.

Some of the most promising cancer research going on today involves the use of green tea and its ability to prevent cancer and even treat cancer in patients who have already been diagnosed with the disease. Researchers are examining many possibilities for how green tea might be used, and working to determine the cancer types for which it holds the most promise.

Over the last few years, scientists have learned a great deal about the importance of a diet rich in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are a powerful tool in slowing down the aging process and preventing disease. They are even more important than even with the number of processed foods we consume. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in anti-oxidants, as is dark chocolate and green tea. Coffee is also a source of anti-oxidants, though it is not nearly as rich in them as green tea.

The process our bodies go through to convert our food to energy creates free radicals each day. Free radicals are oxygen containing molecules that damage our cells and DNA. If we don’t combat them, the make us age more quickly, they contribute to the development of blocked arteries and the make us more susceptible to the diseases and problems of aging.

So, it’s certain that we all need to consume a high level of anti-oxidants as part of our everyday diet. But, of particular interest are the anti-oxidants in green tea. Asian cultures consume a large amount of green tea, and have espoused its healing properties for centuries. And, it just so happens that they have a much lower incidence of cancer and heart disease.

There are, of course, other differences between Asian culture and ours. Notably, we are far more likely to be overweight; and research has shown us that obesity is a significant risk factor for many diseases including cancer and heart disease. However, one other interesting fact; Asian cultures, particularly Japanese men are far more likely to smoke than we are, yet they still have a much lower incidence of cancer and heart disease.

So, green tea is of significant importance in our quest to live longer and be healthier. There are hundreds of studies that have shown that green tea is a good cancer preventative and can increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments.

One important study is linked to skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common of all cancers. Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. While only 4% of skin cancer cases are melanoma, it causes more deaths than any other type of skin cancer.

The number of new cases of melanoma is on the rise in the US- an estimated 62,000 Americans will be diagnosed in 2006, and about 8000 people will die from melanoma in the US this year. Nonmelanoma is extremely common. It is estimated that about one million people develop nonmelanoma cancer each year; this is about the same number of people who contract all other types of cancer combined. However, people rarely die from nonmelanoma – only about 1000 each year in the US.

Since skin cancer is so prevalent in our country, it’s critical that we spend time and money researching how we can treat this cancer. Of course, skin cancer is, in part, preventable. So, as part of a healthy lifestyle we should be diligent about protecting ourselves from the sun, because this is the most important aspect of preventing both types of skin cancer.

To reduce your risk of skin cancer, be sure that you are always protected from the sun, even on cloudy days, and even in the winter. Cover as much of your body as possible with clothing, and use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher on any areas that you cannot cover. Be sure to follow the directions on sunscreen closely; many people do not use enough sunscreen and do not reapply it often enough.

As scientists are researching ways to prevent and treat skin cancer, the results involving green tea are promising. One particular study reported by the Alternative Medicine Review showed excellent results in skin cancer prevention and treatment in mice with the use of green tea both applied topically and given orally.

In this study, mice were exposed to about seven different kinds of carcinogens, all of which are known to cause or contribute to skin cancer. The mice were divided into groups. Some of the groups were treated with green tea by substituting it for their drinking water. Others were treated topically with green tea extract. Some of the groups of mice were already suffering from skin cancer, as well.

The research was conducted so that mice undergoing exposure to each different carcinogen were treated with green tea in both forms. For example, some of the mice being exposed to UVB rays were treated with only oral green tea, while others were treated with only topical green tea extract.

The research concluded that all of the mice benefited from the green tea treatment, whether it was given orally or applied topically. In every group, the green tea was effective at preventing skin cancer. The study found that green tea applied topically seems to scavenge and destroy skin cells that are likely to become cancerous before they can mutate.

The green tea, whether given orally or applied topically, slowed down the cancer growth in the mice that were already infected. In addition, green tea given orally seemed to cause some regression of existing skin cancer.

Of course, these results are very promising. If this research is a good indicator of how green tea might work in humans, as well, then topically applied green tea may become the new trend in skin products. In addition, these findings support other findings that conclude that drinking green tea is effective in preventing and treating many forms of cancer.

The next step, of course, is to conduct human trials to see if the same results prove true. It certainly seems that we have enough information to suggest that green tea should be part of everyone’s diet for its ability to slow down aging and prevent disease.

The most exciting news from this study is the idea that we might benefit dramatically from the simple step of applying a form of green tea to our skin. Addition of green tea to our sunscreens, lotions and moisturizers could have a dramatic effect on the number of skin cancer diagnosed each year. And, even for those already diagnosed with skin cancer, green tea applied to the skin might prove to be an effective treatment to kill the cancer cells, or at least slow down their progression.