Chamomile tea tied to lower thyroid cancer risk

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Consumption of chamomile tea was linked with a lower risk of thyroid cancer in a small Greek study. Researchers interviewed some Athens residents about their lifestyle, eating and drinking habits and found that people who reported drinking more chamomile tea over longer periods of time were less likely to develop thyroid malignancies or benign growths than those who didn’t. While the study doesn’t prove tea prevents cancer, it adds to a growing body of evidence pointing to the potential health benefits of a Mediterranean diet including lots of lean fish, fresh vegetables and healthy fats in addition to tea, study co-author Dr. Athena Linos, an environmental health researcher at Prolepsis in Greece, said by email. “The finding was not surprising to me because many aspects of the Mediterranean diet have been shown to be protective towards cancer in general,” Linos said.