Green tea? Drink it up, boys.

Green tea may become the drink of choice for guys -- especially those worried about prostate cancer. A new study shows that the drink may slow prostate cancer's progression. Our Booster Shots blog reports:

Researchers from Louisiana State University found a significant reduction in the levels of several growth factors that promote cancer as well as reductions in prostate specific antigen, a marker of cancer growth.

The men [in the study], who were all scheduled for prostate cancer surgery, took four capsules a day (a total of about 800 milligrams) of the green tea extract EGCG. That's equal to about 12 cups of green tea per day. The extract also contained other types of polyphenols.

Some men had reductions in growth factors of up to 30%. However, the response varied among the men for reasons that researchers don't yet understand.

OK, so it doesn't work for everybody, and it took the equivalent of 12 cups of green tea a day to get the effect, which is kind of a lot. And only 26 men participated in the study.

But guys seem pretty squeamish about prostate exams. If green tea might possibly work a little preventive magic, it seems like a new, manly beverage of choice.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Eric Boyd / Los Angeles Times