A new study from the United Kingdom proves that tea might be for more than just drinking. Not only that but also this beverage may have properties in it that can save your life. Although only in the animal testing stage this new research is looking like it may already have some very positive results. The feeling is that tea as a lotion may be able to stop the damage done to skin by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Drinking the tea could give the same benefits to the patient as using the lotion but the patient would have to drink at least ten cups daily.

Both black and green teas contain polyphenols. These polyphenols seem to somehow block the body’s ability to make skin cancer of the non-melanoma type. The important part of this research is that the polyphenols seem to do this after the skin has been exposed to too much sunlight. The studies have shown the scientists that the polyphenols hamper an enzyme called JNK-2 and prevent it from helping the development of the cancerous growths. Somehow, though they are not completely sure why, JNK-2 plays a pivotal, role in tumor development. When the skin is continuously in the sun in an unprotected state the JNK-2 levels rise and stay higher in the skin that was exposed. In areas with higher levels of JNK-2 the risks for skin cancer are much higher.

Experiments on mice showed that polyphenols, when put directly on the skin with the higher levels of JNK-2, quickly lowered these levels. At the same time this appears to have blocked damage to the skin. The researchers feel this is a big step. They believe they may have found the key to blocking the skin from developing skin cancer caused by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Since a person would have to drink at least ten cups a day of black or green tea to get enough value from the polyphenols the ability to make this into a cream of lotion and apply it directly to the skin is a big step. Its also believed it is more effective when it’s applied directly to the skin.

There are even suggestions of putting this into sunscreen to block the sun and protect the skin at the same time. This would be like an intense protection plan for everyone who cared to try it. Unfortunately, trials on humans are still a few years away. So even though this lotion could be a reality it may be another ten years before its available to the public. Another interesting thing that researchers have found, but only with green tea, is that it also contains a lot of antioxidants and these may also help prevent skin cancer. They destroy free radicals that are believed harm the cells.

There are other creams that make claims to do wonderful things for a variety of skins cancers. Most have not undergone proper human testing and so are better stayed away from until they can prove their worth.