Chamomile tea could lower thyroid cancer risk

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.

Many people in Greece follow a Mediterranean diet. Out of every 100,000 people there, about 1.6 are diagnosed with thyroid cancer every year, Linos said. That compares with average rates of 13.2 and 5.2 per 100,000 people in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, "suggesting that it may be something in the Greek diet – such as tea – which accounts for this difference."

Linos and colleagues examined cancer rates and dietary habits in 113 patients admitted to two Athens area hospitals for thyroid cancers between 1990 and 1993. They compared those patients to 138 people without thyroid cancer who were either healthy or had other unrelated diseases, and also to another 286 people with benign thyroid disease.

Researchers interviewed participants about their medical history, diet and lifestyle habits, as well as consumption of alcohol, coffee and tea.

Then they estimated the odds of developing thyroid cancer or benign growths based on tea consumption, comparing the outcomes for daily versus weekly cups of tea and exploring whether the habit had a bigger impact over several years.

After accounting for age, gender, and body mass index, the researchers found that as consumption of chamomile tea increased, the odds of developing any type of thyroid malignancy significantly declined.

People who drank chamomile tea two to six times a week were about 70 percent less likely to develop thyroid abnormalities. Thirty years of regular consumption reduced the risk by about 80 percent.

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