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A double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that an extract of green and black tea improved lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men. LUTS includes a variety of obstructive and uncomfortable symptoms of the urinary tract, such as straining, urgency, and frequency, and affects 50–90% of men over the age of 70. Published in Therapeutic Advances in Urology, the study provided an extract of green and black tea (as a proprietary formula called AssuriTea® Men’s Health) to two groups of men between the ages of 30 and 70 with moderate to severe LUTS; one group received 1000 mg daily, another received 500 mg daily, and a third control group received a placebo. After 12 weeks, men receiving 1000 mg of the extract reported clinically relevant improvements in symptoms compared to the placebo group. The 1000 mg group also experienced a reduction in C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation. While there are some concerns about the study’s methodology—for example, some objective measures of symptoms were inconsistent—this was the first study to show that tea extract could improve LUTS.

Source: Therapeutic Advances in Urology