Turning now to some health-related news,... green tea is known around the world for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.<br />And adding to that,... a recent study shows drinking two cups of green tea a day can keep your lungs healthy.<br />Cho Sung-min reports.<br /> <br /> Local researchers from Kyung Hee University say drinking green tea can reduce your chances of getting several serious lung diseases by nearly 40 percent.<br />Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, includes conditions such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis and refractionary asthma.<br /> These diseases, mostly caused by smoking, have several things in common -- they cause chest tightening, chronic coughing, and excessive amounts of mucus.<br /><br /> The researchers found a clear correlation between green tea consumption and these lung conditions after conducting a study on some 13-thousand subjects age 40 and older from 2008 to 2015.<br />Among those who drank more than two cups of green tea per day, COPD was found in only five percent of them.<br />Among those who didn't drink green tea at all, the figure was over 14 percent.<br /><br /> After applying a range of variables -- from smoking history and alcohol consumption, to the subjects' levels of physical activity -- the team concluded that drinking at least two cups of green tea per day reduces the chances of contracting COPD by 38 percent.<br />Though the mechanism isn't completely understood yet, the team says that a green tea extract called catechin helps protect the lungs with its anti-inflammatory effects.<br /> The team are planning further research on the extract to find out exactly how it works.<br />Cho Sung-min, Arirang News. <br />
