If you MUST smoke, eat veggies and drink tea

It would be better if they quit smoking, according to Zhang. Yeah, yeah, we know. "However," he says, "it's not a bad idea for everyone to eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more tea."

The next step is to study the effect of flavonoids on cell lines and animals in the lab to figure out how they protect against lung cancer. The components, he says, block the formation of blood vessels that feed tumors and stop cancer cells from growing. Next, he wants to study which plant foods protect best, and the daily amounts that offer the best protection.

Having said all that, it's time to say it again. Smoking is bad. Just quit.

-Susan Brink

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