Research published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research has found a new mechanism that may provide the key to why some foods are particularly healthy. The researchers found that epigallocatechin gallates, a class of polyphenols contained in green tea, apples, cocoa and other herbs and foods, blocks vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, which is implicated in the buildup of plaque in the arteries, as well as cancer growth. Blocking VEGF helps prevent angiogenesis—when tumors form new blood vessels that help them grow.

The researchers, from the Institute of Food Research, in Norwich, in the United Kingdom, tested the polyphenols, as well as human cells, in the laboratory.