Is green tea good for you?

If you’ve noticed that everyone and their grandmother is drinking green tea like it’s going out of fashion, you might be wondering: is green tea good for you?

While green tea is not quite the magical elixir it can be made out to be, it is good for you. It contains polyphenols which are plant compounds said to be protective against certain diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis. Green tea has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart attack and may be protective against diabetes.

On a slightly vainer note, green tea may have a thermogenic effect, too. That is, it could speed up the rate at which you burn calories. A recent US study found that drinking green tea three times a day resulted in an extra 200 calories a day being burned. That’s a lot of calories.

Green tea is also anti-bacterial, so can help you avoid food poisoning as well as preventing tooth decay and bad breath.

It doesn’t come without a slight caveat, though. Green tea is caffeinated. Your friends who are knocking back cup after cup may be doing this more because of a caffeine addiction than anything. Caffeine is not the big baddy it used to be thought – it can be useful before exercise, but can also unbalance blood sugar and cause cravings.

Lowri Turner is a nutritionist/hypnotherapist, specialising in hormone balance and weight loss.