Having been in naturopathic practice for over 21 years, I have seen it all.  Or nearly.  In the early days Green Lipped Mussels were going to take over the world (scary thought), then oat bran was the best thing yet (at least for lowering cholesterol), more recently Goji berries and pomegranate juice have been the talk of the town.... and grateful health food shops.  I am not saying these products are bad, or not effective, in fact they usually have some health benefits.  However, it is more often marketing spin that is responsible for the high profile of various supplements than their role as universal panaceas.  The average bear has no way to know what is spin and what is real.  It’s enough to send a trained naturopath into a lemon-lipped bad tempered, snarling cynic.  Who, moi?  So my latest bête noire is a green tea combination claiming unique weight loss properties.  And scooping in the millions.

Weight loss is always going to be a popular topic. Most of us have a few unwanted kilos we’d like to shed, so when a miracle weight loss product containing green tea appears in the market, many people feel compelled to give it a go. Especially when that product is endorsed by a scientific study, and has the word ‘Dr.’on the label.

Unfortunately, for every study that shows green tea causes weight loss, there will be another 2 studies showing that it does not. Of course, the miracle product will be quoting the one study that says ‘yes’ to weight loss, and not the other studies saying ‘no’.

As we know there are lots of health benefits to be obtained by drinking green tea, including reducing risk of certain cancers, diabetes and heart disease. However, there seems to be one recurring outcome of the many studies on weight loss, green tea seems to definitely have an affect on the type of fat. In particular visceral fat, the fat lining our organs including kidneys and liver. This is the dangerous distribution of fat, inclining us more towards heart disease. In addition, given that tea without milk or sugar contains no kilojoules, it is a great addition to a weight loss diet. Green tea - not a miracle cure, but a really healthy addition to your diet.

The miracle cure for weight loss is unfortunately sadly boring.  Sells no books.  Is not covered by the sexy TV show hosts.  Eat less.  Exercise more.  .........sorry.