• Green Tea

• Green tea is good for stroke, but not cancer

Experts are still divided over the full benefits of green tea. However, if you like the taste, go ahead and drink up anyway. Can drinking green tea really protect against two big killers - strokes and cancer? A study, funded by the Japanese government, involving 40,530 Japanese adults suggests yes and no: It might lower your stroke risk but still will not save you from cancer.

The findings might explain why the Japanese are less likely to die of heart disease and stroke. Even so, the answers are not clear. Green tea has been researched a lot, and many of the studies have come up with conflicting results. Ealier this year, the United States' Food and Drug Administration said an analysis found no credible scientific evidence to support manufacturers' claims that green tea can cut cardiovascular disease risks.

The US National Cancer Institute says human studies on tea and cancer prevention have had contradictory results. but there is still hope and the institute is funding rigorous studies testing whether tea extract can help prevent several kinds of cancer.

While the study is not the last word on whether tea-drinking is good for you, tea is generally harmless and has no calories, so if you like the taste, most researches would probably say go ahead and drink it.

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