Q: I’m confused about green tea. I’m told it’s a good antioxidant and yet I’m also advised to cut out tea and coffee from my diet. How does green tea fit in, and should we be drinking it or avoiding it?

– Jane, Chipping Norton

A: It is rather confusing when a drink can have both negative and positive aspects. Green tea is made from the same plant as ordinary black tea but it is produced from unfermented leaves whereas black tea is made by fermenting green tea.

Green tea does contain caffeine but also high levels of antioxidants called polyphenols. These polyphenols have been found to have anti-cancer properties and can also help to reduce cholesterol and increase HDL ‘good’ cholesterol.

But the problem is the caffeine in the green tea. If you are aware that you have blood sugar swings and crave sweets or caffeine during the day or have fat around the middle then it is better to eliminate green tea for a couple of months.

Caffeine is a stimulant which prompts your body to release cortisol (one of the stress hormones) which in turn triggers the release of insulin. Over time caffeine will make your body resistant to insulin so your body will turn glucose straight into fat and store it around your middle. Caffeine will also make you feel more stressed.

Caffeine is addictive. Tea and coffee act like a drug. The trouble is that when the effect wears off you’re going to need another cup to keep you going. It’s a classic crutch for the 3 or 4pm energy dip when you could think you’ll never get through the afternoon without that cup of tea and biscuit.

So I would recommend getting your blood sugar in balance by eliminating sugar and anything containing caffeine for a while and then having a couple of cups of organic green tea a week will be healthy rather than acting as a caffeine-fix.

Q: I have headaches every few weeks and my doctor says they are cluster headaches. What can I do about them?

A: Cluster headaches are one sided, often centred behind the eye and occur in several episodes over the course of a few days. Well done for getting it checked out – anyone with recurring headaches should do the same.

For a few weeks keep a diary of what you eat, what you do and your moods – you may spot a link or trigger for these headaches. Alcohol, cheese, coffee, citrus fruits and chocolate may all cause them. So may missing meals or not drinking enough water. Try to keep your back, neck and shoulders relaxed as bad posture can be a cause; you may also want to consider learning Alexander Technique.

When the headache strikes you should try applying lavender essential oil on the temples or forehead. The homeopathic remedy Pulsatilla can help and the herb feverfew has been shown to prevent migraine type headaches when taken on a daily basis.’

Q: How can I stay away from sweets when I have a really big sweet tooth? I’m finding it really hard.

A: The reason you have a sugar addiction in the first place is because you eat too much sugar. When you eat sugar your body tends to overproduce insulin. This excess insulin causes your blood sugar to drop. Your body then craves more sugar in order to raise your blood sugar level back to normal. You find yourself caught in a vicious circle.

The only way out of this never-ending sugar addiction roller coaster is to break the cycle – that means eliminating sugar from your diet, or at least cutting down on it dramatically. The less you eat, the less you will crave.

Now as you said, it’s not all that easy. The first steps are to eliminate foods containing sugar from your diet, anything with an –ose on the end of the word is a sugar e.g. sucrose, dextrose, maltose, so read the ingredient list carefully. There can be sugar in savoury foods such as tomato ketchup and baked beans.

At the same time, make sure that you eat little and often, not leaving more than three hours without eating as this will stop the roller coaster of blood sugar and reduce the cravings. In order to help your body while you get your blood sugar under control add in a chromium supplement as this mineral is needed for the metabolism of sugar. Avoid chromium in the form of picolinate as this is a synthetic form of chromium and has been linked to DNA damage, liver dysfunction, skin blisters and anaemia (see my book ‘Fat around the Middle’). Chromium polynicotinate is fine.