Green tea is the over-achiever of the tea world, garnering high praise for benefiting an array of conditions including arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol. Green tea does all that and helps you lose weight too! Or does it?

Like most herbs, green tea’s benefits are steeped in tradition rather than scientific facts. However, a few small weight loss studies have shown a splash of promise for green tea as a weight loss supplement.

One study looked at the effect of catechins, a polyphenol found in green tea, on weight loss and body fat reduction. The net result after three months of green tea drinking was a weight loss of approximately 2.5 pounds. While these results are promising, more research needs to be done on the effectiveness and long-term safety of green tea as a weight loss supplement.

To reap the weight loss benefits of green tea, drinking 4 cups per day is the typical recommendation. Each cup of green tea contains the caffeine equivalent of about 2/3 of a cup of coffee. It is unclear if it is the catechins in green tea or the metabolism boosting and diuretic effect of caffeine that promote weight loss.

If you aren’t a tea drinker, green tea is also available in tablet form. Many name brand diet pills, such as Dexatrim, Herbalife, and Trimspa, list green tea as a main ingredient. They also contain a host of other ingredients with their own precautions and side effects, so be sure to read the label before you buy anything.

When consumed by itself, green tea has few side effects. The caffeine in green tea can raise your heart rate and blood pressure. If you are sensitive to caffeine or have high blood pressure, green tea probably isn’t a good weight loss supplement for you.

If you want to try green tea for weight loss, expect a monthly cost ranging from $10 for tea bags to more than $50 for name brand diet pills. (Check current green tea prices at Amazon.) The jury is still out on whether green tea is truly effective for weight loss. But if you drink 4 cups of green tea daily, you certainly will get a jolt from the caffeine and be a frequent visitor to the restroom.