NETTLE FOR BLOOD

Emunity Nettle Chamomile Wild Strawberry Meadowsweet & Cucumber, 12 x 250ml, £18.99, amazon.co.uk Per 100ml: Calories, 21; saturated fat, 0g; sugar, 4.5g; salt, 0g CLAIM: ‘Packed with nutrients and beneficial properties. Aims to help reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and oxidative stress [cell damage linked to diseases such as cancer]. Nettle is known to help flush toxins from body.’ EXPERT VERDICT: There is some vitamin C (from added citric acid), which protects cells, but the other nutrients are likely to be present in only tiny amounts, so I don’t think this can be ‘packed’ with health benefits.

Nettle is thought to act as a diuretic. Sometimes recommended for high blood pressure, diuretics help release excess water and salts from the body — but there’s only 0.5 per cent nettle extract in a can.

You also get almost three teaspoons of sugar, some of it from added fructose which has been linked to such chronic diseases as obesity, type 2 diabetes and gout. TASTE: Like a still and nonalcoholic Pimm’s. 7/10