Green tea and spinach might sound like a healthy combination but it is not. A new study has revealed that iron-rich foods strip the drink of its antioxidant powers. Green tea is touted for its many health benefits as a powerful antioxidant but experiments in a laboratory mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease suggest that consuming green tea along with dietary iron may actually lessen green tea's benefits. Study author Matam Vijay-Kumar of the Penn State University said If you drink green tea after an iron-rich meal the main compound in the tea will bind to the iron. When that