The yerba mate brew is a healthy drink. For most people, its health benefits greatly outweigh the possible side effects. However, avoid excessive amounts of any drink with caffeine, including yerba mate tea. Avoid making your yerba mate too strong and drinking too much. If worried about the possible cancer risk, let your tea cool down before drinking it, and avoid using smoke-dried products.
Yerba Mate Tea Overview
Yerba mate, also known as mate, is an herbal tea made by steeping dried leaves from the yerba mate plant in hot water. Like black or green tea, it has caffeine, which can make you feel more alert and focused. Drinking yerba mate isn’t linked to health problems in most adults. A daily cup of tea made with three grams of yerba mate leaves may be safe for up to 12 weeks.
Some studies suggest the tea may have helpful effects on:
- Cholesterol
- Weight loss
- The heart
- Inflammation
- Cancer risk
But more research is needed. If you have a medical condition or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, be careful with your daily caffeine intake.
The South American tea provides an energy boost similar to coffee, but with less caffeine and more nutrients. It could help with blood lipid levels and weight loss.
The yerba mate tea comes from a plant called Ilex Paraguariensis. It grows in the subtropical rainforests of South America. The plant can live productively up to 100 years. People use the dried leaves to make the tea infusion.
Yerba mate has adaptogenic properties. It can regulate the body’s systems. Coffee drinkers often suffer a caffeine crash. With yerba mate, you feel the body and mind stimulation long after drinking it.
Does yerba mate give you a buzz?
The South American brew provides an energy boost similar to coffee, but with more nutrients. Yerba mate has the same amount of caffeine as coffee does, but it does not make the drinker jittery. It can regulate the body’s systems. Yerba mate’s benefits include:
- Increased metabolism
- Fat burning
- Weight loss
- Reduced cholesterol, glucose and fat in the blood
The yerba mate herb is native to South America, where it’s popular as a hot beverage. It’s thought to enhance stamina. The seeds apparently only germinate after being digested by specific native birds. This makes commercial cultivation more difficult.
Yerba mate contains caffeine and other key compounds. These have been shown to:
- Improve memory
- Improve focus
- Improve mood
- Slow blood clotting
- Decrease blood sugar
- Lower neurological disease risk
Yerba mate is more than just a caffeinated tea. It brings people together and holds cultural significance as a communal drink in South America. You can find yerba mate at most Hispanic markets.
Health Benefits of Yerba Mate
Yerba mate is popular in South American countries like Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. It contains caffeine and antioxidants. Many people drink yerba mate tea for its health benefits and to get energy.
Yerba mate tea can:
- Improve mental focus
- Give you energy
- Provide antioxidants that can help fight disease
- Help prevent cancer, similar to green tea (but other research found a potential link between drinking very hot yerba mate and mouth or throat cancer)
Like coffee, yerba mate can increase alertness because it stimulates the nervous system. It may cause problems for some people with heart disease or arrhythmias. The caffeine could increase their blood pressure or risk of pregnancy loss.
The caffeine in yerba mate provides an energy boost. It can help prevent fatigue and increase:
- Mental alertness
- Creativity
Yerba mate is more than just a caffeinated tea. It brings people together and holds cultural significance as a communal drink in South America. You can find yerba mate at most Hispanic markets.
What is the most stimulating South American tea?
The leaves of this South American plant are dried over a fire and steeped to make a tea. Yerba mate contains caffeine and antioxidants. It has:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B1
- Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B3
- Vitamin B5
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
The caffeine in yerba mate provides an energy boost. It can help prevent fatigue and increase mental alertness and creativity.
The amount of caffeine in one cup of yerba mate is about half that of coffee. Locals in South America drink up to 4 liters per day. It’s best to limit yerba mate intake until more research on long-term effects is available.