What is yerba mate?
If we wanted to quickly sum up what yerba mate is, it would be thesuper-natural energy from the forests of South America.
Yerba mate is a tree that grows in South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Its leaves are picked and dried for traditional consumption in a calabash (a kind of small gourd), using a bombilla (a straw with a filter) and adding hot water at 80 degrees Celcius.
Today, it is consumed by millions of people every day for its energizing effects and multiple benefits.
So we thought we'd introduce you to this naturally energizing drink, which has won over the Ma Caféine team, and give you 5 good reasons to start drinking it:
Health benefits
Its energizing effects
Concentration aid
Its help with sport
Its weight-loss benefits
Listen to our podcast on yerba mate:
Health benefits
Generally speaking, yerba mate is excellent for your health: super antioxidant, rich in minerals, anti-inflammatory... So many benefits that it would be a shame to ignore!
In fact, yerba mate is rich in minerals, which are important for the metabolism and development of the human body. What's more, the naturally active compounds present in yerba mate have a very high antioxidant capacityhigher than that of green tea, for example. It also contains polyphenols and saponins, two molecules widely studied for their anti-inflammatory effect, beneficial to the prevention of a wide variety of diseases, and which could help strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other chronic illnesses.
It could also relieve headaches and rheumatism, combat short-term mental and physical fatigue, lower "bad" cholesterol levels (LDL) and increase "good" cholesterol levels (HDL), improve short-term cognitive performance, and aid weight loss.
As you can see, yerba mate can be your best daily health ally.
Whole yerba mate leaves before harvesting.
Its energizing effects
Yerba mate is naturally rich in caffeine and theobromine.
The caffeine in yerba mate stimulates the central nervous system, enhancing attention and helping to combat drowsiness and sleepiness. There is less caffeine in mate than in coffee, but a little more than in tea.
Theobromine, responsible for the bitterness of yerba mate and also found in chocolate, also actively stimulates the nervous system and acts as a natural muscle relaxant.
These two components combine to give you a unique energy comparable to that of coffee, but without the drawbacks of consuming a cup of the black nectar.
Mate doesn't give you heart palpitations or heartburn like coffee does. Nor does it produce energy spikes like coffee does. On the contrary,energy remains constant for several hours. However, you should avoid consuming it at the end of the day to avoid disrupting your sleep. It's best to drink mate in the morning, so you can enjoy its benefits all day long.
Maté ready to brew in a gourd with bombilla.
Aids concentration
Regular consumption of yerba mate is said to help awaken body and mind, making us alert, focused and relaxed. We use the conditional tense, as nothing has been scientifically proven in this respect. On the other hand, you can find a multitude of testimonials extolling its benefits for the brain, such as increased powers of concentration, heightened alertness and improvedphysical energy, all without the side effects often associated with caffeine.
The dose of caffeine contained in yerba mate (53mg per 100ml) is better assimilated and tolerated by the body than that contained in coffee (77mg per 100ml), so it wakes up the body without irritating. As a result, where coffee can cause nervousness and high blood pressure, mate stimulates brain activity and enhances concentration.
That's why we recommend this infusion to students in particular, or to people with attention deficit disorders. This healthy infusion can help you stay focused for at least two hours. In fact, studies have shown that yerba maté is most effective during the first two hours after consumption. After that, its action gradually diminishes.
Brewing yerba mate while studying or at work is a really good idea.
Its help for sport
Yerba mate is the ideal drink for physical activity!
Many sportsmen and women around the world consume it regularly and emphasize its benefits in their field. Soccer remains the sport with the highest number of mate consumers to date. Global celebrities such as Argentina's Lionel Messi and his French team-mate Antoine Griezmann are often spotted with a calabash in hand before games and in the dressing room.
Yerba mate contains vitamins (A, C, E, B1, B2), magnesium, potassium and phosphorus, as well as caffeine. And caffeine consumption prior to physical activity is known to improve endurance and performance.
Yerba mate also contains theobromine, also found in cocoa, and various sources suggest that theobromine may play a role in vascular constriction. In other words, vessels widen, allowing blood and oxygen to circulate more freely throughout the body.
Also, thanks to its high antioxidant content, mate plays an important role during training, helping to reduce lactic acid build-up and, consequently, may reduce the burning sensation in muscles during and after exercise. Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects would therefore help muscle recovery.
So it's easy to see why yerba mate seems to be the ideal drink to help you with your physical activities!
Argentina is one of the world's leading consumers of yerba mate.
Its weight-loss benefits
As mentioned above, as a thermogenic food, yerba mate can help you lose weight. In fact, it has fat-burning and appetite-suppressant properties.
"The consumption of yerba mate has become very popular for health, obesity prevention and body weight reduction, mainly due to its thermogenic effectiveness."
Study published in the scientific journal Nutrition & Metabolism.
Like green tea, yerba mate is a natural fat burner. And as with any good weight-loss program, yerba mate must of course be combined with a balanced diet and regular exercise to be effective.
A study was carried out in London in 2014 by the University of Sheffield Sports Academy. It involved testing the rate of fat burned by several athletes, some of whom had consumed mate, and others who had not. The results showed that the athletes who drank mate before training burned 24% more fat than the others.
In short, yerba mate should be considered as a long-term weight-lossaid. It is not a dietary supplement, nor is it a miracle weight-loss solution. It's an herbal tea full of benefits, which goes perfectly well with a balanced diet and exercise, and can help you lose weight thanks to its appetite-suppressant and fat-burning properties.
So, are you convinced?
Yerba maté is the best ally for long days at the office, revision work or sports training.
It's an excellent healthy alternative to coffee, an infusion full of benefits for body and mind.
Will you give in to temptation and begin your initiation?
Yerba mate, a healthy infusion
Yerba Maté (pronounced yèr-ba ma-té) is a tree native to South America.yerba-mate-tree
Its infusion, similar to tea, is distinguished by its nutritional profile, its taste and the ceremonial way in which it is drunk.
In fact, it's the number-one drink in South America, a traditional beverage shared for centuries and steeped in Latin culture.
