Yerba Mate originally came from Guarani Indian in Southern part of America. This kind of drink is a traditional one cause it comes from a dried leaves of a yerba mate plants. Earlier before, the Guarani Indian tribe invented this beverages a long time ago and usually enjoy this kind of drink during a gathering with a special drinking ceremony. All of the participants were ordinarily a family member or friends that sit in a circle with one ‘cebador’ or a servant to serve them the yerba mate drink. They will conventionally brew the herbs in a unique pumpkin shell and drink it started from the closest relatives, in rotation until they finished the drink. This ceremony simple represent their companionship and sharing towards each other in the tribe.
This yerba mate has a strongly unique tastes that similar with an ek tree and tobacco kind of feelings when we drink it. It has a green colored kind of leaves and usually needs to be dried before consumed. You can easily find this plant in the forest of Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
Several studies have been conducted to explain what compounds are in this plant. The studies showed that yerba mate have 15 kind of amino acid, 24 minerals, and numbers of vitamins that will bring us healthiness. Yerba Mates are known to have the strength of coffee, the benefits from tea, and the euphoria from chocolate all in one that would then make this drink even more worth to try.
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From that so much materials and properties found inside yerba mates plant, it clearly declared that yerba mate could bring us advantages in health. Here are several health benefits of yerba mates tea we found:
1. Reduce Anxiety and Stress
Yerba mate has the ability to inhibit the activity of monoamine oxidase by 50% and it is this activity that has been associated with depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders.
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2. Boost our Mental Functions
When you’re still having a lot of to-list through the entire day but feeling so tired, sleepy, and seem to not focus on your work, a little amount of caffeine would help you out. Yerba mate has enough amount of caffeine that are going to stimulate our neurotransmitter to produce more dopamine. Dopamine surely will make us feel more focused, present, and productive to finish our left-untouched bunch of tasks.
3. Act as a Stimulant
Tea does contain caffeine and which would act as a stimulant, but believed that other materials, found in yerba mate, helping to offset the negative side effects from caffeine. Many people have reported being able to drink yerba mate in the evening, to keep them alert during the night, but still could go to sleep easily after that.
4. Rich in Antioxidant
Yerba mate is very rich in antioxidants, even contains more antioxidants than green tea. (Note: yerba mate contains a variety of antioxidants from green tea; the main antioxidant in tea yerba mate chlorogenic acid, while the main antioxidant in green tea is a compound epigallocatechin gallate or catechin). Antioxidants play an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system and also can prevent the development of some forms of cancer.
5. Good source of Vitamin and Mineral
There are these several vitamin and minerals in yerba mates such as Vitamin C, B1, B2, Caroten, and else that would be really good for our body.
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6. Help us with Allergies and Sinusitis
Yerba mates are studied by many researchers and they came up with the fact that it can help us with our allergies and sinusitis. Also read:Â Signs of Wheat Allergy
7. Help us with Weight Loss
There’s thermogenic materials found in yerba mates that can help us do faster metabolism process. Faster metabolism process also means more amount of fats burned inside our body. This herbs also press our demand to eat. That’s the way yerba mates can help you with your weight loss diet. No wonder now, there are so many weight loss product in markets with a yerba mates ingredient inside.
Indeed, for best diet tips, you can consume yerba mate tea every morning. Also, you may add additional lemon or honey for the taste and better nutritional consume.
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8. Help us Build Strong Bones
This was one of the surprising effect on drinking yerba mate tea. Our bone density will increase higher even when we don’t do any exercise. This is an opposite invention due to the bone mineral loss when we drink too much caffeine, and also exercising build a stronger bones. But that’s the fact! A study found in post ‘menopausal’ women with a risk of getting osteoporosis, who drank yerba mates in a constant dosage had 10% stronger bone density in their spines, compared to women that didn’t drink any. And none of the group did an exercised.
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9. Fix our Digestive System
Yerba Mate tea benefits include better digestion. The South Americans have been using yerba mate for centuries, as a treatment for digestive problems. Yerba mate calms the stomach and stimulates the production of bile and other gastric acid, which can relieve digestive discomfort.
10. Fix our Cardiovascular
This drink is believed will help us with our ability to get a heart failure, low blood pressure, and irregular heartbeat. It is because of the anti-inflammatory properties and rich antioxidant compounds that protect and support our cardiovascular system. This will keep our heart healthy.
11. Reduce High-blood Pressure
Yerba mate can be used to help lower blood pressure in people suffering from hypertension. Yerba mate tea works as a vasodilator, which means that it relaxes and dilates blood vessels, which in turn, allows the blood to flow more freely.
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12. Prevent Cancer
Polyphenol antioxidant compounds in yerba mates are higher in number compared to polyphenol amount in green tea. This antioxidant is very good at preventing cancer to grow wildly inside our body.
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Indeed, there are many health benefits of yerba mate tea that is nice to consume for daily drinks.
How to Consume Yerba Mate Tea
Originally in South America, mate drunk from a dried gourd shell with a metal straw. Equipped filter called a bombilla. Mate is generally made from 57 grams of dry leaves are put in the bombilla, plus hot water, left for some time and then drunk. Water used 500 ml to 1 liter several times to soak the leaves.
And another traditional method of drinking yerba mates invented in Paraguay. This method is known as “Terere”. They enjoy drinking cold yerba mate, by replacing the hot water to ice, sometimes with a mixture of spices, and instead of pumpkin, yerba mate drink inside in cow horns.
But, there are also several other methods and tips as an optional for you the beginner to get yerba mate benefits:
- Mate is also sold in the form of tea bags (called mate cocido) so it can be brewed like regular tea (but still not in boiling water).
- You also can impose such brewed tea yerba mate; brewed in hot water (the amount depends on how strong the flavor you want, you can experiment) and strain the leaves before drinking.
- If you have a coffee machine press, you can also prepare mate with it. See How to Use French Press or Cafetiere.
- You also can make a mate with a regular automatic coffee maker. Simply insert your mate in the regular insert ground coffee.
- If you did not like the taste of Yerba Mate, you can exchange it with grated coconut and add warm milk as a substitute in warm water. This is great for kids and those who like sweet drinks in winter. You can also add fresh mint leaves, or other aromatic plants directly into the water.
- To produce a sweeter, add sugar or honey into the flask before pouring hot water.
Additional Facts of Yerba Mate
- PAHs Compound – Aside from its benefits for our health, turns out yerba mates has also several contradiction towards it. Number of scientists believe that the yerba mates drinker has a lot more possibility to get a cancer inside their body 10 times higher than an average person who never drink yerba mate. This fact comes from the fact that yerba mate was actually go though some fumigation process. Fumigation later brings up more PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) compounds in yerba mate finish product. While PAHs are generally known to be the cancer trigger for human bodies. But, some of the producers have already swear that they’re no longer using fumigation to help them drying up the herbs but using more high-tech method which is air-dried process. This air-dried process hopefully can reduce PAHs compound found in yerba mates when we compare it to the fumigation process finish product.
- Caffeine – And also, yerba mates are believed to contain caffeine which is not good for a sensitive person such as pregnant woman, breast-feed mommy, and also person with neuron diseases. Although the concentration isn’t as high as in coffee or tea, it is suggested to come see your doctor first if you want to consume this kind of herbal drinks as a constant additional boost drink for your health. Also read: Caffeine Side Effects
Be wise with your own body conditions before finally decided to try something new. Hopefully this article help you get new insight about Yerba Mates better, to understand and to know more about it. For any health problem you’re dealing with right now, hopefully you find your own curer and be healthy again soon. Good luck!
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