BENEFITS OF YERBA MATE
✓ Improves alertness and fights fatigue
✓ A powerful antioxidant
✓ Promotes weight loss
✓ Protects the body from infections
✓ Helps fight high cholesterol
What is Yerba Maté?
The yerba mate is also called ‘Paraguayan tea’ or ‘Jesuit tea’. However, the plant is not in the same family as the tea plant. Yerba mate (in Latin, Ilex Paraguariensis) comes from a typically South American species of the holly family. It is a shrub in the Aquifoliaceae family whose dried leaves are used to produce yerba mate.
It is primarily grown in Argentina and Paraguay, and it is also where it is most consumed: it is the favorite drink of southern South America, from Brazil to Chile. The people there drink it throughout the day from a thermos or, more traditionally, from a gourd with a perforated straw.
People refer to maté when speaking of the beverage and to yerba maté when referring to the dried herb itself. Maté has traditionally been consumed by the Guarani Indians (also heavy consumers of guarana) who inhabited the lands of South America before the arrival of settlers. Explorers, who heard about a “ drink that makes you happy“, introduced it in Spain where it became all the rage. The Jesuits, established in Paraguay, then began cultivating the plant from the 16th century.
It is true that maté has a euphoric effect thanks to the caffeine it contains – about 1%: less than coffee, but more than green tea. It also contains theobromine, a substance that is also found in cocoa and that provides a sense of well-being.
Le yerba maté est intéressant d’un point de vue nutritionnel : il fournit de nombreux nutriments et vitamines sans apport de calorie, et il hydrate l’organisme lorsqu’il est consommé en infusion.
Saponins are what give maté its bitter taste, but also what give it its anti-cholesterol properties.
Nutritional composition
- Substances actives stimulantes : xanthines, caféine, théobromine
- Composés anti-inflammatoires et antioxydants : des flavonoïdes, des saponosides et des polyphénols
- Vitamines A, B et C, magnésium et calcium
- 7 des 9 acides aminés dont le corps a besoin
Benefits of Yerba Maté
⚡️ Améliore la vigilance et combat la fatigue
Yerba maté is a powerful anti-fatigue agent. It is, of course, the caffeine it contains that gives it this property.
Caffeine consumption helps fight fatigue and drowsiness and improves alertness during physical or mental exertion.
The Guarani Indians have traditionally consumed maté for this purpose, and scientific studies have gone on to corroborate this benefit.
This meta-analysis of 41 scientific studies conducted on humans and published by the British Nutrition Foundation shows that even a moderate dose of caffeine has positive effects on mood, cognitive and physical performance, and the perception of fatigue.
🥝 Un puissant antioxydant
Maté has antioxidant properties slightly superior to those of green tea, already renowned for its antioxidant power. It thus enables the body to fight cellular aging: a powerful ally both from a health and cosmetic standpoint.
This published study by the University of Illinois compared the antioxidant capacities of green tea, maté, and an African plant, Ardisia compressa. The researchers showed that dried yerba maté leaves contained polyphenolic compounds and a high antioxidant capacity.
🏃🏻♂️ Favorise la perte de poids
Caffeine is found as an ingredient in many fat-burning products, to fight cellulite or to regain a flat stomach.
Indeed, it acts both as an appetite suppressant and encourages the body to burn more calories during physical exertion.
You won’t achieve a slim figure solely by consuming yerba maté, but it can help promote weight loss when combined with regular physical activity and a balanced diet.
This Swiss study conducted by the University of Lausanne among men and women showed that, among several plant extracts, maté was the one that had the greatest impact on treating obesity.
🛡 Protects the body from infections
The high content of yerba mate in polyphenols helps the body better fight inflammation and infections.
This American study conducted by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville showed that a high amount of yerba mate helped fight the E. coli bacterium, responsible for food poisoning and diarrhea. This other study conducted in 2007 by researchers at the University of Illinois shows it may have an impact in fighting intestinal parasites.
However, these are only laboratory studies and further research should be conducted to corroborate these effects.
🍳 Helps fight high cholesterol
Its antioxidant compounds help protect the body from cardiovascular diseases and fight hypercholesterolemia.
This study conducted with 100 people in 2009 by researchers at the University of Santa Catarina in Brazil showed that drinking 4 cups of yerba mate over 40 days reduced patients’ ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL) levels by between 8.6% and 13%.
How to consume yerba mate?
Mate consumption in South America
Yerba mate, also called erva mate or chimarrão in Brazil, is consumed hot or cold depending on the regions of the continent. It is traditionally drunk in a gourd (the mate) with a perforated straw. It can be consumed pure or mixed with other herbs, as in Paraguay where it is drunk with chamomile and anise.
Some people also add milk or lemon juice to it. It can also be found in infusion bags like herbal tea. In South America, mate is drunk at any time of the day, alone or in a group as a ritual beverage.
Consuming yerba mate as a superfood
In France, we can adopt the traditional way of consuming it or adapt it to our way of life. We can consume yerba mate as an infusion, with boiling water.
However, be careful: mate that is too hot when drunk through the traditional straw can cause burns to the mouth or esophagus.
Mate has a slightly bitter flavor that people either like or dislike depending on taste. Sugar can be added, but in that case you lose the slimming effect of yerba mate.
Yerba mate is sold pure as dried, cut leaves. It is also available as a dietary supplement in capsules.
Sustainable consumption: prioritize organic, fair-trade yerba mate
✓ It is preferable to buy organic yerba mate to avoid pesticide residues, especially since the leaves will be steeped for a long time.
Lire aussi l Jérémie et Antoine veulent remplacer le café par leur maté des forêts du Paraná
✓ La culture intensive du maté peut conduire à la déforestation dans les zones fragiles du Paraguay, du Brésil et de l’Argentine où il est le plus cultivé. On préfèrera donc un produit issu de cultures agro-forestières, pour contribuer au développement durable des régions de productions en Amérique du sud. Et si possible d’une filière équitable de manière à assurer un juste revenu au producteur.
Yerba mate dosage
It is better to consume yerba mate in the morning and at midday to avoid causing sleep disturbances due to its caffeine content. Specialists recommend consuming 4 cups per day to observe a health effect, that is 4 g of dried leaves per 1 liter of water.
In capsule form, do not exceed 6 capsules per day. However, it is recommended to follow the advice of a naturopath if you wish to undertake a course of yerba mate capsules.
South Americans consume mate throughout their lives without it causing health problems. However, if you are not used to it, it is preferable at first not to exceed a 6-week course to avoid creating a dependence on caffeine.
Contraindications and side effects of yerba mate
Yerba mate should be consumed as a medicinal plant: you should not overuse it, as this may cause harmful side effects to the body.
- La consommation excessive de maté peut provoquer des troubles du sommeil ou du stress. Dans tous les cas, on évite de consommer du maté le soir avant d’aller dormir. Il est déconseillé aux personnes souffrant de troubles cardiaques ou sous traitement pour des problèmes cardio-vasculaires.
- De même, le yerba maté, s’il possède un effet laxatif et aide à la digestion, peut provoquer des diarrhées s’il est consommé en quantités excessives. Dans tous les cas, respecter la posologie indiquée.
- Il est fortement déconseillé de consommer du maté en mélange avec de l’éphédra, une autre plante stimulante, sous peine de provoquer des troubles cardiaques pouvant être sévères.
History, culture, and market of yerba mate
Yerba mate is an herb that is part of the pharmacopoeia and the ritual ingredients of the Guarani Indians. At first it was consumed chewed. Its consumption as an infusion came later. Legend has it that an old Guarani chief, who could no longer keep up with his tribe’s wanderings because of his advanced age, found himself lagging behind with his daughter. So that he could follow his tribe, his daughter then prepared for him a yerba mate-based remedy.
When the Spanish colonists arrived around 1500 in the Rio de la Plata region, they noticed that the Guarani Indians were truly addicted to this plant. They soon tasted it and brought it into their daily life. The first documented contact of the Spanish with yerba mate dates to 1554.
The Jesuits then began to cultivate it and export the plant to Paraguay and northern Argentina: some missions made a fortune from the trade in this plant.
Today, this plant practically no longer exists in the wild because of the intensive deforestation taking place in the southern part of the continent. The primary forest, the mata atlântica, now exists only as remnants.
The intensive cultivation of yerba mate is also a cause of this deforestation: conventional (non-organic) mate is indeed grown in monoculture with heavy use of pesticides. A more environmentally and forest-friendly yerba mate cultivation is being developed and should be favored.
Report produced by Pauline Petit and Charlotte Jean
Sources and scientific studies
Sonia Chandra, Elvira De Mejia Gonzalez, 2004, Polyphenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, and quinone reductase activity of an aqueous extract of Ardisia compressa in comparison to mate (Ilex paraguariensis) and green (Camellia sinensis) teas.
A Martinet, K Hostettmann, Y Schutz, 1999. Thermogenic effects of commercially available plant preparations aimed at treating human obesity.
Kellie P Burris, P M Davidson, C Neal Stewart Jr, S Zivanovic, F M Harte, 2012. Aqueous extracts of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) as a natural antimicrobial against Escherichia coli O157:H7 in a microbiological medium and pH 6.0 apple juice.
C I Heck , E G de Mejia, 2007. Yerba Mate Tea (Ilex paraguariensis): a comprehensive review on chemistry, health implications, and technological considerations.
Elayne C de Morais, Aliny Stefanuto, Graziela A Klein, Brunna C B Boaventura, Fernanda de Andrade, Elisabeth Wazlawik, Patrícia F Di Pietro, Marcelo Maraschin, Edson L da Silva, 2009. Consumption of yerba mate ( Ilex paraguariensis ) improves serum lipid parameters in healthy dyslipidemic subjects and provides an additional LDL-cholesterol reduction in individuals on statin therapy.
