REMEMBER: These Are 9+ Interesting Health Benefits of Yerba Mate Tea! Pay SPECIAL Attention to Benefit #8! Contraindications & Dangers INCLUDED!
Are you an avid tea drinker, and know that regular black and green teas are extremely beneficial for your health? If so, you may not know that Yerba Mate Tea is just as potent and has several health benefits from boosting mental focus to combating certain cancer types.
And, Yerba Mate has a strong, delicious taste that’s different than black or green teas. There are dozens of benefits to this kind of tea, but the following nine are the most widely studied and have medical claims to back up their validity.
Benefit #1 – Promotes Mental Functions & Your Focus
Yerba Mate, like many teas, has caffeine in it that promotes mental functions and focus. When you drink this tea, you’ll notice an immediate boost in energy and mental capacity.
There are several studies have been conducted on caffeine showing when taken in regular doses, this substance can be very helpful for your focus!
Related studies:
Heckman, M. A., et al. (2010). “Caffeine (1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthine) in foods: a comprehensive review on consumption, functionality, safety, and regulatory matters”, in Journal of Food Science, Vol. 75(3).
Benefit #2 – Helps with Digestion
Having digestive issues? Drinking a cup of this tea will ease stomach cramps and pains while also helping your body digest food.
Pay attention: You’ll need to drink a cup right before or after your meal for the best results.
Benefit #3 – Great Source of Minerals & Antioxidants
When you drink tea, you’ll also benefit from the immense antioxidant and mineral count in the tea. This potency includes many different minerals, including:
– Aluminum, Iron, Copper, Nickel, and Manganese.
Studies conducted on Yerba Mate versus other tea types shows that it delivers most if not all of these minerals to the body with greater efficiency than found in other tea types.
Related studies:
Wróbel, K., et al. (2000). “Determination of total aluminum, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, and nickel and their fractions leached to the infusions of black tea, green tea, Hibiscus sabdariffa, and Ilex paraguariensis (mate) by ETA-AAS”, in Biological Trace Element Research, Vol. 78(1-3).
Benefit #4 – Provides a Boost of Energy
A fascinating study that focused specifically on Yerba Mate’s ability to augment fat oxidation and energy expenditure produced exceptional results. The study took 14 healthy males and females and had participants ingested 1000 mg of the tea 60 minutes before exercising.
The results showed that fatty acid oxidation and energy expenditure derived from the fatty acid oxidation increased by 24%. Ultimately, the study indicated that Yerba Mate was very potent when exercising to lose weight and did not negatively impact a person’s peak training effectiveness or performance.
Related studies:
Alkhatib, A. (2014). “Yerba Maté (Illex Paraguariensis) ingestion augments fat oxidation and energy expenditure during exercise at various submaximal intensities”, in Nutrition & Metabolism.
Benefit #5 – Improves The Strength of Your Bones
Bone strength is a major issue, especially for women. The consumption of Yerba Mate tea is exceptionally high in Argentina, and a study was conducted to determine if this tea leads to Argentina natives having stronger bones.
The study looked at postmenopausal women that drank one liter of the tea daily for four or more years. The study also included women that did not drink the tea as often. Surprisingly, the higher lumbar spine’s density was calculated with the ladies that had drunk the tea over the course of four years.
The result?
These women had 9.7% higher bone density than those that did not drink the tea. The upper femoral neck’s density was also much higher. Concluding the study, the researchers found that Yerba Mate was the only factor that leads to the increase in the women’s bone density.
Related studies:
Conforti, A. S., et al. (2012). “Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) consumption is associated with higher bone mineral density in postmenopausal women”, in Bone, Vol. 50(1).
Benefit #6 – Improves Your Immune System
As shown in benefit #3, tea can have a significant impact on your immune system’s function. The introduction of an antioxidant-rich diet results in an immune system boost.
Remember: You’ll be able to fight off free radicals with greater ease, and you’ll also be able to fight off colds and flu. Just a cup a day can help boost your immune system.
Benefit #7 – Boosts Cardiovascular Health
You know that high cholesterol is bad for your heart health. Many people will suffer from heart disease due to having elevated levels of lipids in their bloodstreams that have never been adequately taken care of through dietary changes.
Luckily, boosting cardiovascular health may be just a cup of tea away.
A study was conducted on rats to determine if Yerba Mate had an effect on cholesterol levels of rats that were put on a high cholesterol diet. The results showed that the hypercholesterolemia levels on the rats decreased through the administration of Yerba Mate.
While the rats did not drink the tea in the same manner that you would, the results are promising. Human studies have not been conducted to indicate if the same beneficial effects are seen in humans.
Related studies:
Paganini Stein, F. L., et al. (2005). “Vascular responses to extractable fractions of Ilex paraguariensis in rats fed standard and high-cholesterol diets”, in Biological Research for Nursing, Vol. 7(2).
Benefit #8 – Helps Against Cancer
A very in-depth study was conducted that looks at this tea in correlation to colon cancer cells to determine its effectiveness. However, it was not drunk by patients. Instead, its leaves were dried, and the methanol extracts were resolved and purified.
The diCQAs in the Yerba Mate could contain anti-cancer agents that would mitigate other diseases as well.
The study showed that the tea is very beneficial for any disease that deals with inflammation. But, the tests need to be further examined to determine the effectiveness of a wider sample size of participants.
Related studies:
Puangpraphant, S., et al. (2011). “Dicaffeoylquinic acids in Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hilaire) inhibit NF-κB nucleus translocation in macrophages and induce apoptosis by activating caspases-8 and -3 in human colon cancer cells”, in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, Vol. 55(10).
Benefit #9 – Promotes Weight Loss & Its Management
Yerba Mate extract was used to determine if it had any effect on weight loss and its management. It has been discovered that this extract is often found in various foods and teas. The research study was conducted using mice that had dietary-induced obesity.
The extract was shown to decrease the accumulation of lipids and help lower the mice’s caloric intake. Higher energy expenditures led to a higher basal temperature.
The study looked specifically at lipid metabolism, but it also noted that serum cholesterol and glucose concentrations were reduced in mice that were fed a high-fat diet. Concluding notes from the study indicate that Yerba Mate can be used to treat diabetes and obesity effectively.
Related studies:
Kang, Y. R., et al. (2012). “Anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects of Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet”, in Laboratory Animal Research, Vol. 28(1).
Side-Effects & Dangers of Using Yerba Mate
While there have been countless cases of people drinking Yerba Mate for years in high dosages, the extract has little studies conducted to show that it’s safe for long-term use.
A few of the side effects include:
– Insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, nausea, vomiting, and irregular heartbeat.
Make note that all of these side effects are related to the caffeine content in the extract itself. WebMD notes that when taken in large amounts, it can increase the risk of several cancer types, including kidney, bladder, lung, mouth, esophageal.
Pay attention: The risks of these cancers rise greatly for people that smoke or drink alcohol frequently. While there are no studies linked to these, it is best to err on the side of caution when drinking this tea in high amounts.
In most circumstances, Yerba Mate is very healthy and beneficial to the drinker. When drank in enormous quantities, the tea can pose side effects. Again, many people have drunk this tea for decades and have lived a long, healthy life.
