Monday, December 28, 2009

Yerba Mate

Yerba Mate is a favored drink of many health conscious people.
It is a tropical plant whose leaves and twigs are dried and then made into tea, know as Mate. The common misconception is that Yerba Mate does not contain caffeine when if fact it does. Many people believe that it is caffeine free and only boosts your energy naturally.
I tried it with that misconception in mind.
Well, I got the boost and wow, was it a boost.
Maybe I have been off of caffeine for too long and my body was simply jolted, but I can honestly say it works. So well in fact that after a week of drinking it every morning I found that I was a bit irritable and anxious. After stopping the Mate, those symptoms subsided.

I recently came across a brief note on the Mayo Clinic's website with their input on Yerba Mate.
If you are a Yerba Mate drinker...It is worth reading.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yerba-mate/AN01774

3 comments:

Lisa Damian said...

I've tried yerba mate and had no idea that it might be linked to an increased risk of cancer. I think that most of us assume that if it is sold in a health food store, even if it's not directly healthy for you, at least it's probably not bad for you. I really appreciate the Mayo Clinic link. Thank you for the information!

Miya said...

Thanks Judi. I've tried yerba mata but couldn't get used to the taste. I have a friend who drinks it regularly so I'll send her your blog post.

yodasmith said...

There is no debate that yerba mate gives a boost, but it is debatable whether it has caffeine, or mateine, a xanthine like caffeine that will result in a boost, but with none of the adverse effects of caffeine. There are people who believe the stimulant is mateine and that it is structually different, and others who disagree. If it is caffeine, it would definitely be natural caffeine. The debate has never been whether it would give a boost or not, the answer, anyone would agree, is yes! But just because a boost is felt, does not necessarily mean it contains caffeine. www.fullyflexed.com/yerba-mate