A drink full of benefits: the mate

Hello guys,

Today I just want to talk to you about something that can be really useful during this period of examens: the mate.

The mate (or chimarrão, in Portuguese), is a South American traditional drink stemming from the culture of the Amerindians Guaranis, prepared by infusing leaves of yerba mate. The mate is a stimulant drink, improving the reactivity and the capacities of concentration. The long-term consumption of which brings several beneficial effects on the health.

With the tea and the coffee, the mate is a part of three main drinks containing some caffeine the most consumed in the world. The mate is so strongly consumed in Argentina, in Chile, in Paraguay, in Uruguay, in Southern Brazil and in Bolivia. Outside South America, its consumption remains less important than some tea or some coffee, but it is still in strong progress.

This is a drank of a strong and bitter taste and is prepared with leaves of yerba mate. It is drunk in a gourd thanks to a metallic tube which also serves as a filter, the bombilla. To savor it, the South American people put themselves in circle and cross the drink from hand to hand according to a very precise rite which invites, for example, the participants to make circulate the gourd counterclockwise.

This hot beverage has a lot of benefits. You have first to get used to this particular taste but it totally worths it! I am going to explain to you its numerous benefits.

#1 It's beneficial for your health

Its concentration in caffeine returns the effective mate to fight against the physical and mental fatigue, to improve the vigilance, and increase the cognitive performances. And by increasing the blood pressure, it contributes to relieve headaches due to a poor blood circulation. A cup of yerba mate (8 g of dried leaves) supplies approximately between 70 mg and 90 mg of caffeine. It is a little more than a cup of tea (30 mg in 50 mg) and a little less than a coffee (75 mg in 180 mg).

As those of tea, the leaves of mate are rich in polyphenols, a protective antioxidant substance in particular for our cardiovascular system. Certain studies show a regulation of the rate of cholesterol with a regular and high consumption of mate (4 cups a day), but it remains to deepen.

#2 Slimming virtues

The mate is also a natural stabilizer of the appetite. It favors the digestion and regulates the intestinal function. Its diuretic properties facilitate the elimination of toxin and make a real ally thinness. Mate is also used as a treatment against obesity: studies show that it delays considerably the gastric evacuation, reduced the time of filling of the stomach and led to an important loss of weight on 45 days on treated patients in excess weight in a context of health care. The mate also improves the intestinal transit.

#3 It reduces your tiredness

The caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, what allows to strengthen the attention while fighting against the slumber.
Furthermore, minerals and vitamin B contained in the mate participate in the preservation of the action of the nervous system and contribute to the physical relaxation. Mate can also contribute to the improvement of the cognitive short-term performances. It is perfect when you have to study, or just if you have had a bad night, because it wakes you up, without exciting you too much, like it is sometimes the case with coffee.

But you have to be careful about your mate consumption: as anything else, it is not good for you if it is consumed in too high quantities. Limit your consumption of mate to 4 cups a day, the caffeine contained in this tea can cause nervousness and insomnias, as well as some other symptoms provoked by a caffeine excess. I think this is a great alternative to replace energizing drinks, and way healthier!