Few drinks are part of the culture and idiosyncrasy of a country like yerba mate, and although it is usually consumed in many Latin American countries, it is unmistakably related to Argentina, considered by this town as something more than a simple drink. It is a source of pride national, a reason for social meetings and a family habit that has been inherited by generations in a natural way.
A consumption that dates back to the Guarani natives, ethnic group located in Paraguay and northwestern Argentina, and that spread it throughout South America during the Spanish empire in the sixteenth century, later adopted by the Argentines themselves as a national drink.
Have you tried this drink of strange but pleasant taste? Do you want to continue answering your doubts about this world-wellknown herb? You are reading the perfect article. Keep reading and become an expert of the Argentine drink par excellence.
What is yerba mate?
Yerba mate is nothing more than a tree, native to the Paranaense Jungle. It is made using the smaller leaves and branches of the plant. Taken as an infusion is the best way to take advantage of the properties it contains. It is a natural source of energy that stimulates both physical and intellectual effort. It contains Xanthines, compounds of great capacity to stimulate the Central Nervous System.
Effects and properties of yerba mate
The main benefits that you get when you consume it regularly are its energizing capacity, although it is also used for its diuretic effects and helps to lose weight, since it contains mateína, a substance that causes an increase in metabolic activity to burn fat. It is also a good bronchodilator, and acts slightly as a laxative and digestive. It also helps to stimulate the SCN that we pointed out in the previous point.
Its most important properties are antioxidants, thanks to the high concentration of polyphenols (up to 90% more than green tea), which also improve the body’s natural defenses, protecting it in turn from cell damage, with a significant supply of vitamins vegetables (group B) and minerals (potassium and magnesium), essential for the proper functioning of the heart. All this things makes that consuming yerba mate significantly reduces the risk of contracting bad cholesterol or DLL or having high triglycerides levels.
It is important to point out that consuming mate every day does not imply any risk of addiction and there is no limit to your daily consumption.
Ways to drink yerba mate
There are a lot of ways to enjoy this drink. The most usual, as it is possible to suppose, is in the form of infusion, very easy to prepare. It is enough pouring hot water, normally in a pumpkin prepared for this, and to suck with a light bulb. It is the same as the Tereré system, but in this case with cold water, especially indicated for the summer months, although the benefits of this tree are not used in the same way.
Other ways to drink it is cooked mate, mate with milk, with coffee, with orange or lemon, with brandy, honey, mate with grapefruit, with beer, with sugar or bitter, mate with medicinal plants … as we say, the combinations are many, and each one can give add what considers, the essence is the important and this is the yerba mate.