| South Americans call it the "drink of the gods". Use for: High level nutrition ("liquid vegetable" - antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids) Balancing the nervous system Fatigue and Stress Sexual tonic Headaches Circulatory tonic Detoxification Curb appetite, balance blood sugar and help with weight-loss Healthy alternative to tea and coffee
Yerba maté is native to the rain forests of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. The people of South America have used yerba maté as a household cure for hundreds of years. Thought to ensure health, vitality, and longevity, the sacred beverage has been used to treat illness and disease, fight fatigue, and detoxify the body. The tea is considered Paraguay's national drink, and gauchos, or South American cowboys, consume maté as their "liquid vegetable" in a diet that otherwise consists mainly of meat. Yerba maté contains antioxidants, more than fifteen amino acids, and twenty-four vitamins and minerals. Research shows that maté contains 196 active compounds, compared with the 144 found in green tea. Maté is high in pantothenic acid, a B vitamin that plays a vital role in metabolism and energy production, and contains protein, carotene, vitamins A, C, E, B complex, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, magnesium, choline, as well as other nutrients. A 1995 study from the Pasteur Institute found maté to be a more potent antioxidant than vitamin C, and a test-tube study published by the University of Montreal's Department of Anatomy in 1995 shows that it can inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein, the carrier of bad cholesterol. The stimulant in maté is mateine, one of a group of xanthines that includes caffeine and theobromine, a stimulant found in tea and chocolate products. Although mateine has a chemical structure similar to caffeine, it stimulates the body differently. Unlike caffeine, mateine doesn't cause nervousness or jitters; instead, it is said to balance the body, calming an excited nervous system and rejuvenating a fatigued one. Clinical studies have shown that caffeine-sensitive individuals can drink maté with no adverse reactions, according to the book Herbal Tonic Therapies (Keats, 1993) by Daniel Mowrey, Ph.D., president of the American Phytotherapy Research Laboratory in Salt Lake City. But Mowrey, who has studied maté for fifteen years and drinks the tea daily, says the plant's nutritional value is more important than its mateine/stimulant qualities. "This plant is a powerhouse of nutrition, especially pantothenic acid," Mowrey says. Acting as a tonic, maté may provide the body with energy through nutrition, rather than through stimulant properties, he says. Tonic herbs are defined as those that balance a stressed body, are free of side effects, and are non-addictive. A Swiss study on humans indicated yerba maté could be beneficial as a weight-loss aid. They noticed a thermogenic effect, indicating a rise in the proportion of fat oxidized. In another study, yerba maté was given in combination with the plants guarana and damiana. This combination prolonged gastric emptying (which made the subjects feel "fuller" longer) and reduced body weight. Clinical studies indicate maté leaf inhibits an enzyme involved in inflammatiion and inflammatory diseases. A U.S. patent issued in 2002 stated that yerba maté inhibits monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity by 40-50% in vitro (see contra-indications in yellow box above), reporting that it might be useful for a variety of such disorders as "depression, disorders of attention and focus, mood and emotional disorders, Parkinson's disease, hypertension, substance abuse, eating disorders, withdrawal syndromes and the cessation of smoking." References: - Blumenthal, M., et al. The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Integrative Medicine Communications. Newton, MA, 1998.
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