{"id":29666,"date":"2023-07-02T19:00:07","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=144006"},"modified":"2023-07-02T19:38:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-02T17:38:28","slug":"can-yerba-mate-tea-actually-crush-your-afternoon-fatigue-heres-what-the-science-says","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/can-yerba-mate-tea-actually-crush-your-afternoon-fatigue-heres-what-the-science-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Yerba Mate tea actually crush your afternoon fatigue? Here\u2019s what the science says"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Lionel Messi\u2019s miracle drink. <\/p>

By Amy Arthur\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 02 July 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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When Lionel Messi, one of the world\u2019s best football players, posted a picture on Instagram of yerba mate<\/a>, everyone wanted to know about the green drink and whether we should all be sipping it. Well, it turns out the tea-like beverage does have a number of health benefits.<\/p>\n

Yerba mate is the national drink in a number of south American countries, consumed as a morning pick-me-up in the same way Brits might have a cup of coffee or tea. But yerba mate teabags and energy drinks, promising \u2018a natural energy boost\u2019 are starting to be sold on UK high streets. So, should you swap your morning cuppa for a gourd of yerba mate?<\/p>\n

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Also called chimarr\u00e3o, yerba mate is a traditional South American infused drink, particularly in Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, and the southern states of Brazil. Image credit: Getty images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The energy boost that yerba mate offers is partly down to its caffeine<\/a> content, which is about 80mg per 150ml. It\u2019s hard to compare this to a \u2018regular\u2019 cup of coffee because caffeine is affected by brewing time, bean choice, and other factors. But a study by\u00a0Which?<\/a>\u00a0found that an average mug of tea contains 75mg, while a mug of instant coffee has around 100mg and a cappuccino from a coffee shop anywhere from 66-325mg.<\/p>\n

Unless you have barista-made drinks every day, it\u2019s unlikely that swapping your morning cuppa for yerba mate would make much difference to your caffeine intake. But many people say that yerba mate has the wake-up properties of coffee without its afternoon energy crash.<\/p>\n

Exactly why yerba mate drinkers avoid the caffeine crash is unknown, although it could be because the tea contains small amounts of two other stimulants, theobromine and theophylline, that stay in your body longer than caffeine. Theobromine has a longer half-life: 7-12 hours<\/a>, compared to caffeine\u2019s 2.5-5 hours.<\/p>\n

Yerba mate also contains antioxidants<\/a> in the form of polyphenols, which help protect our cells from damage, while an extract form of yerba mate has been found to be slightly anti-inflammatory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A study of 102 people who drank yerba mate three times a day saw an 8.7 per cent reduction in their levels of LDL cholesterol<\/a> (the \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol<\/a> linked to heart disease and stroke). The extract is of particular interest to weight loss researchers, and small studies have shown that yerba mate supplements can decrease body fat percentages and appetites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other studies show that the extract increases fat burning during exercise<\/a> and is thought to delay the onset of fatigue, which makes it appealing for endurance athletes. But, it\u2019s unclear whether these benefits also apply to the brewed drink.<\/p>\n

There are, however, concerns about the hot temperature at which yerba mate is traditionally served, as they could pose an increased risk of cancers<\/a> of the throat and mouth \u2013 though drinking hot coffee can increase risk of some cancers<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n

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