What is mate and where is it taken?

Mate is much more than a simple toning infusion: it is a tradition inalienable, a social ritual and a lifestyle. Any Argentine, Uruguayan or Paraguayan Anyone who knows can say wonders about mate, and even if you have traveled to those countries for a while you will already have noticed it.

But the first thing that would be clarified is that the correct thing to do is to call «yerba mate» or «herba mate» –and not “kill”– the plant Ilex paraguaiensisfrom which this infusion is obtained.

It is a evergreen shrub which can reach 15 meters high, with oval-lanceolate leaves, toothed on their margins, white flowers and spherical red fruits.

grows in hot and humid subtropical environments from Paraguay, southern Brazil (Matogrosso), northern Argentina (Misiones and Corrientes) and Uruguay.

The infusion has a somewhat bitter taste and a clear stimulating effect. It is not in vain that they say in Argentina: drink mate and avivate, without the accent, of course.

The custom is to take it in company, passing the mate from hand to hand.

Properties of yerba mate

Yerba mate contains alkaloids –xanthines, theophylline, caffeine (or mateine) and theobromine–, polyphenols, saponins, tannins and ursolic acid.

Provides vitamins C and group B.

• In fact, it stands out for its stimulating power on the central nervous system, and It is indicated against asthenia, melancholy and demotivation.
• Yerba mate also acts as a diuretic and natural antioxidantand helps combat fluid retention and the constipation.
• But above all it stands out for its satiating function, as an appetite suppressant. Drinking yerba mate helps you feel less hungry, as it has lipolytic and glycogenolytic effects, and acts as a thermogenesis activator.
• All this makes it a tool effective in burning calories and fat and allows it to be used as an adjuvant in slimming treatments.

Contraindications of yerba mate

Yerba mate, logically, is not recommended at night and is not recommended if you suffer from episodes of anxiety, palpitations, arrhythmias, insomnia or hypertension,

It is also not recommended in case of gastritis and gastroduodenal ulcer.

Should not be taken during pregnancynor between minors under 16 years of age.

How to drink mate

Nowadays it is very easy to find yerba mate of various flavorscombined with citrus fruits (orange, lemon, grapefruit), with cinnamon, with plants such as sage, with milk or coffee or even with brandy. He I will terere –from Guarani tiriru, also referring to the pumpkin–, for its part, is a cold matte very popular in Paraguay and northern Argentina.

In phytotherapy, the dry leaf for infusion, sometimes mixed with other parts of the plant, the powdered leaf wave tincture. Sometimes it is also included in diet products to lose weight, in ointments and in supplements.

How to prepare mate

The mate, to be exact, is the container. Initially, the infusion was prepared in an empty gourd (Mate in Quechua means «pumpkin»), but there are wooden, porcelain, metal or leather-covered containers.
The dried and crushed leaves are placed in them, and hot water is added, which is called «priming the mate».
It is usually sipped with the help of a metal tube or bulbwith perforations at the ends.

Advisor: J Mª Teixé, herbalist from “El Manantial de Salud”