Is mate tea healthy?

The most important things in brief

• In Europe, we often drink a bottled variety of mate tea that's more akin to lemonade.
• This doesn't have much to do with the original variant from South America - but it still tastes very good.
• In South America, on the other hand, an infusion of the Yerba Mate plant is drunk, which, strictly speaking, does not belong to the tea family.
• The mate drink is said to have a number of positive effects.

But why do we say mate tea when it's not actually a tea? This is because the leaves of the yerba plant are simply infused with hot water like tea. The indigenous peoples of South America still soaked the leaves in soft water or even chewed them. And you guessed it: When indigenous people use a plant, the effect is usually not harmful - on the contrary.

How is mate drunk?

We Europeans don't usually like it that bitter. That's why many manufacturers add flavoring to the mate drink. That's not reprehensible at all, because you have to like the version infused with hot water. And you need the right equipment for it.

The gourd is essential. Mate tea is prepared and served in this bulbous, orange-shaped vessel. Without the bombilla, a drinking tube usually made of metal, enjoying the mate drink is also inconceivable.

Mate tea: not just a pick-me-up

We have known since 1964 that a drink made from the leaves of yerba mate contains almost all the vitamins that are essential for human life. That was discovered by a research team from the Pasteur Institute.

Not only mate, but also a pick-me-up. And we don't owe that to the caffeine it contains, but to the xanthine, which in turn is called matein in mate. Matein has a stimulating and relaxing effect at the same time, it can also have a positive effect if you have problems with asthma or with the respiratory system in general.

What vitamins do mate drinks contain?

As already mentioned: almost everything we need to live. In addition to vitamins A, C, E, B1 and B2, mate is also valuable because of other ingredients, such as potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium and sodium. But also the pantothenic acid, the nicotinic acid and the riboflavin as well as the contained carotene are said to have a positive effect on our organism.

But what exactly does that mean? Which parts of the body particularly benefit from the positive effects attributed to a drink brewed with mate?

Where mate works particularly well

South Americans are convinced that mate strengthens the immune system in particular. Although there are no scientific studies on this, many ingredients are believed to have such an effect. The gastrointestinal tract also benefits from the substances contained in mate: mate can help with constipation, support diseased tissue in the intestine and stomach and regulate digestion.

Mate can also have a positive effect on our nervous system, and we often feel fresher and more vital. The ability to concentrate also improves, and mate also promotes our sleep rhythm. And last but not least, the ingredients in mate can have a very positive effect on blood vessels and the heart.