9 Unexpected Benefits and Risks From Yerba Mate Tea

There’s a new super tea in town: Yerba mate! This South American herb has actually been around for centuries despite it only growing in popularity now.

Its newfound popularity is all due to the insane health benefits of Yerba mate (most exciting is the Yerba mate caffeine content!). But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with its own set of risks to watch out for too.

Before falling head over heels in love we need to take a step back to look at the full list of Yerba mate side effects. It might seem like it offers better health benefits than even green tea, but there are still a lot of unknowns.

So, of course, all the benefits and risks from Yerba mate must be taken with a grain of salt. There haven’t been enough studies done on the tea so we don’t know its full effects just yet. For now, we can only speculate and drink it in controlled amounts.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Back Up! So What’s Yerba Mate?

Yerba Mate is an herb primarily found (and consumed) in South America. Recently, it’s gained popularity due to the large number of health benefits associated with drinking it.

Read more about what Yerba Mate is (and how to properly drink it… yes there’s a proper way to drink this tea!

Health Benefits Of Yerba Mate

1. Yerba Mate Benefits: Caffeine Content Higher Than Tea

You don’t want to drink Yerba mate in the mindset that it’s a normal ‘herbal’ tea. This is an herbal tea that’s caffeinated!

It’s not only a caffeinated herbal tea, Yerba mate caffeine is way higher than any Camelia sinensis tea (I’m talking your black, green, and oolong teas…). In fact, it’s closer to the caffeine levels of coffee!

Camelia sinensis tea has 26 mg or less of caffeine in one cup, coffee has about 100 mg and Yerba mate has 85 mg!

This makes Yerba mate a happy medium if you generally need to drink more than a cup of tea, but don’t want the spike of energy from coffee. It also means you’ll miss that undesirable coffee crash!

Because it has higher caffeine levels, one of the Yerba mate benefits is that it’s been linked to better mental concentration and physical improvement after drinking it.

One of the side effects of caffeine is that it’s also somewhat of a natural laxative though… I’m happy to report that Yerba mate also offers this glorious feature!

2. Yerba Mate Benefits: Higher Antioxidants Than Green Tea

The benefits we all rave about from green tea all come down to it having one of the highest antioxidants contents. But, as it turns out, the amount of antioxidants is even higher in Yerba mate.

Not sure what an antioxidant is? Read about how tea can help you live longer (spoiler alert: it all comes down to antioxidants!).

This Yerba mate benefit was discovered in a study on 30 Mexican medicinal plants. Yerba mate happened to have the highest number of antioxidants out of them all.

3. Yerba Mate Benefits From Saponins

It was recently shown that Yerba mate contains around 19 saponins. Great… but what’s that? Saponins are mostly known for their soap-like characteristics, and it’s what gives the tea those foamy-bubbles when you combine it with water.

Little did you know all those bubbles were actually packed with benefits. 

P.S. You also find saponins in beans and lentils. 

What Are Saponins!

Saponins have been shown to have antioxidant properties (now we know how powerful those are!). For example, they can promote building a healthy immune system and and anti-ageing effects.

Saponins are also linked to being anti-atherosclerotic, which helps keep your heart happy, and hepatoprotective, for preventing liver damage. They are hypocholesterolemic, which lowers bad cholesterol, while also containing anti-obesity and anti-carcinogenic properties (to fight cancer cells).

But the most important aspect of saponins is that they’re apparently adaptogenic…

4. Yerba Mate Is Adaptogenic… What’s That?

It’s believed that Yerba mate can never have harmful effects on your body because it’s thought to be an adaptogenic herb. What this means is that it adapts to everyone’s body differently to harmonize it.

It tries to stabilize different types of stressors, like physical, biological, or chemical.

With that in mind, it’s believed that there are no associated risks with drinking any amount of Yerba mate. So you might be able to drink as much as you want because it will automatically balance everything out for you.

Pretty cool right! Read more about adaptogenic herbs or more about saponins.

5. Positive Yerba Mate Side Effects On Diabetes

One cup of mate in the morning can go a long way for those with diabetes. It can help control blood sugar levels and decreases one’s glycemic index for the day.

This also isn’t just speculation. They’ve proved these positive effects on Type II diabetes twice! Okay, so one study was only on rats, but the second one included humans in 2011.

From an additional study, they found it can also prevent glucose-related obesity.

6. Yerba Mate Can Affect Weight Gain & Loss

So we know it can prevent glucose-related obesity but what about regular weight gain and loss?

From saponins we know that Yerba mate has anti-obesity properties, but what does that really mean?

Well, there was a study with mate supplements and human subjects. After 12 weeks of taking 3 grams of mate powder a day, there was significant weight loss among the participants (with no adverse Yerba mate side effects).

And! On a study done on mice, Yerba mate also reduced the accumulation of fat.

Those Yerba mate benefits are only from the saponin! The caffeine contents in the herb can also affect weight loss by helping to boost your metabolism.

7. Lower Risk Of Age-Related Diseases

Saponins and caffeine can have health benefits on one’s memory too. Both of these compounds help promote a healthy brain, so, possible health benefits of Yerba mate is that it can prevent Alzheimer’s disease. 

It can have an even bigger effect on those with Parkinson’s disease. There was a human study in 2015 that actually showed inverse effects on patients. The study also showed that it might even have the ability to prevent it!

Read more about the Parkinson’s study.

Is Yerba Mate Bad For You: The Risks!

As good as all those Yerba mate benefits sound, this tea is also associated with some risks. At this time, there still aren’t enough studies done to know for sure how it affects everyone.

8. Yerba Mate Risk: Can Interact With Medications

Because Yerba mate is still an herb, it can interact with some medications.

Most notably, studies show Yerba mate contains the monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) compound. This compound is commonly used in antidepressants and Parkinson’s medications.

To be on the safe side, it’s always best to consult your doctor first if you are taking any medication.

9. Has Carcinogenic Properties

I know I mentioned that Yerba mate can have anti-carcinogenic properties from saponins, and it does. But! It can also have carcinogenic properties…

This herb contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons because of the way it’s made. The leaves of Yerba mate are actually smoked. This is a carcinogenic typically found in tobacco and grilled meats. It’s the reason why you shouldn’t eat any food that’s burnt! 

It’s bad for you and it can lead to certain upper respiratory and digestive tract cancers!

It’s important to note that for this to have any effect, you’d have to drink A LOT of Yerba mate for a long period of time.

So, while Yerba mate may protect against some types of cancers, it’s associated with higher rates of others. Everything in moderation… right!?

Buy Unsmoked Yerba Mate To Reduce The Risks

How Much Mate Is Too Much Mate?

South Americans are known to drink a lot of Yerba mate tea (I mean A LOT… about 1 to 4 litres a day!). They’re accustomed to drinking this tea though, so I wouldn’t drink anywhere near this much if you’re starting out.

As with trying anything new, it’s best to try it in small amounts at first, maybe with one to two cups a day. It’s important to see how your body reacts. Everyone is different!

There isn’t yet a scientific answer to this question due to the lack of research. So, with that in mind, like everything else in this world… everything in moderation.

Related Tea Please!

• Read About The Basics You Should Know About Yerba Mate
• Read About My First Time Making and Trying Yerba Mate
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Last update on 2024-04-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API