Is Yerba Mate the secret weapon of successful football players?

Research has shown that Yerba Mate contains a lot of health benefits, thanks to its high levels of antioxidants and nutrients.

Perhaps that is why in places like Uruguay and Argentina, the old tradition of consuming Mate is basically as rooted as playing football – a sport that, as it turns out, appears to fit Yerba Mate well: South American footballers, even World-Cup winners, have come to enjoy the benefits of a warm Mate before working out and competing.

A good Mate can change the score

Mate has turned into the best companion for great footballers prior to and after a game. Apart from being a key ceremony, a talisman, an energy reinforcement, they value its numerous benefits:

• Mate stimulates the central nervous system and it expands energy as well as brain functioning in a natural manner.
• Having Mate helps the body to make better use of carbs, which boosts physical stamina.
• Mate lowers muscle fatigue as it prevents the excessive generation of lactic acid produced as a consequence of the intense physical activity in high-performance sports.
• Apart from supplying energy, caffeine in Mate also betters psychomotor functioning and prevents cell degeneration.
• Yerba has an anti-inflammatory effect which favours muscle recovery as well as rehabilitation after physical activity.
• Besides, it stimulates cardiovascular health that translates into an improved physical condition and higher performance on the sports field.
• Whether you drink it hot or cold, sweet or bitter, “normal” or blended with different flavours, Mate is natural and still a more healthful choice than the energy drinks offered in the market.

Which players drink more mate?

Uruguayan, Argentinians and Paraguayan footballers drink Mate on a regular basis; many of them even boast about it on social media. However, who drinks more? The celebrated Leo Messi (Argentina), the striker Luis Suárez (Uruguay), or even Antoine Griezmann (France), who has Mate every morning and prior to each training? It is hard to tell. It is a fact that Uruguayan footballers carry twice as many thermoses and Mate pots with them as Argentinians, but both of them delight in drinking Mate to release the stress connected with such a demanding sport.