Yerba mate versus commercial energy drinks

While energy drinks can bring side effects like insomnia, anxiety and tachycardia; the energising effects from Yerba Mate are 100% natural, and its several properties come from nature itself.

Yerba is regarded as one of the top beverages round the world owing to its various health benefits, including its powerful energising effect which can even exceed coffee and tea, because of the manner in which it is made. The energy effects caused by Yerba contribute to clear the mind and face any task with power and vigour – even high-impact sports.

Nowadays, there are many brands of energy and hypertonic drinks (the latter contain greater concentration of salt and sugar than the human body), popularly consumed so as to lower fatigue and tiredness. Moreover, there are the so-called  sport drinks that aim to replenish electrolytes lost during workout. But how are these beverages different from Yerba Mate, when referring to their energy effect?

Natural vs. Artificial

Commercial energy drinks state they are meant to prolong physical exercise. They contain high amounts of caffeine, sugar (the level of sugar in hypertonic drinks could be as high as 10%), colorants, carbs, vitamins, minerals and electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus.

Yerba Mate, conversely, is an ancient, natural beverage produced from the leaves of the Yerba Mate tree (read more about the history of Yerba). Even though it also has caffeine and other elements which act on the nervous system, it contains no sugar. The energising effect of Yerba comes from nature, not from artificial production.

Yerba Mate has a unique effect

One of the key differences between artificial beverages and Yerba Mate is the effects of caffeine. Yerba Mate tea contains precisely the right quantity of natural caffeine to softly increase energy levels and lower tiredness, optimising brain functioning, attention and concentration.

The majority of commercial energy drinks place vitamins as their principal ingredients. However, they also normally have supplements to strengthen the effects of caffeine to strengthen the effect of caffeine, like taurine, guarana, ginseng or herbs with stimulant properties to extend physical stamina. These aggregates do not cause any harm on their own, but when blended with caffeine, the stimulant effects are so high that they can bring about side effects such as tachycardia, anxiety, nausea and, at times, severe health issues such as addiction and withdrawal, high blood pressure, seizures and heart complications. Actually, most of the issues related with energy drinks are generally caused by their large amounts of caffeine.

The effects of Yerba Mate are also regarded as really different from those of energy drinks: mate drinkers say they feel a twofold effect: stimulating and relaxing. The energy stimulus produced by Yerba is subtler and more long lasting in comparison with energy drinks. This might be related to the fact that caffeine is generally more diluted in Yerba.

The wonderful virtues of the Mate plant

Consuming Mate tea has a lot of health benefits for the body and mind (read the full list of virtues here. Many say that there isn’t any other drink that has so many properties – Mate even provides 90% more oxidants than green tea. Yerba enhances our natural defenses and prevents illnesses and cellular aging. Moreover, it is a source of vitamins A, C and E, and minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium.

Even though consuming energy drinks moderately is not toxic and does not endanger your health, they do not add much value, either. On the contrary, the great amount of sugar is accumulated as body fat, and consuming hypertonic drinks excessively could even lead to gastrointestinal issues, when it is necessary for the body to make more and more water to dilute the large concentration of sugar and electrolytes.

Replacing commercial energy drinks with Yerba Mate is actually feasible because:

• Yerba Mate functions as a stimulant of the central nervous system, improving concentration levels.
• It aids the body in making better use of its energy reserves, increasing its physical stamina (read the complete study).
• Yerba can accelerate muscle recovery by up to 80% on the post-workout day, as demonstrated in research published by the Cambridge University Press.
• It enhances motor functioning and muscle recovery. Actually, the anti-inflammatory effect of Yerba Mate can aid in the recovery from muscle injury, as  you can see in this study.
• Yerba Mate can prevent cell degeneration.
• Yerba mate is beneficial to the cardiovascular system, resulting in an improved physical condition.

As an extra advantage, Yerba offers a truly unique benefit: a good effect on your emotional health. Its mild energy dose may well be a natural way to liven you up and lift your spirits. Plus, the habit of sharing Yerba Mate with your loved ones for sure favours moments of wellness.

Champions drink Yerba Mate

Due to all the mentioned health properties, Yerba is truly appreciated by renown sportspeople all around the world, including celebrated football players such as the Argentine Leo Messi and the Uruguayan Luis Suárez. However, it goes beyond South America: football players such as Antoine Griezmann (French), Wu Lei (Chinese) and hockey player Alice Beretta (Italian) value a good “mateada” before training and playing, too.