Yerba Mate: Not what it seems to be

Otto Schniepp | Writer

New information about the drink that has been popular since the 17th century has recently taken the media by storm.

This is Yerba mate.

Yerba mate is advertised as a way healthier option than conventional energy drinks like Red bull or Monster. However, these advertisements are only loosely based on the actual facts.

Now there is an actual healthy Yerba mate: the loose-leaf brewed tea version is very good for you and many athletes drink it. However, the can version dissolves any health benefits gained from the original tea. Advertisements used to describe it as healthy, with vitamins that influence people to buy their product, influence a large audience. Even students on campus are influenced by these advertisements.

“It’s tea, so it must be healthy,” junior Naomi Villarete said. “It’s full of vitamins.”

The drinks listing the different vitamins used in the drink are there, but it is such a subsequent amount that you would have to drink a multitude of Yerba drinks to get a daily intake of vitamins. And if you did drink a lot to satisfy your vitamin intake, you would subsequently have to deal with the 28 grams of sugar per can—over half of your daily recommended intake of sugar. 

Aside from the baseline health facts Yerba Mate defies, it also has negative long-term effects as well. The subtly strong amount of sugar in just one 15.5 ounce can, you could be at risk for diabetes. Yerba Mate also has a caffeine content of 150 milligrams which is 40 milligrams more than a Red Bull. Drinking this much caffeine for an extended period of time can cause issues such as insomnia, stomach problems, and can even increase depression-like symptoms.

Even the healthier version of Yerba Mate—the loose-leaf brewed tea—has its downsides. It’s revealed that tea itself contains chemicals released by the leaves in the brewing process that are very similar to chemicals released in tobacco smoke. These chemicals are called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and they are linked to causing mouth, throat, and lung cancer.

Altogether, when drinking Yerba Mate, it must be done in moderation. An occasional intake can be just fine for the average-sized person. But it is important to continually check the nutrition facts and potential risks of drinking any energy-boosting drink before we find ourselves drinking multiple in a day and potentially risking our own health.