Yerba mate can do a lot of great things, but does it have a role to play in mitigating and/or managing anxiety? In this article, we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of Yerba Mate, anxiety, and how the two interact.
Yerba Mate (also referred to as the Ilex Paraguariensis plant) is a tea traditionally consumed in South America, but it’s become a trendy drink around the world in recent years. People in the fitness industry love to drink yerba for boosts of energy, students and professionals working toward deadlines love to drink yerba for enhanced focus, and the rest of us love to drink yerba because it’s delicious, has a nice blend of caffeine and antioxidants, and its consumption is accompanied by a wide range of health benefits!
Nowadays, getting yerba mate is easy. In the past, you’d have to order your own loose tea and brew your drink yourself. With Mate Libre yerba mate drinks, you can crack open a cold can of yerba and start enjoying your beverage anywhere!
So, keep reading to learn more about why yerba mate can be your best buddy for managing caffeine intake and anxiety. Let’s go!
The Potential of Yerba Mate: A Plant with Many Properties
Yerba mate is an incredible plant, and the consumption of yerba mate tea is associated with many positive health benefits.
Mate tea is consumed for a number of purposes, including enhancing athletic performance, mental clarity, focus, concentration, attention. Some consumers report improvements in their mood and in their immune system function, too.
Yerba mate is also consumed by many because it simultaneously energizes and calms. So, for people who tend to experience anxiety from consuming caffeine alone (from coffee or energy drinks, for example), yerba mate can be a helpful alternative that does not induce the same type of anxious feelings.
Does Yerba Mate Calm You Down?
It’s difficult to say that yerba mate consumption in itself is calming. Yerba mate can be an energizing and calming drink, if consumed in the correct quantities.
About drinking too much yerba – you don’t have to measure it out with a spoon, but if you’re drinking yerba mate in excess, just like anything else, there can be some negative effects. Jittery and anxious behaviour can be a side effect of consuming too much caffeine, which is easy to do when consuming coffee and especially when consuming energy drinks.
But for regular drinkers of Yerba mate, there is said to be a calming effect that allows for increased mental focus – a sort of calming energy boost that comes without the jitters. Compared to coffee or energy drinks,
Conveniently, Mate Libre yerba mate drinks have 60 mg of caffeine per serving, plus a healthy blend of polyphenols and antioxidants to balance out the caffeine while providing that smooth, sustained energy-feel. That’s just the right amount of caffeine to feel calm yet energized, focused and yet not anxious.
If you’re a person with a busy life, then you understand how important it is to stay energized without feeling unhealthy, anxious, or nervous.
Why is Yerba Mate Calming?
One reason explaining why people tend to experience less anxiety drinking yerba mate compared to coffee or energy drinks is the concentration of theobromine in the plant. Theobromine, an important alkaloid that’s most commonly found in the cacao plant, is a key compound in yerba mate. Crucially, theobromine helps lower blood pressure instead of acting on the central nervous system, which can result in reductions in stress.
Because of the presence of theobromine,the caffeine is experienced differently by the consumer. Yerba mate is also dense in vitamins (B vitamins) and minerals (Zinc, Selenium), which contribute to a healthier body and reductions in overall stress.
Another reason why yerba mate is great at combatting stress is because the natural caffeine in yerba mate is accompanied by a host of strong adaptogens, which help to prevent the elevation of cortisol past desired levels. When cortisol gets too high, which usually happens when we consume too much caffeine, we end up feeling stressed. Plus, when you’re tired, people tend to consume more caffeine, which just raises cortisol levels even higher than they already are due to the lack of sleep. In the end, yerba mate can be quite helpful in counteracting some of this stress.
Because of the many healthy compounds found in yerba mate, it is said that drinking yerba mate tea can be calming compared to coffee or energy drinks – as long as you don’t drink in excess, and end up consuming too much caffeine. The Mate Libre yerba mate drinks are the ideal size and make for a great mid-day drink, or even as the base for a cocktail or mocktail!
Is Yerba Mate Good for Anxiety?
With all of this said, it’s clear to see that yerba mate can be a great healthy alternative to coffee or energy drinks in terms of managing the anxiety that can sometimes accompany caffeine consumption.
The various compounds in the plant that help to mitigate the effects of caffeine, counteract the effects of cortisol, and provide the body with healthy essential building blocks like vitamins and minerals can contribute to more feelings of calm and fewer feelings of anxiety compared to consuming caffeine alone.
There can also be a social aspect to consuming yerba mate that hasn’t been discussed yet. Traditionally, yerba mate can be consumed from a gourd, drank through a straw called a bombilla, and shared among a group of people. The sharing of the mate is viewed as a bonding experience, and this social connection with peers can certainly be responsible for lowering anxiety and stress.
While some people drink their Mate Libre yerba mate drinks on the go (there’s nothing wrong with that!), remember that these drinks are also great for meals with friends, get-togethers with the extended family, or even parties and events! You can enjoy the delicious taste and smooth energy boost of Mate Libre yerba mate drinks instead of consuming alcohol (or with alcohol), or in place of something fizzy like kombucha, soda, coffee, green tea or black tea, or energy drinks. There’s nothing like spending time with people you love, and Mate Libre can be your tasty +1 for any and every event this year!
Leaving Behind Coffee and Energy Drinks for Yerba Mate? Why Not?!
Now that you’re on team yerba, it’s time to leave your coffee and energy drinks behind and replace them with Mate Libre yerba mate instead!
Experience a sustained boost of energy that doesn’t leave you crashed, zapped of energy, and irritable. Plus, push caffeine-induced anxiety away with the calming properties of yerba mate. Get focused and energized without getting jittery and nervous!
With many awesome flavours to choose from, there’s only one thing left to do: get yourself some Mate Libre yerba mate drinks today!
