Att: Crystal Yerba Mate information long post

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Yerba Mate (pronounced " yerba mahtay " ) is a medicinal and cultural drink of

ancient origins. Introduced to the world by the Guarani Indians of South

America, Mate contains ingredients that help keep its drinkers healthy and

energetic

Some people are using it to lose weight, one of the ways it is said to

do this is it keep the stomach from emptying an extra 20 minutes thus

you feel fuller longer along with the food has more time to digest helping

you to use more of the nutrients.

How to brew yerba mate the traditional way - Slide Show

http://www.mymateworld.com/how_to_cure_a_yerba_mate_gourd.htm

Las s the worlds largest producer of yerba mate provides its employees

with free health care, housing, schools, and recreational facilities. They

produce the brands Taragui, Union, La Merced, and Mananita.

They lead the country in social concerns. Learn more about Las s at www

Lass.us

General Info

http://www.noborders.net/mate/

Neat site with a good bit of information, a good place to start.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate

Wikipedia Encyclopedia Entry

http://www.rain-tree.com/yerbamate.htm

A really great info site on yerba from a website that catalogs rain forest

plants and the like.

Here is a website to Argentina's oldest and largest producer http://www

lasmarias.com.ar/

Order On line

Best Source (In the U.S. at least)

the best source to purchase Yerba from in the U.S. (price and quality wise)

http://www.yerbamatecafe.biz/?Click=1103

If you buy 5 or more of the same product they have a discount. Use the

coupon code Yerba1 for an extra 10% off any order . (no included in

wholesale orders They also give small samples of products.

Have searched through probably a hundred sites and there just isn't anybody

cheaper in North America. The shipping is high unless you buy a lot. It

comes from Georgia it cost me $15.38 to ship 24 lbs to the Texas Panhandle

Knew the more bought at once the cheaper the shipping. Those living in

large cities should be able to purchase it locally. Try the small latian

stores for the best prices. Mine averaged out with shippping to $6.00

a kg or 2.2 lbs.

Cruz de Malta Despalada is a beginner mild yerba mate is more smooth, mild

Taragui Despalada Yerba Misiones, Argentin

Canarias Yerba Mate 1kg Brazil's most popular brand. Sin Palo (without

stems)

despalada means w/out stems. This is a more full, more pure yerba that is

premium and better Palo means stick and stems, you do not want these no Palo

Strong brands include Romance:Sabor Suave, monte,and Nobeleza Guacha

Salante orange, Carnarias Sin Palo (without stems)

Yerba Mate, or Mate as it is often called, is a South American herb that has

won many admirers in wide-ranging parts of the world. In the search for a

natural stimulant devoid of side effects and toxicity, Mate currently holds

the most hope. An invigorator of the mind and body, a natural source of

nutrition, and a health promoter par excellence, Mate deserves the attention

of every person interested in optimum health. Yerba Mate was introduced to

colonizing and modern civilizations by the primitive Guarani Indians of

Paraguay and Argentina. It has seemingly always been the most common

ingredient in household cures of the Guarani. In modern Argentina and

Paraguay, however, Mate tea has become almost pathologically ritualized in a

manner reminiscent of coffee and tea abuse in Western and Eastern countries.

Among the native Guarani, on the other hand, the natural use of Mate for

healthful purposes has persisted. They use it to boost immunity, cleanse and

detoxify the blood, tone the nervous system, restore youthful hair color,

retard aging, combat fatigue, stimulate the mind, control the appetite,

reduce the effects of debilitating disease, reduce stress, and eliminate

insomnia.

Mate (flex paraguariensis) is an evergreen member of the holly family. It

grows wild in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Brazil, but is most abundant in

Paraguay where it is also cultivated. The plant is classified vaguely,

according to Western herbal medicine, as aromatic, stimulant, bitter,

aperient (laxative), astringent, diuretic, purgative, sudorific (sweat

inducing), and febrifuge (fever reducing). Mate contains numerous vitamins

and minerals. There is the usual array of resins, fiber, volatile oil, and

tannins that characterize many plant substances. And there is also carotene;

vitamins A. C, E, B-1, B-2 and B-complex; riboflavin; nicotinic acid;

pantothenic acid; biotin; magnesium; calcium; iron; sodium; potassium;

manganese; silicon; phosphates; sulfur; hydrochloric acid; chlorophyll;

choline; and inositol. In 1964 one group of investigators from the Pasteur

Institute and the Paris Scientific Society concluded that Mate contains

practically all of the vitamins necessary to sustain life.

In addition to the regular nutrients, Mate contains a substance belonging to

a specialized class of chemical compounds called xanthines. Though only

small amounts of these substances occur in Mate, their presence has

generated a huge amount of attention. The primary xanthine in Yerba Mate is

called Mateine. The substance probably contributes little, if anything, to

the overall activity of the plant, but has drawn a disproportionate share of

speculation. Some xanthines are obviously less desirable, such as caffeine.

Others, such as theophylline and theobromine, have specialized action and a

characteristic set of side effects. Although the xanthines have similar

chemistries, each has a unique set of properties. Researchers at the Free

Hygienic Institute of Hamburg, Germany, concluded that even if there were

caffeine in Mate, the amount would be so tiny that it would take 100 tea

bags of Mate in a 6-ounce cup of water to equal the caffeine in a 6-ounce

serving of regular coffee. Consequently, the active principle in Yerba Mate

is not caffeine!

There is only one effect that seems to be shared by all xanthines: smooth

muscle relaxation. It is this action that makes them (with the exception of

caffeine, in which smooth muscle relaxant effects are diminished by other

side effects) good clinical dilators of the bronchi and hence useful in the

treatment of asthma. Mateine appears, then, to possess the best combination

of xanthine properties possible. For example, like other xanthines, it

stimulates the central nervous system; but unlike most, it is not

habituating or addicting. Likewise, unlike caffeine, it induces better, not

worse, attributes of sleep. It is a mild, not a strong, diuretic, as are

many xanthines. It relaxes peripheral blood vessels, thereby reducing blood

pressure, without the strong effects on the medulla oblongata (end part of

the brain connecting to the spine) and heart exhibited by some xanthines. We

also know that it improves psychomotor performance without the typical

xanthine-induced depressant after effects. Dr. , Director of the

National Institute of Technology in Paraguay, writes, " New research and

better technology have shown that while Mateine has a chemical constituency

similar to caffeine, the molecular binding is different. Mateine has none of

the ill effects of caffeine. " And Horacio Conesa, professor at the

University of Buenos Aires Medical School, states, " There is not a single

medical contraindication " for ingesting Mate. Clinical studies show, in fact

that even individuals with caffeine sensitivities can ingest Mate without

adverse reactions.

GASTROINTESTINAL PROPERTIES

Perhaps the main area to benefit from Mate is the gastrointestinal tract.

Reported effects range from immediate improvement in digestion to the

ability to repair damaged and diseased gastrointestinal tissues.

Constipation, acute or chronic, can easily be overcome through the use of

Mate. Mate appears to work mainly by softening the fecal mass, but it also

appears to stimulate normal movement of the intestines to some degree.

EFFECTS ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Better than any other xanthine alkaloid, Mate has the ability to increase

mental alertness and acuity and to do it without any side effects such as

nervousness and jitters. It seems to act like a tonic, stimulating a

weakened and depressed nervous system and sedating an overexcited one. Our

knowledge of Mate's effects is currently limited to observations of behavior

changes such as more energy and vitality; better ability to concentrate less

nervousness, agitation, and anxiety; and increased resistance to both

physical and mental fatigue. Improvement in mood, especially in cases of

depression, often follows drinking the tea. This may be a direct or indirect

result of increased energy. One of the remarkable aspects of Mate is that it

does not interfere with sleep cycles; in fact, it has a tendency to balance

the cycles, inducing more rapid eye movement (REM) sleep when necessary, or

increasing the amount of time spent in delta states (deep sleep).

CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS

Heart Ailments of all kinds have been treated or prevented through Yerba

Mate use. Yerba Mate supplies many of the nutrients required by the heart

for growth and repair. In addition, it increases the supply of oxygen to the

heart, especially during periods of stress or exercise. Mate has become a

favorite of body builders and anyone interested in the health benefits of

exercise. The metabolic effects of Mate appear to include the ability to

maintain aerobic glycolysis (breakdown of carbohydrates) during exercise for

longer periods of time. This results in burning more calories, increasing

cardiac efficiency, and delaying anaerobic glycolysis and the resulting

buildup of lactic acid during exercise. Reports of Mate reducing blood

pressure are not uncommon.

EFFECTS ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

A consistent observation in most South American literature on Mate is that

it increases the immune response of the body, stimulating natural resistance

to disease. This results in a nourishing and strengthening effect on the ill

person, both during the course of the illness and during convalescence,

sometimes dramatically accelerating recovery times. Exact mechanisms of Mate

s action have not been worked out, but they involve both a direct action

against infectious organisms, and an effect on overall resistance to disease

The nutritional content of the plant probably plays a major role here, but

it is also probable that other constituents contribute to the action by

stimulating the activity of white blood cells.

NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES

The interaction of the many nutrients in Mate have never been systematically

studied. But the stories surrounding the nutritional application of Mate tea

are nothing short of amazing. Mate is often used as a staple food, sometimes

substituting for such important foods as bread and vegetables. It easily

eliminates the sensation of hunger and can impart as much invigoration as a

full meal, according to the well-known Chilean herbalists J. Zin and R.

Weiss. Peace Corps workers have reported cases in which large groups of

natives remain in good health for extended periods of drought and famine,

even though they eat only one small meal per day. How so? By drinking

copious amounts of Yerba Mate tea. Some natives spend their entire lives on

such a diet and live to very advanced ages, sometimes in excess of 100 years

South American governments have adopted the practice of encouraging mothers

especially in the poorer regions, to include Yerba Mate in the diet of

their school-age children.

Significant quantities of potassium, sodium and magnesium are present in the

leaves as well as the infusion. (Tenorio Sanz, Torija Isasa 1991)

Much of the literature identifies that Mate contributes to the immune system

by stimulating the activity of white blood cells in the body. Other research

contributes the improved defense of the body to be a direct cause of the

nutrients it contains. Either way, the body benefits by being more prepared

to handle disease and infection.

Recent studies from the U.S. indicate that polyphenols are powerful

antioxidants that strengthen the organism´s natural defenses, and protect it

against the cellular destruction that cause physical deterioration and the

development of sicknesses. (J. Carper 1988).

1. Fill your drinking vessel (preferably a wooden (algarobo wood) or a

gourd) 2/3 full of yerba.

2. Put your palm over the top of the opening and turn it upside down and

shake vigorously. Then turn it sidewise and shake back and forth. This will

bring all the smallest particulates to the top of the vessle, and then to

the inside wall of the vessle. Then carefully turn it back rightside so that

the yerba is slanted higher against one side of the vessle.

How to prepare your mate.

You then take your bombilla and put it in opposite the slant of the yerba.

l\_ //l I know this little picture sucks, but hopefully you get the idea.

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Now your smallest particles should be on the inside wall and at the top,

where they wont clog your bombilla and should provide the most even infusion

as you gradually fill the water line higher and higher into the vessle,

gradually wetting more and more leaves.

always add your water to the least filled side of the vessel, tepid water

first to soak in, and then gradually start to fill w/ hot (not boiling)

water.

-- Re: chinese herbs any help?

I would definitely like to know more.

Crystal