8 Reasons Yerba Mate Belongs in the Office
- Yerba Mate is the better alternative to coffee
- It is full of antioxidants and other healthy nutrients
- It won’t spike your insulin levels
- Yerba Mate has little to no calories
- It naturally helps you stay alert and focused
- Your afternoon crash can be avoided
- Yerba Mate can lead to better choices
- It may help you lose weight
If you look around your office breakroom you will most likely see a coffee pot, a fridge full of leftovers, a vending machine filled with processed snacks, sugary sodas, and energy drinks. You’ll probably see a microwave for your gas station frozen burritos and a clock on the wall reminding you to get back to work. You may even see Ned’s Tupperware filled with kale & tofu quinoa and think, “Does being healthy mean I have to eat that rubbish?” The answer of course is absolutely not.
The office lunchroom may be filled with a bunch of garbage that is convenient, quick-fix pick-me-ups that only last for so long and then leave you bloated, full of regret, and craving more; It doesn’t mean it has to be this way. It is for all these reasons that we believe Yerba Mate belongs in the office. It is one easy, small change that can have a massive impact on how you feel and the amount of work you can accomplish. Rather than focus on the negatives of the office cafeteria, let’s look at all the positives of placing yerba mate there as the healthier alternative.
1. Yerba Mate is the Better Alternative to Coffee
While we aren’t trying to say coffee is of the devil, we are saying it can be and yerba mate is just better. Coffee gives you energy, it has a lot of nutrition, and its strong taste is loved by many. Yerba Mate does what coffee does, just better. It also has energy-boosting compounds, it has a lot more nutrition and it is very much reminiscent of the strong flavors of coffee except Yerba Mate won’t go bitter.
2. It is Full of Antioxidants and Other Healthy Nutrients
Generally, what you won’t find with yerba mate is it being filled with a bunch of high-calorie additives. Don’t get us wrong, yerba mate can be loaded up with sugar, so be careful and read your labels, but it doesn’t have to be to taste good. Yerba Mate contains Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Zinc. It also has Vitamins: A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin (B3), B5, B Complex as well as additional compounds such as Carotene, Fatty Acids, Chlorophyll, Flavonols, Polyphenols, Inositol and 15 Amino Acids. Holy smokes, that’s a lot of nutrients. Eat your heart out coffee.
3. It Won’t Spike your Insulin Levels
When you have high sugar or carbs, you can raise your blood sugar levels. High blood glucose triggers the pancreas to send insulin into the bloodstream to help clear out the glucose in the bloodstream. Those who have type 1 diabetes lack the ability to make insulin. When there are high blood sugar levels persistently present in the bloodstream, it can lead to permanent damage of the pancreas and hardening of the blood vessels known as atherosclerosis. Damaged blood vessels can lead to even more health complications such as strokes, nerve damage, heart attack, kidney failure, and more.
Not only does yerba mate, when consumed naturally, help you avoid the liquid calories in the form of sugar, but in some studies it has even been shown to improve insulin signaling as well as reduce the likelihood of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) that can lead to many other health problems including diabetes. So, by drinking yerba mate you may be not only avoiding high blood sugar levels, but you just might be reducing those levels altogether.
4. Yerba Mate has Little to No Calories
In one cup of pure yerba mate, you may see as little as zero calories including zero grams of sugar. Now when you infuse other things into your yerba mate, the calorie content can increase slightly and so can the sugar levels especially if you add sugar. All this means is that the power to control the number of calories you consume beyond what is already in pure yerba mate is entirely up to you.
Yerba mate has a great flavor and an amazing taste, so often times many people don’t see a reason to add sugar. Some infusions have fruits, chocolate, or caramel which may raise the calories. Since the ingredients are steeped, the sugar or calorie level never gets up to the level of normal consumption.
5. It Naturally Helps you Stay Alert and Focused
Yerba mate contains the energy-boosting compound of caffeine which has been known to stimulate the brain for energy and alertness. Yerba mate contains more caffeine than a cup of tea and less caffeine than a cup of coffee. The effects of too many stimulants, especially those manufactured in a lab such as energy drinks, can cause other negative effects in the body like nervousness, nausea, and addiction.
Yerba mate provides the right level of naturallly occurring caffeine without the additional overload of other stimulants. Many of those who drink yerba mate claim that it is gentler, that the effects last longer and they don’t get the anxiety and nervousness that other drinks like coffee and energy drinks can give.
6. Your Afternoon Crash can be Avoided
The magic of yerba mate not only involves the amount of caffeine but the combination of caffeine and theobromine. Caffeine is strong, fast-acting, short-lived and addictive while theobromine, also a stimulant, is the opposite. Theobromine is gentler, longer-lasting, and is non-addictive with a slower onset. Combined the two and you can avoid the caffeine crash of coffee for a longer sustained dose of energy and focus throughout the day.
The trick here or key principles is that good things in excess can become bad for us. Too many stimulants and too much caffeine can lead to an overload of the sensory system. It can turn something helpful into something poisonous. Instead of reaching for the short-lived, over-stimulating, and addictive synthetic, energy options at your grocery store, order some yerba mate and see the difference it can make.
7. It Can Lead to Better Choices
Have you ever heard that one good choice can lead to another? We believe that this is true with yerba mate. When you make the decision to substitute out addictive and unhealthy choices for the healthier choice of yerba mate, you begin to feel better immediately. Which leads to other healthier choices like avoiding unhealthy foods and exercising. Often it is one little change that can create the domino effect of leading to an even greater impact in our lives.
8. It May Help you Lose Weight
One of the healthier byproducts of drinking yerba mate is that it can lead to better choices of improving your health. This may mean losing weight and/or exercising more. The coolest thing about yerba mate is its ability to help aid you in this goal too.
Studies have shown that yerba mate may lower your appetite and raise your metabolism at the same time. This makes it easier to make good decisions about what to eat, how much to eat and how often. Research has also suggested that yerba mate may decrease the number of fat cells you have as well as decrease the amount of fat each cell stores.
When you exercise your body burns calories, yerba mate may make the burning of fat for energy easier by storing the fat where it can be burned off more easily for energy. So, when you begin drinking yerba mate for increased health, to improve your energy, or replace an unhealthy habit, you gear yourself up for a healthier lifestyle all around.
For more information on yerba mate see What is Yerba Mate?
Here is a list of some delicious yerba mate options to help you continue or begin your yerba mate journey.
