Today we’ll be comparing green tea vs yerba mate. There are lots of health benefits of green tea, but organic yerba mate is said to have just as many (if not more), and also come with the boost of coffee and the feel-good nature of chocolate.

While the two drinks have similar health benefits, many consider yerba mate to be the healthier choice. Here are five reasons to choose yerba mate over green tea.

Levels Of Caffeine

While yerba mate and green tea both contain caffeine, there’s definitely more to be found in yerba mate. An average cup of yerba mate has 80mg of caffeine compared to the 25mg of caffeine in green tea. Caffeine is responsible for several benefits including mental alertness, metabolism boost, energy boost, and thermogenesis to support weight loss. What’s better about the caffeine content of yerba mate is that it doesn’t have the “crash” that comes with coffee. Mate has been shown to boost mood, help with depression, and provide an overall feeling of euphoria. Yerba mate drinkers don’t report getting the hitters and irritability that comes with drinking coffee.

The Levels Of Antioxidants In The Drink

Green tea has a number of antioxidants in it, with epigallocatechin-3 gallate being the most potent. Also known as EGCG it is responsible for the many health benefits of green tea. By comparison, yerba mate contains chlorogenic acid, the antioxidant found in green tea beans. Both antioxidants have the same benefits, but yerba mate has more antioxidants overall; making it the healthier choice in terms of antioxidant content.

Nutritional Value

Yerba mate has 196 active compounds compared to the 144 compounds in green tea. That means that mate has 52 more active compounds, including 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, and other compounds such as antioxidants, flavonoids, trace minerals, and fatty acids. One cup of mate contains vitamins A, B1, B3, B5, C, and E; the minerals magnesium, calcium, selenium, iron, and phosphorous. Green tea only has vitamins A, B1, B12, C, K, and P, and the minerals; copper, fluoride, iron, nickel, zinc, magnesium, and calcium. Yerba mate comes out on top of green tea with nutrient content as well.

Weight Loss Benefits

One of the most common things to consider when comparing yerba mate vs green tea is their weight loss properties. Both drinks are known to promote weight loss, primarily through triggering thermogenesis; which is how the body burns through fat by increasing body temperature. Caffeine is an important part of the process and, given that yerba has more caffeine, it’s more effective at promoting weight loss than green tea. Just keep in mind that drinking either one when fasting could be dangerous. Toxicity is common with people who drink caffeinated drinks while fasting.

Possible Side Effects

There have been some reports yerba mate could increase the risk of certain cancers, but these claims have never been proven through clinical trials. There are still some side effects, but these are related to the caffeine content. Both drinks have similar health benefits, and that means they also have similar side effects that might sometimes be:

• Headaches
• Upset stomach
• Insomnia
• Diarrhea

It is recommended that pregnant and nursing women avoid drinking green tea and yerba mate, along with people suffering from anemia and other bleeding disorders.

Conclusion

While green tea is known for having lots of health benefits for decades, yerba mate is only just becoming known as a healthy drink. Mate has something of an acquired taste, but this hasn’t stopped the western world from adopting it for the health benefits it brings.
Keep in mind that, while the studies into yerba mate haven’t been as well-publicized as green tea, they still have promising results that suggest yerba mate could be much better and healthier than green tea overall.