THE ESSENTIAL
- Mate contains caffeine which can prevent you from sleeping or even, in the worst cases, cause insomnia.
- Some mate consumers have already experienced palpitations, headaches or stomach aches, anxiety or even nervousness.
“High doses and prolonged consumption of mate tea are associated with an increased risk of cancer of the prostate, bladder, mouth, esophagus, lungs, head and neck”say researchers from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the magazine Oh my Mag. To reach this conclusion, the Uruguayan team carried out their work on more than 1,000 people. Their results have just been published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarker and Prevention.
60 times more risk of cancer…
According to scientists, people who often drink mate, a tea from South America, are 60 times more likely to develop lung, respiratory or stomach cancer. system digestif compared to those who do not consume it regularly.
…particularly due to the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
But why would this drink affect our respiratory tract? The reason is due to the composition of mate, which is highly concentrated in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs. These molecules give it the smoky taste that its amateurs appreciate… But what they don’t know is that PAHs are also present in tobacco smoke. The researchers’ calculations estimate that from 50 grams of mate per day the damage to health would be equivalent to smoking at least 100 cigarettes in one and the same day, the equivalent of five packs.
The best teas for our health
Considerable dangers and yet mate has a rather good reputation among tea lovers. It is known to have many virtues: antioxidant, slimming, energizing, stimulating, etc. But this study could well discourage its followers. So what to replace it with? In its latest issue, published in March, the magazine 60 million consumers compiles a list of the best teas for our health.
More than 16 problematic substances
Whether it’s teas or infusions, the magazine’s experts recommend consuming those certified organic from certain brands such as English Breakfast Organic Black Tea from Clipper, Earl Gray from Kusmi Tea, Breakfast Terra Etica, Paysans d ‘Here, Romon Nature or Jardin Bio. Advice to be taken very seriously because sixteen substances deemed “problematic” were detected by the association out of the nearly fifty brands that were analysed.