What is the best tea for increasing my metabolism?

Have you been trying to fight the battle of the bulge? Do you sweat out every day in the gym to no avail? Losing weight needs a lot of patience and dedication.

There are myriads of things you can do to lose weight. Along with proper exercise and a healthy diet drinking tea can also help you shed pounds and stay in shape.

There are lots of herbal teas including green tea, mint tea, Oolong tea which can boost your metabolism and help in weight loss and management. But the best has to be this South American hot beverage which is fast becoming the favorite of everybody around the four corners of the world.

This is yerba mate and is also called mate. Yerba mate is a herbal tea which is made by steeping the dried leaves of a shrub-like small tree holly( llex) which is native to South America.

Yerba mate is a powerhouse of energy and is loaded with goodness. Yerba mate gives you the caffeine kick of coffee and the health benefits of green tea.

So it is a unique and nutritious mash-up of coffee and green tea. It has 90% more antioxidants than green tea, which prevent many degenerative diseases caused by free radicals.

Yerba mate is a phenomenal stress buster, has a soothing effect on the mind and can also be helpful in losing those extra inches.

How can yerba mate rev up your metabolism?

Metabolism is the process which allows the body to convert food and drink into energy. If your metabolism is high you will burn more calories during exercise or any physical activity and even when the body is resting. Like other caffeinated drinks yerba mate also boosts metabolism.

The beneficial plant compounds in yerba mate can speed up your metabolism helping the body break down excess fat into free fatty acids which can increase fat burning by 10-17%. Due to the presence of caffeine, yerba mate gives you increased energy levels causing your body to burn more calories.

Having two to three cups a day can promise good health, a good supply of nutrients and could be a great addition to a balanced diet. Exercise helps you burn calories as long as you work out. But once you stop doing any physical activity your metabolism goes into a resting state. But yerba mate can beef up your metabolism even when you are not exercising.

Apart from slow metabolism there are other culprits responsible for gaining excess pounds like lack of sleep, constipation, improper digestion, depression, and anxiety.

In addition to improving your metabolism yerba mate tea can also aid in weight loss in many other ways:

1. Yerba mate helps you lose weight by enhancing your mood and prevents you from having wrong foods which can sabotage your weight loss goals and plans.
2. As per a study people who are depressed and face issues like anxiety, agitation tend to make many wrong food choices and gain more weight than the ones who don’t experience these emotions.

Consuming high calories and comfort foods make you gain weight quickly. Also, when sad you are less motivated to engage in any physical activity, resulting in weight gain. Sipping yerba mate can lift your mood instantly.

1. Yerba mate is believed to facilitate sleep and at the same time improve its quality. Yerba mate contains certain plant compounds that help in relaxation of mind and body. Having yerba mate can make you sleep better and you won’t do late night snacking.
2. Due to lack of essential nutrients in your body sometimes you are not able to lose weight. When your body is low in important vitamins and minerals like magnesium, iron, etc. your immune system is compromised and you feel lethargic. When you feel fatigued your metabolism gets altered due to hormonal imbalances.

When you are tired you don’t have energy to exercise and to get energy you will gorge on sugars and carbohydrates. Yerba mate is a stimulating drink full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids.

It helps fight both mental and physical fatigue. Because of the presence of caffeine in it, mate tea gives a long-lasting gentle spike of energy and not jitters like coffee.

1. Yerba mate is also beneficial in relieving constipation. Constipation can lead to weight gain since you will feel lazy and bloated and will not do any form of exercise.

There could also be bacterial overgrowth in your gut which can slow down your metabolism resulting in weight gain. By improving your digestive system yerba mate helps in weight loss.

1. Many fitness trainers and athletes have long been using yerba mate as supplements to improve their athletic performance. Yerba mate helps them maintain a healthy muscle contraction of heart and body, curtail tiredness and increase their energy levels making them exercise for longer in the gym.

So, the caffeine in yerba mate will give you loads of energy and that will help you tremendously during exercise. Before heading to the gym you can drink a cup of yerba mate.

1. Yerba mate gives you the feeling of fullness, which makes you feel satisfied and hence you don’t crave for food for longer periods of time. It can curtail your appetite and boost metabolism and increase the amount of fat burned by your body for fuel.

How to prepare yerba mate tea?

Yerba mate tea can be prepared either with loose yerba leaves or fresh teabags in a French press, or in cup.

Instructions:

1. Take 4 tbsp of loose yerba leaves or 2 tea bags and pour some cold water over it. This is done to douse the leaves to enhance the flavor of the mate tea. Another reason is to protect the nutrients from getting damaged when hot water is poured over them.
2. Let the leaves sit for 2 minutes and then add hot and not boiling water as your mate tea will lose all its healthful plant compounds.
3. Allow the leaves or the teabags steep for not more than 5 minutes. Now pass it through a sieve into your favorite cup and enjoy this refreshing and energizing drink.

How to drink yerba mate safely?

For all those moderate drinkers, yerba mate does not pose any potential risk. But regular and heavy drinkers could be at the risk of developing certain types of cancers like lungs, mouth and esophageal.

Although there is no scientific information to validate these claims but experts advise to consume yerba mate in moderation. Yerba mate contains PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) which are deemed carcinogenic. Steeping yerba mate leaves or tea bags at high temperatures for long can promote the absorption of these cancerous compounds.

Therefore do not brew your tea for more than for 5 minutes. Always wait for your mate to become slightly lukewarm before drinking. Having 2 to 3 cups of yerba mate daily is safe and will also aid you in weight loss. But excessive consumption can be detrimental to your health. Drinking hot yerba mate beyond 149 Fahrenheit is linked with a heightened risk of cancer than drinking it at cooler temperatures. So you can also try drinking terere – a cold counterpart of hot mate.

Terere is a cold and refreshing infusion of yerba mate, made with cold water and ice. Hence giving you mild and soothing flavors of yerba mate. In case you plan to take yerba mate supplements consult a health practitioner first. Dietary supplements are mostly unregulated so the contents of the products may not be the same as mentioned on the packaging.

There are a plethora of reasons why yerba mate has earned itself the reputation of being a super food that also aids in weight loss. But simply sipping yerba mate tea without exercising and consuming a healthy diet can’t make you lose weight. With a proper exercise regimen and a well-balanced diet, you would be able to reap the benefits of this magical concoction, which has taken the world by storm.