I’ve tasted mate tea, made from the herb Ilex paraguariensis, and I have to say it is a mystery to me how so many Argentinians (and others) could be totally hooked on the stuff. Maybe because they knew all along it was so good for them. ((A comprehensive review was published in the Journal of food Science.)) Now science agrees. Elvira de Majia, of the University of Illinois, discovered that mate drinkers in her lab had greater activity in an enzyme that increases HDL (good) cholesterol while lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol. On that basis, and mate’s many other health benefits, she secured a deal with Argentina to study in detail 84 different varieties of mate, including wild populations. According to the press release:
“Our studies show that some of the most important antioxidant enzymes in the body are induced by this herbal tea,†said de Mejia of her study in September’s Planta Medica. ((Which is here, but you need to be a subscriber.))
“Because Argentina has the different mate varieties, we’ll be able to do more comparisons and characterizations between the different genotypes and the benefits of different growing conditions—whether in sun (on a plantation) or in shade (under the rainforest canopy),†she added.
There’s also interest in adding the active ingredient(s) to processed food. There always is.