Yerba Mate tea has been an integral part of the culture of South America for centuries. It has been used as a traditional tea, whether for normal everyday consumption or for traditional medicine purposes. Within the last couple decades, though, the popularity of the drink worldwide has sky-rocketed, and the US market is now full of options when it comes to yerba mate. One of the best benefits of yerba mate is the fact that it is a great alternative to coffee and other forms of caffeine, giving you a great source of energy for the day while also providing you with more health benefits overall.

Below are five great reasons you should be drinking yerba mate instead of coffee as your go-to drink for energy and health throughout your everyday life.

Slow Releasing Energy Boost for the Day

When it comes to daily energy, most adults often require some sort of boost during the day, especially if they are working particularly boring or grueling day jobs, and most that energy comes from caffeine. The most common form of caffeine that is consumed in the world is tea, and the second most is coffee, although coffee has significantly more caffeine in general than most teas. Caffeine amounts with yerba mate tea are somewhere in between the two, more than tea, less than coffee, and it is 100% natural. With a lower caffeine count and other nutrients that allow for a slower, more steady, all day energy boost, you don’t end up with the jitters that many coffee drinkers complain about.

Help Moderate Cholesterol Levels

Studies have shown that the nutrients within yerba mate tea can help your body in many ways, and those include moderating your cholesterol levels better. The main study cited is from 2009, and it showed that drinking one liter of yerba mate per day over 40 days could reduce LDL cholesterol levels; the lower levels occurred in all participants, whether or not they had high or low cholesterol to begin with or were taking medication for cholesterol. Consuming the same amount of coffee can actually have the opposite effect.

Bone Health Positive

Yerba mate tea has been found to also be a positive when it comes to bone health, helping the bones of the body retain their mineral density, even as people age. Osteoporosis is a big issue as people age, especially in women, and coffee has been found to have detrimental effects on bone density, increasing the risk of hip fractures. One liter a day can lead to 5-10 percent higher levels of bone mineral density when compared to non drinkers.

Easier on Acid Reflux

Coffee is naturally a very acidic drink, as can be evidenced by the damage it can do to your teeth, and its sharp taste. Drinking coffee can cause or exacerbate an already existing acid reflux issue that millions of people suffer from each year. Dietary changes can help reduce your acid reflux, or you can resort to over the counter or prescription medications; however, if you need your caffeine kick, then dropping coffee for yerba mate tea can be a dietary change that helps reduce your acid reflux triggers.

Improve Your Exercise Routine Results with Yerba Mate Tea

Exercise is an important part of getting or staying healthy. Going for a run, working out at the gym with weights, or whatever other method of choice you use for exercise is a great way of losing weight and building muscle. But did you know that yerba mate can actually help you with your exercise routine results? Yerba mate is a popular pre-game drink for footballers in South America, and while there isn’t any definitive proof that it can help performance during the game, one study has found that a 1-gram capsule of yerba mate can actually help burn 24% more fat during a workout or form of physical activity. Yerba mate helps with burning fat, and burning fat instead of carbs leads to an overall loss of fat in the body and a reduction of weight.

With these five reasons, and so many more that are not mentioned above, it might be time for you to consider a switch to yerba mate tea. You can prepare yerba mate the traditional way with a gourd, or you can find it in other forms, such as bottled drinks that are easy to use throughout the day when you need that energy pick-me-up.