3 ms·
This part is rather easily explained, I think: "how did it captivate so many millions of daily drinkers around the world?" Unlike coffee beans it's trivial to
by cess11 2y ago
This part is rather easily explained, I think:
"how did it captivate so many millions of daily drinkers around the world?"
Unlike coffee beans it's trivial to produce, you basically just chop leaves and dry them, possibly with smoke.
Unlike coffee there are no adrenergic heebie-jeebies, only a rather strong and 'pure' caffeine high. Supposedly there's a mineral content that'll be nice to the nervous system too.
There are rumours about it causing stomach and mouth cancer, with some studies seemingly supporting this and some countering that it might just be the practice of drinking a very hot infusion. Making a cold infusion works fine, at least with regards to the drug effects.
I'm not too worried about the cancer stuff and usually keep a kilogram or so in the cupboard in case I run out of more expensive caffeine sources.
- freefaler 2y agoThere is some evidence of prolonged use and cancer: https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/mate#references-12 https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs...
- cess11 2y agoThis study, https://sci-hub.wf/10.1007/s10552-012-9968-z https://sci-hub.wf/10.1007/s10552-012-9968-z ? If so they just decided that alcohol and tobacco don't have any effect on prostate cancer prevalence and then went on and crunched some numbers on threehundred or so cases, out of which a third said they'd been smokers for more than fifty years. I think it's very hard to generalise from that study alone.
- o_____________o 2y ago> some countering that it might just be the practice of drinking a very hot infusion Yeah and from what I remember, frequently cited studies were looking at the combination of maté with tobacco and alcohol, others didn't control for the delivery style. Maté, especially when consumed in a tiny gourd that's constantly refreshed with boiling water, can make the tissues in your mouth and neck more vulnerable to subsequent cigarettes. On top of that, maté leaves are often smoke dried, which carries some self-evident risks. My conclusion was to get air dried leaves and be mindful of how hot the water is.
- alwillis 2y agoMy understanding is the cancer risk is from smoked Yerba mate only.
- reducesuffering 2y agoThat or having the water at extremely high temperatures is my understanding too.
- Projectiboga 2y agoI've read the stems have something bad in them. Higher end mate has less stems included.