Mate and Rooibos

[Aleesha Sattva]

What do you all think of these? I'm thinking of adding them to my day and am wondering... are they okay to add or should I stay away from them.

I picked up the Yerba Mate and some Rooibos.

[SuzyQ]

They are supposed to be some of the best teas you can drink; lots of anti-oxidents.(sp?) Having said that, I don't know what the 100% raw people will say.

[Raene]

There are also many articles stating that mate causes lung cancer. I wouldn't try it personally, though I realize that the people who come out with studies can sometimes bend the truth.

[Aleesha Sattva]

really? but you aren't breathing it in.

off to research even more... i've been reading but didn't find any of that info. thanks raene.

[Aleesha Sattva]

the study i found says that the male mate drinkers were also smokers. and the mate drinkers were 'heavy' users.

i'm more concerned with non-smoking rawbies... and drinking mate.

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/reprint/5/7/515

[greenfeline]

The study does include smokers, but they do use a statistical analysis technique called regression that controls for all the other factors. In other words, there are multiple things that could contribute to something. The regression model is able to look at the individual contribution of each factor independant of the others. Hmm.. I just noticed they only controlled for packs per day. It would be better to see a study of non-smokers.

[Juicyfruit]

I love roobios! I drink it every day in the Yogi brand tea, chai blend. It really helps my skin. I used to have rosacea really bad before raw. If my skin acts up, which it does every once in a while if I eat something not 100%, like I'm out and I eat a salad dressing that has something in it I'm sensitive to, I can drink Rooibos and I can tell a difference with in hours. I can tell it's very anti-inflammatory.

[shashibala]

I do choose to drink some herbal teas when I want to warm up.I love rooibos tea. It has a sweet, almost floral fragrance. Very nice!
I tried drinking yerba mate a couple years ago. A friend had given me a package. It does impart a certain energy. I found though, that it irritated either my bladder or my kidneys. Along with the irritated feeling it made me have to pee a lot. I experimented with it and it was definitely the mate causing the problem, so I stopped drinking it. So that's my little bit of experience with these 2 teas.:)

[Zaphirah]

I LOVE MATE'!!!!! I lived with the folks that make "Common Ground Mate". I didn't live in the community that made mate, I lived on the Basin Farm, an org farm in VT. But that's where I was first intorduced to it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that stuff. I used to drink SO much of it. I noticed that I was getting *very* dizzy after drinking it. I read up on it and found that it can lower your BP and since I already run somewhat lower, I cut way way back. I only drink 1 cup now.

It's one of those non-raw things, like miso, that I think is well worth the trade off. :cool:

[Aleesha Sattva]

i'm not looking to drink more than a cup or two a week to be honest... so it sounds like this may be right up my alley. :) thanks everyone!!!

[tepiglet]

Funny you should mention it.
This question is right up my alley since I drink a yerba mate/rooibos tea combo
every morning for breakfast,and mix it with fresh grapefruit juice,lime and stevia.
This is sooo tasty,and it helps wake me up gently and fills me up/helps suppress my appetite,until I'm ready for more solid food.

Sometimes I add a few fresh mint leaves at the bottom of the glass and make
a mate 'mojito'.

Ecoteas makes a loose yerba mate which is unsmoked/low temp dried,and
is considered raw.

I brew it in my french press which I used to use to make coffee,and occasionally add loose Rooibos to the mate.
It's a very delicious combination.

Most of the time I use Rooibos teabags which are easier to find,although not
raw,strictly speaking.

As far as the cancer debate regarding yerba mate,I read that the cancer was
caused by using boiling/scalding water for brewing the mate,and that this alone was the purported reason for possibly causing cancer-meaning by continually drinking
boiling hot mate which repeatedly burned the throat/esophogus,it was the temperature of the water itself,not the yerba mate which caused problems.

But to keep things raw,you can steep the yerba mate and rooibos in cold or
tepid water.
Hope this helps.:)

[Aleesha Sattva]

thanks so much!!!

[tepiglet]

thanks so much!!!

No problem!:)
Let me know if you want my yerba mate/rooibos recipe.

[zig_zag]

Not sure if this helps, but I have a very severely sensitive stomach, and find roiboos to be very soothing... mentally, as well, too. I feel very tranquil drinking herbal teas... to the point where it irritates me when raw-foodists get all anally defiant against them:p

[Aleesha Sattva]

why would it irritate you? what you drink, what you eat, what you choose... is your choice. period.

don't be a sheep... ;)

[zig_zag]

Because some people can be dogmatic about it... If I were being a sheep I might not be drinking tea:cool:

[Aleesha Sattva]

ah take what you like and leave the rest... honestly if you don't agree with them... ignore them - life can be filled with joy if we allow it to be :D

[Aleesha Sattva]

i've spent 4 days at a meditation class... all day each day and really enjoyed the rooibos tea i was drinking. what a lovely flavour. i'd put about a tsp in a cup in the morning and just keep adding water all day long. (as i don't like strong teas)

it was very nice indeed.

i bought some mate and plan on trying it soon.