I've been busy, so my apologies for not getting back to ProfCrash, pdurrant and astra until now.
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Originally Posted by ProfCrash
When I bought my Yerba Mate gourde, the instructions were to pack the gourd 3/4 of the way full and then listed how the taste would change between the first steeping and the 20th steeping. Seriously. 20 steepings.
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What if the purpose of the twenty steepings is to allow the drinker to stretch out the use of a single amount of maté over several days? We know that maté is a tradition among people of modest means as well as intellectuals who hang out in cafes in places like Buenos Aires. Perhaps they can't always afford to replenish their gourd with fresh leaves.
I've been brewing mine in a French coffee press (which is an acceptable method, BTW) but running it through a filter afterward, as my doctor has advised me to do with coffee to remove carcinogens after I insisted on requiring a stronger cup.
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You would have to drink a ton of any beverage at a high temperature to be worried. Even my 4 Liters of tea is not dangerous because very little of it is actually consumed at 208 degrees.
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That's what I thought initially, but later studies have factored in temperature and still suggest that maté's carcinogenic.
My purpose isn't to discourage people from drinking a beverage that I myself am giving up reluctantly. It's to inform people of possible risks so that they can decide for themselves whether their level of potential use might pose a problem. They might also need to factor in their individual health concerns (habitual smoking, prolonged prior exposure to carcinogens, etc.).
Others might feel they can afford to be less careful about the possibility, however unlikely, of developing throat cancer.
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Originally Posted by pdurrant
This study seems to be the one you're referring to.
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I've been researching this issue off and on for several months. That's the first study that comes up if one searches for "yerba mate" and "carcinogens," but I was also referring to these studies and articles:
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/4/6/595.short
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/co...50/2/426.short
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...om_uid=8547825
This well-researched and carefully referenced article makes a series of points worth contemplating:
http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/canc...tion/questions
The researchers looked for levels of 21 different PAHs in eight commonly used commercial brands of yerba mate. They examined PAH levels in the mate leaves and in tea, prepared both hot and cold, from the leaves. . . . [T]he researchers also checked PAH levels in green tea leaves for comparison purposes.
When looking at the leaves of the eight commercial yerba mate products, the researchers found that they contained total PAH concentration ranging from 2 to 11 times the levels found in green tea leaves. Regarding the amount of PAHs found in the drinks made from yerba mate leaves, the researchers found that both hot and cold water preparations contained significant amount of PAHs. . . .
[They determined that] if prepared in the traditional way and consumed in amounts typically enjoyed by South Americans who drink mate, the intake of certain carcinogenic PAHs was comparable to what a person would get by smoking a pack of cigarettes per day. The study authors noted that the comparison with cigarette smoking is supported by other research that shows that urine levels of the breakdown products of PAHs are similar after smoking cigarettes and after drinking mate.
Its conclusion is an encouraging one, considering:
In summary yerba mate may not be the best choice of beverages for good health, but when consumed occasionally, yerba mate is very unlikely to be linked with any type of cancer (emphasis added).
You can't really trust the Wikipedia entry, which downplays the problems with YM so consistently that it seems to have been edited by someone from the maté industry. (I also wonder whether the coffee industry financed any of the studies on carcinogens in YM.)
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Originally Posted by astra
When you get a minute the link would be very much appreciated. Ta.
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See above. Hope you find them useful, and thanks for your patience.
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Re theophylline: Here's a bit of good news. The only real side effect I've read about is that it depletes B6 in the body -- the tremor people sometimes develop is actually a symptom of deficiency. But if one takes a B6 supplement with their yerba maté, one won't experience any of the jitteriness and tremors that come from excessive coffee drinking. It would be interesting to know whether B6 improved cases of tremors in coffee drinkers as well.