Yerba mate is a South American tea used by many alternative medicine practitioners as a treatment for migraine headaches, although some people complain that consuming the tea often causes migraines to develop. Yerba mate -- also known as Jesuit's tea, St. Bartholomew's tea or mate -- contains caffeine and other alkaloid compounds that scientists believe could be responsible for either causing or decreasing the incidence of migraine headaches in certain users. Even if yerba mate helps relieve your headaches, be aware that the tea is associated with several potentially serious side effects.
Yerba Mate
Yerba mate is derived from Ilex paraguariensis, a plant whose leaves and stems have been used for hundreds of years to make a tea that is used as both a beverage and a folk medicine treatment. In Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru and Chile, the tea is traditionally drunk through a straw made from metal or wood. Yerba mate has been used to aid with weight loss, as a stimulant to battle fatigue, to treat depression and to ease the pain of tension and migraine headaches.
Effect on Migraines
Scientific researchers believe that yerba mate relieves migraines in some users while causing them in others because of the high concentration of xanthene alkaloids in the plant. These compounds are caffeine, theobromine and theophylline, and all have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system. Health experts advise that consuming more than 200 mg of stimulating alkaloids like caffeine daily can make headaches occur more frequently, while smaller amounts may be responsible for alleviating them. If you drink yerba mate tea while consuming caffeine from other sources regularly, you may be more at risk to develop migraines.
Function
The caffeine in yerba mate relieves headaches by binding to adenosine receptors in nerve cells. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that causes blood vessels located in your neck and head to dilate, or become enlarged, bringing more blood to the area. When caffeine molecules block the neuronal adenosine receptors, they cause the head and neck blood vessels to constrict, pushing blood out of the vessels, decreasing the pressure and relieving pain. People who consume large amounts of caffeine, including from yerba mate, may have headaches caused by caffeine because their nervous system's have become desensitized to caffeine's effects.
Considerations
As a dietary supplement and naturopathic treatment, yerba mate is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, no commercial yerba mate products are checked for purity, effectiveness or safety. In addition, regular consumption of the tea has been linked to an increase in the risk of developing a variety of cancers, including esophageal, lung, bladder, head and neck cancer. Consult your physician before using yerba mate as a treatment for migraines or any other condition.
References
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Mate
- Mayo Clinic: Yerba Mate - Is It Safe to Drink?
- Applied Health Solutions for Life: Yerba Mate
- Cleveland Clinic: Over-the-Counter and Herbal Remedies for Weight Loss
- Mayo Clinic: Tension-type Headaches - Self-Care Measures for Relief
- Caffeine and Migraine: Caffeine
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