Seasonal allergies are the worst!

I’ve been dealing with them my eDandilionntire  life. I remember being a little kid, waking up in the morning and not being able to open my eyes in the spring time. My seasonal allergies caused an extreme amount of drainage to pour from my eyes during the night. By morning it had crusted over, causing my not to be able to open my eyes, until my mom gave me a warm compress.

 

I have tried everything.

Field of yellow flowers

From allergy pills to Neti Pots, I’ve tried it. Nothing seemed to work for me. At one point I actually just stopped taking the allergy pills because I felt just as bad on them as I did off of them.

 

I do not think I should have to sacrifice my alertness to achieve allergy relief. However, when an allergy pill did relieve my symptoms, this is what happened. So, I’ve been on the hunt for a natural solution.

 

Over the years, my allergies have gotten a little better. I account this to moving to a new tSingle White and yellow flowerown. While my allergies are still most definitely there, they are not as extreme as my childhood. When I visit home in the spring time, though, all symptoms are go.

I travel home quite frequently, as my father and I own a business together there. So while I may start my morning off perfectly fine, halfway through my trip to work, my eyes are itching, I’m coughing profusely, and I’m sneezing like one of the Seven Dwarfs.

 

I need relief.

 

I’ve heard quite a bit about Yerba Mate (pronounce Ear-Bah Mah-Tay) over the years, and increasingly so in the past year. Most of what I hear are the benefits of Yerba Mate when it comes to increased energy without the traditional caffeine crash. The plant does indeed naturally contain caffeine, however, the effects appear to be nothing like those experienced by coffee drinkers.

 

Yerba Mate, the plant, is native to South America. It is traditionally served as a scorching hot drink in a calabash (gourd) in Argentina. The process and tradition of it Traditional yerba mateare similar only to the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Additionally, Yerba Mate is drank out of a metal straw.

The process for making and serving traditional Yerba properly is noted as being somewhat difficult and dangerous. Argentinians do not typically use tea bags when preparing Yerba Mate. They use loose leaf Yerba and prepare it in a very specific way. There is one exception.

 

 

Children prepare or are served Yerba Mate with tea bags and Tea bagsat much lower temperatures. This is the method I used. While I am fairly confident I could figure the process out, I simply wasn’t committed to doing it the first time on my own. I would much rather see and be involved in the traditional preparation process from someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

As far as the temperature is concerned, I highly recommend you drink it at a safe and comfortable temperature, so as to avoid injury.

 

So why Yerba Mate for seasonal allergies?

I am not a person who follows trends, so I hadn’t really paid much attention to Yerba Mate. I’d heard the benefits of energy, and honestly that wasn’t something I needed help with. Therefore, I kind of just ignored it. Then I bought a tea sampler that included Yerba Mate Lemon Myrtle Tea. Now I needed to do some research.

 

 

I like to know the benefits of my teas. In reading, I found Yerba Mate has an abundance of benefits that span far beyond energy increase; one of them being relief from seasonal allergies. The plant is high in antioxidants (seven out of the nine that exist), thus proving the ability to reduce inflammation, expel mucus, and reduce and even destroy infection. Lemon Myrtle could help as well.

 

Lemon Myrtle is a tree native to Australia. The leaves, fruit, and flowers can all be harvestedAustralia on mapd and used. The leaves hold the most benefits, as they are rich in essential oils known for their antiseptic (antimicrobial) and antiviral properties. This is perfect for allergies and preventing sinus infections.

 

Pairing Yerba Mate with Lemon Myrtle was genius, but would it really work?

 

I gave the tea a try, hoping to experience the benefits of Yerba Mate and Lemon Myrtle for my Tea cup with bagseasonal allergies. I had no expectations of actually liking the tea, as I absolutely hate the flavor of lemon.

Surprisingly, I didn’t totally dislike the taste. While I would prefer it without the lemon, the flavor did not bother me.

 

The tea was naturally sweet. I rarely add anything to my beverages, and was surprised just how sweet the tea was on it’s own. I felt the effects of the Yerba and the Lemon Mrytle pretty quickly.

 

About 10 minutes after drinking the tea, I did feel slightly more energized. this is interesting to me because caffeine makes me sleepy (as in I have on more than one occasion drank coffee before bed so I could sleep). Soon after, my throat felt less scratchy and my nasal passages were cleared. I actually felt no seasonal allergy symptoms for the rest of the day. Not even a cough or a sneeze.

 

Needless to say, Yerba Mate is here to stay in my kitchen. I think I’ll even invest in more with the Lemon Myrtle.

 

Are you a Yerba Mate fan? What have you used to combat seasonal allergies?

 

 

Yerba Mate can be used to treat:

Seasonal allergies, High cholesterol, Diabetes (high blood sugar), Arthritis and joint pain, Obesity, Weight gain, Slow metabolism, Parasites, Bacteria, Fungus, Food Poisoning, Low energy, and Concentration

Yerba Mate can be used to prevent:

Heart disease, Cold, Flu, Viruses, Obesity, Weight gain, Intestinal parasites, Bacteria, Fungus, Fatigue, and Cancer

 

6 Comments

  • Rosa

    Hi Jaemio,

    I enjoyed your content on relieving seasonal allergies. I usually suffer from allergies during the cedar season and I know how uncomfortable and frustrating that can get. I’ve tried allergy pills myself just like you but I get groggy and some do not even work or help. Plus I don’t like using pills anyway.

    I also have a sister that suffers from allergies almost all year long and I feel bad for her. I’m going to let her know about your website. I’m bookmarking this page. I already bookmarked another one of your pages.

    Thank you so much for sharing this information.

    • JaemiO

      Hi Rosa,

      Thanks for stopping by again! The past few years my allergies have been their worst during harvest season, particularly when corn is being harvested.

      I hope this tea helps both you and your sister. If either of you are looking for something caffeine free, don’t forget peppermint also helps with allergies (though a little milder than the Yerba Mate).

      Looking forward to hearing from you again. I hope you two find relief,

      JaemiO

  • Daniella

    Hi Jaemio,

    Great article, found it very useful!
    I’ve never suffered from allergies, thank god:) But one of my friends has allergies every spring time. She can hardly speak as she is always sneezing and her eyes are crying:( What a mess! I really want to help her. I will share this article with her. I am sure she will love it!
    I am also interested in the Yerba Mate as I suffer from high cholesterol and it could help reduce it.
    Thank you very much for this excellent post!

    • JaemiO

      Hi Daniella,

      You are so lucky you’ve never had to deal with this mess! I hope you never do. Your friend sounds like she has a pretty rough time. Thanks for sharing this tip with her. I hope it works just as well for her as it has for me.

      In addition to trying theYerba Mate for reducing your cholesterol, check out some of my other articles on herbs and spices. There are quite a few you can incorporate into your everyday life to help reduce cholesterol.

      Best of luck to you and your friend on improving your health!

      Let me know how everything works out,

      JaemiO

  • Barbara

    Hi JameiO -Thanks for the information about Yerba Mate for helping to relieve those annoying seasonal allergies and some other common ailments.

    For these reasons, I may have to order those tea bags to try for myself even though usually avoid anything with caffeine in it due to my history of Afib. Do you know how much caffeine is actually in the tea?

    Any additional information of the caffeine content would be appreciated.

    Thank you, Barbara

    • JaemiO

      Hi Barbara,

      Thanks so much for stopping by! I’m glad the article was useful to you.

      My mom has Afib, and while she still drinks things like coffee, she has cut back significantly. This seems to help her quite a bit. With this in mind, I think you may want too try local honey instead of Yerba Mate.

      I plan to write an article about the benefits of local honey soon, so stay tuned for that. In short, though, local honey contains local allergens. Eating a little each day can help to build your resistance to the things you are allergic to. 

      Yerba mate has about the same amount of caffeine in it as a cup of coffee (85 mg per 8 oz). Many drinkers, myself included,  don’t feel the same effects from the caffeine in Yerba Mate as they do in other caffeinated drinks. However, I hesitate to tell you to depend on that given the Afib.

      Whatever you do Barbara, just make sure you are comfortable with it. Perhaps talks to your doctor about caffeine intake. You seem very aware of your health. I know you will make the right decision. 

      Looking forward to seeing you around here, 

      JaemiO

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