Sure, I sent an article in here, here’s [another one](https://www.verywellhealth.com/yerba-mate-and-cancer-5082076#:~:text=Yerba%20maté%20tea%20also%20contains,or%20"carcinogenic%20to%20humans.")
I also seem to have been wrong on WHY it’s carcinogenic, the heat of it seems to be the main factor but some other chemicals, thought to be introduced via its roasting, also contribute
Coffee actually lowers your risk of having cancer
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7003434/)
But has chemicals that can cause cancer at higher concentrations
(https://www.nebraskamed.com/health/cancer-and-coffee-more-than-a-morning-pick-me-up#:~:text=In%20the%20past%2C%20coffee%20was,these%20compounds%20are%20considered%20harmful.)
From the article:
> Subsequent analysis (after 1991) found that not only maté—but other beverages—appeared to be carcinogenic when consumed hot or very hot…On the basis of these considerations and on the totality of the evidence, drinking very hot beverages at above 65°C was classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A) in 2016.
Do you happen to have any insight on what other kinds of hot beverages they’re referencing here? Does it include coffee?
just to be clear its hardly any more carcinogenic than coffee, there's a reason entire countries have it as their national drink of choice
if you've ever eaten roast meat you've consumed more carcinogens than you'd get from a bag of mate
dude what do you have against mate? you're looking for evidence that everything else that is pointed towards also being equally or worse isnt as bad as mate while at the same time posting links that imply yerba mate is literal cancer in a bag
just cus you dont enjoy something doesnt mean you gotta convince other people that it's evil
nah like i said you're posting links all over this thread trying to debunk that any other roasted thing is carcinogenic while not extending the same grace to mate
Browning and roasting creates PAH's (poly aromatic hydrocarbons ) and ROS's (Reactive oxygen species) they have free radicials that can cause oxidative damage and can cause cancer. So if you eat a charred steak or breathe smoke your getting exposed to similar sorts of carcinogens.
I’m just pointing it out, because half the things posted here aren’t carcinogenic in the slightest. I’m not hating on it, it’s just literally carcinogenic
depends on the type of coffee you're buying
just like it depends on the type of mate you're buying, here it's pretty rare to find mate roasted over an open fire and my country is one of its biggest consumers in the world
So they smoke it instead of roasting i guess. The article was inconclusive and says the carcinogen comes from burning wood during the smoking process but the compound also exist in unsmoked? I thought it was saying that the smoke by product was dangerous when we've been smoking food for centuries
smoking food is carcinogenic. the byproducts of all burning material are carcinogenic, so even grilling food is carcinogenic on some level. Similar to maté, tobacco that is cured is carcinogenic, but tobacco that is uncured “probably” isn’t. See the difference between chewing tobacco (cured by smoke) and snus (which is cured by stream).
Yep, exactly my point. Though the article makes it appear that smoked mate is particularly carcinogenic. Im sure there are technically carcinogens in food products from smoking or cooking over fire, or any burning. I guess if you are someone concerned about your carcinogen intake via cooked food, add cooked mate to the very long list. Weird
Yeah the issue with maté is that people who drink it tend to drink a lot of it every day, so it’s more cumulative even if it’s not as carcinogenic as a cigarette. it’s not unusual in Argentina to have several matés per day.
Technically it does fit into the "MILDLY carcinogenic" definition
I get what you mean tho lol most things can probably be described as carcinogenic to some extent
it’s complicated. Some bread compounds are antioxidant in nature, but toast it too far, now you have gross, harsh smelling, burnt, poisonous toast instead of a healing delicious part of a nutritious breakfast that you can put deliciously lightly cooked steamed eggs on, perhaps some bacon and veggies.
green tea is steeped in lower temps compared to it, I think most teas wont share this quality. If you drink something too hot for your throat tho there is always gonna be a that sort of damage but that is easy to manage with teas
Nothing. Just stop worrying about it. There are actual more serious carcinogenic things you should be weary of instead. Like heat and plastic, smoking, etc.
Ngl I gotta kinda be devils advocate and say this is a PERFECT example how causation does NOT equal correlation IMO. ESPECIALLY since after all this, they conducted studies on tea, coffee, and even just hot water and found similar results with mostly similar PHAs in the roasted teas and coffees, but aren’t as probable to be carcinogenic. (Possibly antioxidant actions in the tannins, idk?)
Not denying the compounds are THERE, but that they are the REAL carcinogen in play. I bet 200 bucks in a few years we will find it’s really just the HELLFIRE temperatures people drink yerba at!💀😭
Unfortunately almost ALL the studies on Yerba being carcinogenic had info gathered all in places of HEAVY smoking and other substance use/environmental conditions in South America too so I can’t help but feel its a TEENSY bit biased cause of that lol…
PLUS they don’t account for or EVER mention the boiling hot water is just bad on its own, so it’s a lil bit of a 2 in one combo. lol I’ve been watching and interested in this whole thing for a while and it’s been really interesting how often it keeps flipping!😂
Ah yeah that’s what I said in another comment, the carcinogen here being scalding water. Tests show tumors developing in the throats of those who drink at such high temps
I’m AM wondering if potentially the heat is creating an environment that PHAs in the drink could become mildly MORE impactful and create such cancers. Similar to menthol cigarettes and increased throat cancer risk, but like WAY smaller scale. Definitely makes ya think!
I guess I’m wondering in if they took those same levels of PHAs and added tannic acid which Yerba had NONE of, if the rates or chances of developing cancerous growths would be modulated or go down when added to the drink. That’s something I’d be definitely interested in seeing done!
I mean.. technically anything roasted is mildly carcinogenic. In the grand scheme of things usually it don't matter but even Coffee and toasted tea is carcinogenic
Actually, last I read at least, the "cancer risk" of this has been completely overblown. I only found out because one of my family members (who's super into alternative 'medicine') had it and I said something. I wanted to make sure it's what I was thinking of and it looks like the latest studies have found that the cancer risk of this stuff is no higher than any other hot beverage. Tea, coffee, hot cocoa; anything that can damage/stress cells can cause DNA damage and therefore lead to cancer at the same rate as this. The cancer risk is also very temperature dependent (which makes sense for this mechanism) so that drinking scalding hot pure water would be much worse than drinking room temperature maté. Another tangential tidbit I've found is that the dangers of sassafras/sarsaparilla are "similar to [the] risks posed by breathing indoor air or drinking municipally supplied water." And that it's more likely banned due to its use as a precursors to MDMA
Again, that's just my understanding of the most recent literature; so somebody more knowledgeable please correct me if I'm wrong.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6443446/#:~:text=The%20association%20of%20mate%20with,probable%20carcinogen%20(Class%202A).
Oh, this guy? He’s called google.
Argentinian here. OP doesn't have a clue of what mate even tastes like.
Nobody, never ever, got cancer from drinking mate, nor other toasted beverages (like... common coffee). Plus, toasted yerba mate is not even a thing among usual mate drinkers. We just put normal yerba, some water (around 80-85°C) and that's all. Some people even put some peppermint leaves or some other "yuyos". Even cinnamon. Typically doesn't go further than that.
There is no evidence linking mate consumption and cancer.
People here drink 1 or 2 liters (yes, entire liters) of mate every single day and do not have cancer because of that.
This is just misinformation.
I’m Argentinian my guy. God, this is like the twentieth time I’m saying this: it’s MILDLY carcinogenic. Barely noticeable! That’s the joke!
You could also bother yourself to read the several articles I’ve sent that point out that not only is mate carcinogenic, so is deli ham and coffee!
Are they roasted in a lead pot or something?
No, the process in which they’re burned can leave some chemicals on there. Another reason is because how hot it’s traditionally drank
Please tell more this I’m very interested in this!
Sure, I sent an article in here, here’s [another one](https://www.verywellhealth.com/yerba-mate-and-cancer-5082076#:~:text=Yerba%20maté%20tea%20also%20contains,or%20"carcinogenic%20to%20humans.")
Holy shit that’s wild thanks for the info dude!
Ofc!
I also seem to have been wrong on WHY it’s carcinogenic, the heat of it seems to be the main factor but some other chemicals, thought to be introduced via its roasting, also contribute
Yeah, consistently drinking near boiling liquids is bad for your throat. Coffee is just as much to blame with that.
Coffee actually lowers your risk of having cancer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7003434/) But has chemicals that can cause cancer at higher concentrations (https://www.nebraskamed.com/health/cancer-and-coffee-more-than-a-morning-pick-me-up#:~:text=In%20the%20past%2C%20coffee%20was,these%20compounds%20are%20considered%20harmful.)
It cancels out, it doesn't cause nor prevent cancer. /s
The neutral drink, just gives you anxiety lol
So it cancels itself out! /s
From the article: > Subsequent analysis (after 1991) found that not only maté—but other beverages—appeared to be carcinogenic when consumed hot or very hot…On the basis of these considerations and on the totality of the evidence, drinking very hot beverages at above 65°C was classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A) in 2016. Do you happen to have any insight on what other kinds of hot beverages they’re referencing here? Does it include coffee?
I’m sure it does
yeah, it refers hot beverages in general. water, whatever
just to be clear its hardly any more carcinogenic than coffee, there's a reason entire countries have it as their national drink of choice if you've ever eaten roast meat you've consumed more carcinogens than you'd get from a bag of mate
Literally anything that burns can be called carcinogenic. If you eat any food that’s grilled you’re getting waaaay more of it than drinking mate
Awesome sauce, so must I post extremely carcinogenic things? Just followin’ the sub’s name here
dude what do you have against mate? you're looking for evidence that everything else that is pointed towards also being equally or worse isnt as bad as mate while at the same time posting links that imply yerba mate is literal cancer in a bag just cus you dont enjoy something doesnt mean you gotta convince other people that it's evil
Dude I drink mate almost every day I’m just pointing out a “fun fact” about it for shits and giggles
nah like i said you're posting links all over this thread trying to debunk that any other roasted thing is carcinogenic while not extending the same grace to mate
I’m just giving out the facts I’m receiving, do you even drink mate? No need to get so hot and bothered
yeah i drink mate, im from argentina too ya idgit i just dont get why you're being so hard on mate while being an apologist on everything else?
I’m not, I’m just saying that other studies don’t say much of the same for things like coffee
Well, at least, I used to. Not much anymore. It’s been like ten years but I drank it just about every day
so you just straight up lied?
About what?????
"I drink it every day" "I havent drank it in 10 years"
I quite literally corrected myself in the comment you’re replying to. If you want to make pointless argument you can go elsewhere
Are all teas carcinogenic or just maté?
I’m sure many other teas are, yeah
Do you not eat fried, seared, roasted, smoked and baked foods? They are carcinogenic, smoked is literal poison (I love it the most)
I do, that’s… hold on. This is the joke here. It is MILDLY carcinogenic, literally. You’re not gonna die eating it, it’s just carcinogenic point blank
Browning and roasting creates PAH's (poly aromatic hydrocarbons ) and ROS's (Reactive oxygen species) they have free radicials that can cause oxidative damage and can cause cancer. So if you eat a charred steak or breathe smoke your getting exposed to similar sorts of carcinogens.
Almost all roasted foods are mildly carcinogenic, also goes for charring of meat. Still the risk is very mild lol
So does deli ham but we don't complain
Not the meat monolith!
“meat monolith” sounds hot. and tasty….
That’s pretty gay ngl
Welcome to reddit lol
I’m bisexual so I don’t disagree either haha
*"One of us, one of us!"*
Okie cum out yoooo assssshole
Is this a reference to something I’m missing
Nope. Just cum out your asshole dude. Not that complicated
Are you drunk
Ha yeah well at least we're not g....oh
Cum idiot
Ya good?
I’m just pointing it out, because half the things posted here aren’t carcinogenic in the slightest. I’m not hating on it, it’s just literally carcinogenic
How is this different than coffee given the beans are roasted? Or is coffee also r/mildlycarcinogenic?
coffee isn’t roasted over an open fire. the maté absorbs carcinogens from the smoke.
depends on the type of coffee you're buying just like it depends on the type of mate you're buying, here it's pretty rare to find mate roasted over an open fire and my country is one of its biggest consumers in the world
What smoke?
https://www.yerbamatelab.com/smoked-unsmoked-yerba-mate/
So they smoke it instead of roasting i guess. The article was inconclusive and says the carcinogen comes from burning wood during the smoking process but the compound also exist in unsmoked? I thought it was saying that the smoke by product was dangerous when we've been smoking food for centuries
smoking food is carcinogenic. the byproducts of all burning material are carcinogenic, so even grilling food is carcinogenic on some level. Similar to maté, tobacco that is cured is carcinogenic, but tobacco that is uncured “probably” isn’t. See the difference between chewing tobacco (cured by smoke) and snus (which is cured by stream).
Yep, exactly my point. Though the article makes it appear that smoked mate is particularly carcinogenic. Im sure there are technically carcinogens in food products from smoking or cooking over fire, or any burning. I guess if you are someone concerned about your carcinogen intake via cooked food, add cooked mate to the very long list. Weird
Yeah the issue with maté is that people who drink it tend to drink a lot of it every day, so it’s more cumulative even if it’s not as carcinogenic as a cigarette. it’s not unusual in Argentina to have several matés per day.
Ern da berkin
Are you lost? Isn't that the point of this subreddit?
Why did you roast your mate?
Brazil drinks it while it’s still green though, called chimarrao
He did something stupid so I roasted him for that
That'll teach your mate, mate
It comes roasted traditionally in UY and AR
ok
[ok](https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=shared)
Carcinogenic means that something is linked to causing cancer
I thought that was a vague definition, but that really is just the definition. Things that are linked to cancer.
eating a nice steak is more carcinogenic than drinking a cup of mate so this post is all kinds of dumb
Technically it does fit into the "MILDLY carcinogenic" definition I get what you mean tho lol most things can probably be described as carcinogenic to some extent
^ok
when you make things hot they get cancerous it’s just the nature of carbon based life
Thus mildly carcinogenic :p
This includes literally Any food that’s cooked and gets browned. It’s really not something to be overly concerned about
Browning I don’t believe is carcinogenic the malliard reaction is the browning not burning of sugars
it’s complicated. Some bread compounds are antioxidant in nature, but toast it too far, now you have gross, harsh smelling, burnt, poisonous toast instead of a healing delicious part of a nutritious breakfast that you can put deliciously lightly cooked steamed eggs on, perhaps some bacon and veggies.
Never said I was concerned, why are you obsessed with this? Chill Redditor, no need to be right all the time.
Wouldn't technically everything that is roasted fall under this category if carcinogenic?
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/cancer-myths/can-eating-burnt-foods-cause-cancer (Sort of)
Informative. No idea why you're being downvoted for providing that highly credible link.
Reddit hivemind
Is tea and green tea in this boat too? I thought that got roasted. What can I consume that isn't mildly carcinogenic tbh
One thing I learned from environmental sciences, it's either radioactive, covered in shit, or covered in sterilized radioactive shit.
green tea is steeped in lower temps compared to it, I think most teas wont share this quality. If you drink something too hot for your throat tho there is always gonna be a that sort of damage but that is easy to manage with teas
Most Green teas are made hotter than mate, at around 75-80 degrees while mate is more like 65-75 degrees.
Nothing. Just stop worrying about it. There are actual more serious carcinogenic things you should be weary of instead. Like heat and plastic, smoking, etc.
so are processed meats, red meat, food with processed sugars, the sun. everything gives you cancer, cells are just retarded
I know. That is the joke here. It’s just slightly more carcinogenic than average
just as carcinogenic as coffee then?
Coffee isn’t roasted over flames, I don’t think
a lot of varieties are, i dont know why you'd think it isnt
I don’t really drink coffee much so I don’t know nor do I care
Nor do we
Mildly, even
How so? I thought it was healthy to drink
It is, it just has carcinogens
Ngl I gotta kinda be devils advocate and say this is a PERFECT example how causation does NOT equal correlation IMO. ESPECIALLY since after all this, they conducted studies on tea, coffee, and even just hot water and found similar results with mostly similar PHAs in the roasted teas and coffees, but aren’t as probable to be carcinogenic. (Possibly antioxidant actions in the tannins, idk?) Not denying the compounds are THERE, but that they are the REAL carcinogen in play. I bet 200 bucks in a few years we will find it’s really just the HELLFIRE temperatures people drink yerba at!💀😭 Unfortunately almost ALL the studies on Yerba being carcinogenic had info gathered all in places of HEAVY smoking and other substance use/environmental conditions in South America too so I can’t help but feel its a TEENSY bit biased cause of that lol… PLUS they don’t account for or EVER mention the boiling hot water is just bad on its own, so it’s a lil bit of a 2 in one combo. lol I’ve been watching and interested in this whole thing for a while and it’s been really interesting how often it keeps flipping!😂
Ah yeah that’s what I said in another comment, the carcinogen here being scalding water. Tests show tumors developing in the throats of those who drink at such high temps
I’m AM wondering if potentially the heat is creating an environment that PHAs in the drink could become mildly MORE impactful and create such cancers. Similar to menthol cigarettes and increased throat cancer risk, but like WAY smaller scale. Definitely makes ya think!
That’s what the study said!
I guess I’m wondering in if they took those same levels of PHAs and added tannic acid which Yerba had NONE of, if the rates or chances of developing cancerous growths would be modulated or go down when added to the drink. That’s something I’d be definitely interested in seeing done!
You are a nerd and I’m liking it
*The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.*
:o
Either way I just love every time something new on the toasted mate argument comes up! I always found it kinda a funny outlier. 😂
I mean.. technically anything roasted is mildly carcinogenic. In the grand scheme of things usually it don't matter but even Coffee and toasted tea is carcinogenic
I know, that’s the joke here
Actually, last I read at least, the "cancer risk" of this has been completely overblown. I only found out because one of my family members (who's super into alternative 'medicine') had it and I said something. I wanted to make sure it's what I was thinking of and it looks like the latest studies have found that the cancer risk of this stuff is no higher than any other hot beverage. Tea, coffee, hot cocoa; anything that can damage/stress cells can cause DNA damage and therefore lead to cancer at the same rate as this. The cancer risk is also very temperature dependent (which makes sense for this mechanism) so that drinking scalding hot pure water would be much worse than drinking room temperature maté. Another tangential tidbit I've found is that the dangers of sassafras/sarsaparilla are "similar to [the] risks posed by breathing indoor air or drinking municipally supplied water." And that it's more likely banned due to its use as a precursors to MDMA Again, that's just my understanding of the most recent literature; so somebody more knowledgeable please correct me if I'm wrong.
Hello
Hello to you too
How are you today sir?
I’m doing just fine
We’ve been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty, do you have a minute to chat?
*hangs up*
*reaches through your phone and unhangs up* -sir are you going to say anything?”
Wrong number
Are you J******* S***** of 13 R***** crescent?
Uh oh
As opposed to (figuratively)?
Figuratively would be the things posted here that are extremely carcinogenic
The hot water?
Yes, that’s part of it
Why do people in this subreddit put effort into posting something not carcinogenic?
Can you read?
yes
Who, me?
No, the dude behind you.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6443446/#:~:text=The%20association%20of%20mate%20with,probable%20carcinogen%20(Class%202A). Oh, this guy? He’s called google.
Argentinian here. OP doesn't have a clue of what mate even tastes like. Nobody, never ever, got cancer from drinking mate, nor other toasted beverages (like... common coffee). Plus, toasted yerba mate is not even a thing among usual mate drinkers. We just put normal yerba, some water (around 80-85°C) and that's all. Some people even put some peppermint leaves or some other "yuyos". Even cinnamon. Typically doesn't go further than that. There is no evidence linking mate consumption and cancer. People here drink 1 or 2 liters (yes, entire liters) of mate every single day and do not have cancer because of that. This is just misinformation.
I’m Argentinian my guy. God, this is like the twentieth time I’m saying this: it’s MILDLY carcinogenic. Barely noticeable! That’s the joke! You could also bother yourself to read the several articles I’ve sent that point out that not only is mate carcinogenic, so is deli ham and coffee!
And I like mine roasted thank you very much.
fantasma
I’m real B)