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Yerba Mate: National Project To Emerging Superfood, Ana Fochesatto
Yerba Mate: National Project To Emerging Superfood, Ana Fochesatto
Theses and Dissertations
Yerba mate, Ilex paranguariensis, is a shrub commonly found in the Atlantic Forest of South
America which covers part of northeast Argentina, eastern Paraguay, and southern Brazil. The
dried leaves and stem of the tree are used to make an infusion, called mate, used first by indigenous
Guaraní people. Today, yerba mate is widely consumed in the Southern Cone region and is
regarded as the national drink of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. I argue that yerba mate has
entered the U.S. as a “superfood,” marketed as a product with nutritional and symbolic medicinal
values.
In this thesis, I trace yerba …