Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Maté
The High-C Stimulant
Family: Aquifoliaceae: (includes Holly)
Genus and Species: Llex Paraguayensis or I. Paraguariensis
Also known as: Yerba Maté, Paraguay Tea, Jesuit Tea
Parts used: Leaves
More than 300 years ago, Jesuit missionaries noticed that South American Indians ate a virtually all-meat diet yet did not develop “sailor’s sickness” (scurvy), which deciMatéd European mariners who ate a similar diet at sea. The Jesuits decided the Indians must be protected by the tea they drank out of cups made from calabash gourds. They named it Maté, from the Spanish for “gourd,” and began cultivating the hollylike shrub and drinking the bitter tea made from its leathery leaves.
Maté (pronounced MAH-tay), also called yerba maté or Paraguay tea, was introduced into the United States in the I970s as a non-caffeine coffee substitute. That claim was in error. Maté contains caffeine. It also contains vitamin C, making it more nutritious than other caffeine-containing herbs (coffee, tea, kola, and cocoa).
Jesuit Tea
The Jesuits introduced Maté to European colonists, and today it is one of South America’s favorite stimulants. In Argentina. Paraguay, and Uruguay, it’s considerably more popular than either coffee or tea. More than 200 brands of Maté are currently marketed in Argentina alone. Argentinians consume II pounds per capita of Maté annually. In Uruguay, the figure is 22 pounds. South American breads often have Maté added, and the herb is a key ingredient in a popular South American soft drink.
South Americans consider Maté not only a pleasant stimulant but also an appetite suppressant and a diuretic that treats water retention. Although there has been no scientific research to back it up, Maté has long been used in South America as a digestive aid. Argentinian cowboys (gauchos) sometimes live on just meat and Maté like the Indians of old.