Yerba Mate and Iodine – Is It a Good Source of This Mineral?

Yerba mate and iodine is a topic that differs from potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, sodium and phosphorus, which we’ve already covered in this series, in one important respect – iodine simply doesn’t occur in significant amounts in land plants, including yerba mate. This element is associated primarily with the sea: with seaweed, fish and iodised salt, not with leaves growing in the forests of South America. We check how much iodine can realistically be in a yerba mate infusion, why this dried leaf isn’t considered a source of it at all, and what that means for people who need to be especially vigilant about this particular mineral, namely thyroid patients.

TL;DR

Yerba mate is not considered a source of iodine. Land plants absorb iodine from the soil to a very limited extent, and the soils in the regions where yerba mate is grown, mainly in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, far from the direct influence of the ocean, are not particularly rich in this element. In available food composition databases, yerba mate simply doesn’t appear as a product with a significant iodine content – unlike seaweed, sea fish or iodised salt, where these values are well documented and high. An adult’s daily iodine requirement is about 150 micrograms, more for pregnant women, and a matero doesn’t cover this requirement to any measurable degree. For people with thyroid conditions, yerba mate is therefore neither a risk nor an iodine support – it’s simply neutral with regard to this particular mineral.

Yerba mate and iodine – why the leaf practically contains none

Iodine enters the food chain mainly from the ocean. Seaweed can store it in amounts counted in thousands of micrograms per 100 g, fish and seafood much less, but still meaningfully, and coastal soils are sometimes enriched with it by rainfall and wind from the sea. Land plants grown deep inland, including Ilex paraguariensis, from which yerba mate is made, absorb iodine from such soil only in trace amounts, simply because there’s little of it to absorb there. The yerba mate growing regions, spanning the borderlands of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, lie far from the coast, which further explains the low content of this element in the leaf.

In publicly available food composition databases, such as USDA FoodData Central, yerba mate has no significant iodine value assigned – not because nobody checked, but because the measurements for this plant come out at a level that doesn’t qualify it as a source of this element. So it’s only fair to say that there’s no hard number in micrograms to give per matero bowl, because such a number doesn’t exist as anything meaningful – yerba simply isn’t what you’d reach for when it comes to iodine.

Where iodine in the diet really comes from

The main and proven source of iodine in a typical Polish diet is iodized table salt – in Poland, salt iodization has been mandatory since the 1990s, precisely to reduce endemic deficiencies in regions far from the sea. Besides salt, iodine is provided by saltwater fish, seafood, milk and dairy products, eggs, and to a lesser extent seaweed eaten as food. It’s seaweed that can be so rich in iodine that regular, large consumption can supply multiple times the daily requirement, which isn’t always beneficial for the thyroid.

Against this backdrop, yerba behaves quite differently than with potassium or magnesium, where it was a real, though modest, addition to the diet, as we wrote in the article about yerba and potassium. Here, yerba is neither an addition nor a substitute – it’s simply outside the topic of iodine, like most plant products grown far from the coast. If someone wants to supplement iodine in their diet, a matero cup is not the tool for that, just as coffee or apple juice wouldn’t be either.

Yerba mate and the thyroid – what’s worth knowing beyond iodine

Since yerba doesn’t provide iodine, the thyroid topic in its context comes down in practice to something else – caffeine, or more precisely mateine, as it’s sometimes called in relation to this plant. People with hyperthyroidism can be more sensitive to caffeine, and one round of matero usually contains 65–130 mg of this substance, depending on the amount of leaves and the strength of the infusion. This is a separate topic from iodine and requires individual assessment, not a general rule. Some plant compounds from the so-called goitrogenic substances group, present among others in cruciferous vegetables or soy, can theoretically hinder iodine uptake by the thyroid at very high consumption levels – in the case of yerba, this mechanism isn’t as well documented as with cabbage or broccoli, so there’s no basis to make a separate issue of it when drinking the infusion in reasonable amounts.

It’s important not to confuse yerba’s neutrality towards iodine with neutrality towards the entire thyroid hormone balance. These are two different matters, and the second one depends on far more factors than a single infusion drunk once or twice a day.

Who this matters to in practice

For a healthy person without thyroid disease, the topic of yerba and iodine is essentially irrelevant – this infusion simply doesn’t enter the iodine balance, neither positively nor negatively. Iodine then needs to be supplemented from iodized salt, saltwater fish, or dairy, as a standard diet recommends, regardless of how much matero someone drinks.

For patients with hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s disease or Graves-Basedow disease, yerba mate is not contraindicated because of iodine, simply because it doesn’t provide it in any significant amount. Unlike with yerba mate and potassium or yerba mate and sodium, where dosage mattered for specific medical diets, here there’s no basis to limit yerba mate because of thyroid issues or treat it as an iodine supplement. Decisions about diet in thyroid disease, including iodine supplementation, should always come from a conversation with your treating physician or endocrinologist, not from a general article on the internet, including this one. You can read more about yerba mate and the thyroid in a separate article.

Where our dried leaves come from

Yerbador imports Yerba Mate leaves from Brazil, packaged in Europe, with Swiss OROTAL Commodities Trading SA, HACCP and KIWA certification, and on the Polish market additionally with the Quality Certificate, National Medicines Institute. The growing region lies deep inland, far from any direct ocean influence, which further explains why iodine isn’t a relevant topic from the standpoint of the soil or the leaf. The dried leaves come with an analysis certificate from the Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ), compliance confirmed by J.S. Hamilton, and testing for heavy metals, pesticides and PAHs carried out by GBA Polska. You can read more about iodine itself as a dietary component in this Wikipedia article.

Our products to try

Sunflower Seeds 100 g

Shelled sunflower seeds from our range – a natural source of magnesium, phosphorus and fibre in a single handful. A good snack for your matero ritual, although – just like yerba itself – they don’t provide iodine in any meaningful amount. Check the current price.

Check out the product: Sunflower Seeds 100 g

Pumpkin Seeds 250 g

Shelled pumpkin seeds, another snack from our range, are a good source of magnesium, iron and zinc, but just like yerba they are not a significant source of iodine. They work well as an addition to yoghurt or salad in your everyday diet. Check the current price.

Check out the product: Pumpkin Seeds 250 g – Source of Energy and Immunity

Yerba Mate Immuno

Dried leaves with a full mineral profile, with green barley and sunflower seeds included in the set – a good starting point for anyone who treats yerba as an addition to their diet rather than a replacement for it. Iodine, as with every version of the dried leaves, is simply not what this product is about. Check the current price.

Check out the product: Yerba Mate Immuno

Yerba Mate and iodine – frequently asked questions

How much iodine is there in a Yerba Mate infusion?

Practically none in any significant amount. Land plants, including the yerba mate holly, take up iodine from the soil only in trace amounts, and yerba mate does not appear in food composition databases as a source of this element.

Can Yerba Mate replace iodine supplementation?

No. Iodine needs to come from iodised salt, sea fish, seafood, dairy or edible seaweed. Yerba mate simply doesn’t play a role in that balance.

Is yerba mate harmful for people with thyroid disease?

Because of iodine – no, since it doesn’t provide any. However, people with thyroid conditions should consult their treating physician or endocrinologist before making any dietary changes, including caffeine intake or possible iodine supplementation.

Why do seaweeds have so much iodine while yerba mate has almost none?

Seaweeds grow in the sea and naturally accumulate iodine from seawater in large amounts. The yerba mate holly grows deep inland, where the soil isn’t enriched with iodine to a similar degree.

Is iodised salt a better source of iodine than yerba mate?

In Polish conditions, iodised salt is one of the main and most reliable sources of iodine in the diet, alongside sea fish and dairy. Yerba mate is not an alternative or a supplement here.