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~:photo
by
John
Fowler of Nuka Hiva Trading Company:~
kava
kava
piper
methysticum
Kava falls into a class uniquely its own. I know of no
other herb like it (nothing I've ever come across
could even remotely qualify as a "substitute" for kava), and
consider it one of the nature's most exquisite gifts.
Though it’s gained (and lost) immense popularity over
the last several years (both lauded as "nature's
miracle cure for stress and anxiety" and defamed as hepatotoxic), I've always found myself disdainful of
the marketing used to sell it to the public.
While kava kava doubtless holds immense power for
relieving stress and tension, its ongoing daily use as
a "supplement" has never sat well with me.
I've always felt kava is best enjoyed intentionally,
and not as just a part of a daily supplement routine.
Kava is, in my opinion, primarily suited to treating
acute stress that settles into the musculature of the
body. It is most effective when your mind is
overwhelmed and your body is tightly strung from a
crazy hectic day and that's what's making you unable
to relax.
The best way I can describe the effects of kava kava
is to compare it to lying on a sunny beach with
nothing pressing to do or think about and being so
laid back it feels as if you've sunk halfway into the
sand. Kava puts you there. What is so
distinct about kava kava is that it's so promptly and
significantly relaxant; mental stress subsides as a
result of relaxation, not sedation. In
fact, while the body lets go, mental acuity
remains...you can definitely take kava and still be
cognitively functional. This is, however, dose
dependent... small doses of kava relax the body and
notably clear the mind, medium doses calm the mind and
have a much more pronounced relaxant action on the
muscles, and large doses still the mind and make the
limbs a bit wobbly. Think of kava after a crazy
day at work, traffic all the way home with honking
horns, people cutting you off, and an inability to
physically let go when you do finally get home (with
every bit of your body screaming Yikes!”). It is a
perfect replacement for (and a much better option to)
the archetypal "after work drink". Kava kava puts the
body at peace.
Kava is native to the islands of the South Pacific;
Fiji, Hawaii, Vanuatu are all know for their excellent
kava kava. Studying island traditions
surrounding the plant reinforce the notion of kava's
ability to induce a peaceful spirit. Kava is
regarded as sacred throughout its range, but, for the
most part, its use is not solely relegated to
ceremony; it has a strong tradition as a recreational
beverage consumed freely at social gatherings, where
those under the enchantment of kava converse and share
their thoughts and stories. Traditionally, kava is
given to feuding parties before they talk, in order to
diffuse pre-existing hostility. This use was not
solely reserved for the cessation of wars between
different island cultures, but was also invoked when
spousal or community conflicts had everyone involved
all angst ridden to the point where it became
difficult to resolve anything. Kava helps to
diffuse the underlying "Err!" so that feuding
parties can come together without being primed for
conflict. Think of it in situations where your
approach to settle a dispute involves making it clear
that they're wrong and you're right. It is said
that "hate cannot exist in the presence of kava".
While this may be an ideological overstatement, kava
is clearly a plant of friendship and camaraderie.
So, although it is currently touted as an anti-anxiety
herb (which it is), I don't think of kava as an herb
to be taken in rote daily doses for chronic anxiety.
Maybe short term, but it’s best, I believe, when taken
purposefully because you like and want some (or need some… kava
can be helpful in quitting tobacco or other vices),
rather than as a "daily supplement" because you are
tense all the time. The problem with using kava
on a regular basis is that it is strong, and can
become escapist, or used as a crutch. Rather than make
changes to address underlying issues that are creating
stress and tension, you let the kava melt it away.
One example of this could perhaps be using kava to
relax tension and spasms due to magnesium deficiency;
it's strong enough to work, but it won't resolve the
underlying deficiency. So, use kava, but also
look into underlying issues and be sure to address
those in addition to using kava for more immediate
relief.
Kava is a member of the pepper family, so, as can be
expected, it has a strong and penetrating taste.
It is peppery, bitter-spicy, tingly and numbing (I've
sometimes said it tastes like spicy, soapy dirt), and
within a minute of taking a kava extract or tea, the
mouth will become tingly, then numb. Though at
first not savory, the taste isn't especially bad (you
might even get to like it), and (if you don't) the
numbing effect makes it tolerable, as you can't taste
it within a minute anyway.
But we'd be remiss to neglect (as is so often done)
some of the other things kava is exceptional at
addressing...
In eclectic medicine, kava was extolled as a reliever
of pain, inflammation, tension and spasm in the
urinary tract. Kava is also among the herbs I've
seen recommended for interstitial cystitis, with some
extolling its virtues, though 7Song has told me that
he's seen aggravations caused by it (aggravations
being not uncommon in interstitial cystitis). Eclectics
recommended it highly for enuresis, King's stating "It
is a remedy for nocturnal incontinence of urine in the
young and old, when due most largely to muscular
weakness." Interestingly, many eclectic accounts
specifically mention its use for weakness and laxity
of urinary tissues, despite its rather marked relaxant
effects. Also indicated for pyuria (mucous/pus
in the urine), these uses all suggest an astringency
not so strongly noted outside the urinary tract.
Cherokee herbalist David Winston uses kava for
fibromyalgia, often combining it with ashwagandha and
black cohosh tinctures. Ellingwood reported of
its use in rheumatism, combined with black cohosh as
well. Facial, dental and other neuralgias are
another indication. I've also used it for
toothaches. Pain with restlessness and anxiety
is a specific indication.
I've heard debate about whether or not kava might be
considered an "aphrodisiac". That is a
problematic term, at best, but I can say that if sex,
or interest in sex, is inhibited by anxiety and muscle
tension, kava could certainly be helpful. Its
spicy flavor also indicates that it stimulates
peripheral circulation, which can also be helpful.
So, for cool, tense, anxious people, sounds good.
People already sufficiently mellow have claimed it
"puts them to sleep."
Ellingwood wrote of its topical use, the tincture
diluted either with water of glycerin (1 part kava
tincture, 2 parts glycerin), for pruritis of the vulva
and anus (my suspicion here is that its acting both by
numbing the affected area and also as an antifungal,
yeast killer, which would make it useful for itching
associated with candida rashes. I've seen cases
people have tried this with extremely impressive
results.
(I feel obligated, here, to acknowledge that yes, I
did tell these women that applying kava tincture -
even diluted - in such locales would very likely hurt
like hell. Of course, any alcohol would, but
alcohol impregnated with hot spicy kava? Pretty
much everyone agreed, after the fact, that indeed it
did. One woman said that it made her gain a new
appreciation for the numbness that sets in shortly
after taking it, which, taken orally, she'd never
really liked. So far, no one who's tried it has
had anything less than very impressive results.
But, that's not a whole lot of people (it's a bit of a
hard sell), though a couple have said that it work so
much better than anything else they'd tried that it
was worth the momentary agony. Probably, I'm gonna make up some suppositories with kava infused in
coconut oil, which should extract the kava well, but
eliminate the YEEOOOWWW!!! of the alcohol.
The Physio-Medicalists shunned kava, William Cook
wrote in his Compend of the New Materia Medica
that "The toxic power of kava kava is pronounced, and
it begets a form of drowsy intoxication, for which the
natives of New Zealand and other isles use it, and
Europeans follow their example. When first taken it
produces a burning sensation and an increased flow of
saliva and urine, followed by numbness that is marked
and a depression of all the functions. It causes
complete loss of sensibility in the mouth, throat, eye
and other parts to which it may be applied; and
constitutionally it produces general insensibility,
diminishes and finally destroys reflex action, and
causes death by paralysis. It first excites and then
reduces the heart action; first stimulates and then
diminishes respiration, and ends by paralyzing this
function. Its principal effect is upon the spinal
cord, and with this the sensory nerves. Any relief it
gives is the relief of sensory paralysis."
I love you, William Cook, but think your admirable
insight missed the mark here. Evidently T. J.
Lyle agreed with me; as he deemed kava "a stimulating
and relaxing diuretic, tonic, alterant and nervine."
preparations:
Personally, chewing small pieces of the
root has come to be my favorite way to use it, though
admittedly some don't share my appreciation for its
flavor. There are also some rather strong fibers
in the root that require spitting out, as they don't
break down much as the root does. Tinctures are
extremely useful and effective, and convey kava's
virtues quite well. If using dried root, 65% -
75% alcohol seems best to me; for fresh I use pure 95%
grain alcohol. A steeped tea made with
water can be somewhat effective, but doesn't extract
the root well. Decocting the root can help,
though this isn't how I generally make water based
preparations (and a coconut milk decoction would be
superior to water anyway). I've always
considered capsules to be comparatively lousy, though
I have met some people who felt they were helpful.
A good recipe for a more traditional kava drink is to
take a half ounce of ground kava, 2 tablespoons of
cream or coconut milk and whisk it up in ¼ cup of
water for a minute or two. Strain the mixture through
a loose weave strainer (the "pulp" should get into
your drink) and squeeze out the wet herb. Add another
¼ cup of water to the kava pulp, whisk up, and strain
again, squeezing as much liquid from the kava pulp as
possible. Or you could put about 3 ounces of
powdered kava in a loose weave bag (I use a
hop bag like they use
in homebrewing), and knead that well in about 3 cups
of coconut milk and water. For an extra kick, add
a squirt or two of kava tincture per cup. This makes
one rather muddy looking, very potent serving. A very
authentic traditional recipe involves chewing up a lot
of fresh kava kava root, spitting the masticated pulp
out into a bowl with a little water, letting it steep
a bit, then straining and drinking (sounds real
appetizing, eh?). Actually, this method is the
best way I know of to prepare it, though it requires
fresh kava root. I've tried it and loved it; it
was the best kava I ever had… though it does make it a
difficult thing to offer visiting friends and
family... "Oh, hi! I just chewed up some kava,
would you like some?"
I also need to wholeheartedly extol the virtues of
infused kava oil. Take roots ground to a
coarse powder, and cover them in oil (I don't
generally weight or measure for oils, so just
eyeball it). Olive oil is of course OK, but a
nice massage blend is 3 parts almond oil and 1 part
sesame oil. I infuse the oil for days; even a
week. It should darken and smell rich and
earthy. Apply liberally. It's really
just flat out incredible. Credit goes to Rob
Montgomery, who was the original purveyor of the
cool stuff offered through the Botanical
Preservation Corps. Kava oil really relaxes
muscles; its very nice for a massage... kind of
takes the fight out of them whenh they just don't
want to let go. But its even better as a daily
application if you know you chronically hold muscle
tension in an area. Tight neck and upper
shoulders every day? Apply some kava oil,
every day. Recognize the pattern. Break
the pattern.
considerations and contraindications:
On the whole, don’t use during pregnancy.
Don't drive or operate dangerous stuff if you are
oversedated by Kava; coordination is markedly impaired
at high dosages. This needn’t be limited to “heavy
machinery”, a skateboard could be problematic as well.
Be responsible, start at low doses and get a feel for
how you react to it… some people seem to be especially sensitive to
kava and so a little goes a long way. Also,
different kavas can differ in their effect, with some
being more mood modifying, while others are more
powerful relaxant to the body. Don't mix with
alcohol or other drugs. Using a lot of kava too often
can dry out the skin and induce severe dermatitis; this will go away after kava abuse is stopped. You'd
probably have to go way overboard for this to be a concern, though
if you already had psoriasis or eczema, you’d be more
susceptible to this side effect.
A few years ago, kava was in the news, associated with
serious liver disease, failure and even fatalities,
and now information on kava is often accompanied by
warnings about liver problems. This has had most
herbalists rather confused, as the herb has a long
history of safe usage with no serious complications.
As more was learned about the nature of the "adverse
event reports", it became clear than in several of the
incidences, alcohol and other drugs (both
pharmaceutical and recreational) played a role, and
many herbalists based their defense of kava on the
known hepatotoxic actions of these other substances.
Still, such severe side effects and fatalities are
nothing to be shrugged at, and shouldn't be dismissed
too readily just because you like an herb.
It now appears that the cause was threefold:
First (and this is perhaps the main cause), kava leaves and
stems were used instead of or in addition to the root,
and these parts of the plant contain a liver toxic alkaloid, pipermethystine,
not present in the roots. This alkaloid
"significantly decreased cellular ATP levels,
mitochondrial membrane potential, and induced
apoptosis as measured by the release of caspase-3
after 24 h of treatment. These observations suggest
that PM, rather than kavalactones, is capable of
causing cell death, probably in part by disrupting
mitochondrial function
(see
more)."
In studies comparing the effect of pipermethystine to
various kavalactones , toxicity was readily observed in
the former, but not the latter. So, basically, big
supplements companies were trying to make more money
by using the less expensive, discarded leaves and
stems, even though traditional south pacific cultures
uniformly express that only the root is fit for use.
I know kava growers and distributors who have
confirmed that companies were trying to buy these
plant parts. In light of this, declaring kava kava
(the plant as a
whole) to be toxic would be just like declaring rhubarb
(the plant as a whole) to be toxic, rather that
recognizing that the roots and leaves of rhubarb are
toxic, but the stems aren't in any way.
Second, there may be a problem with the highly
concentrated Kava extracts being marketed nowadays.
Standardized extracts are sometimes up to 80%
kavalactones... imagine what would happen if you were
to standardize an orange to 80% vitamin C: It would no
longer really be an orange. The unnatural
concentration of one major constituent or group of
constituents may present dangers or side effects not
found in the plant in its natural state. I also
believe that the process that concentrates the kavalactones
in a preparation also concentrates the liver toxic
alkaloid found in leaves and stem peelings... I'll
have to re-find the source that stated that to post a
reference.
Third, European extracts use toxic solvents like
hexane and acetone. These can cause serious problems
if not entirely removed from the product after
extraction. Also, they are entirely outside of the
scope of what we know about traditional preparations,
which would include those used for hundreds of years
in the south pacific, and the alcohol based extracts
used by the Eclectics in 19th century American
herbalism, and so have no history of safe usage.
You can't make claims about the safe historical usage
of a plant and apply it to weird, modern, solvent
laden extractions that have never been used before.
Other possibilities have also been explored. It
is possible that roots may have become moldy at some
point in the processing (this is far more likely
when dealing with the large quantities of roots
needed for commercial preparations), resulting in
contamination by mycotoxins. Even in smaller
quantities (a few pounds) mold on the fresh roots
can be common if shipping takes too long (which
requires those of us far away from the east coast to
splurge on overnight shipping, though I've had kava
arrive fine in 2-3 days). Another theory is
that the use of "non-noble" kavas ("noble" kava
implies a tried and true time tested strain) may
possess constituents that were bred out of noble
varieties.
So, stick to real, kava kava root and rhizomes, or
herbal extracts that you know are made from these.
If you don't make your own (which would be a shame), HerbPharm's is quite good
and readily available. While I have no fears
whatsoever about kava kava, it’s up to each individual
to decide for themselves what they feel comfortable
with.
additional links...
Kava and the Risk of Liver
Toxicity:Past, Current, and Future
(rolf teschke, md)
Herbal hepatotoxicity by kava:
Update on pipermethystine, flavokavain B,and mould
hepatotoxins as primarily assumed culprits
(teschkea, qiub, lebot
W.H.O. Says Kava is Safe!
(Kona Kava Farm)
W.H.O. Says Kava is Safe, Australia Bans It
(Kona Kava
Farm)
More Evidence Against Liver Toxicity!
(Kona Kava
Farm)
Update on the Alleged Liver
Toxicity of Kava
(HerbPharm)
Kava-Kava doesn't seem to be liver-toxic at all
(guido mase)
Safety of ethanolic kava
extract: Results of a study of chronic toxicity in
rats
Effects of kava alkaloid,
pipermethystine, and kavalactones on oxidative stress
and cytochrome P450 in F-344 rats
In Vitro Toxicity of Kava
Alkaloid, Pipermethystine,in HepG2 Cells as Compared
to Kavalactones
Kava Kava
(wikipedia)
Kava lactones & the
kava-kava controversy
(***note that this
appears to have been written before the understanding
of adulteration of kava root with leaves/stems)
Kava Kava in King's American
Dispensatory
(Felter & Llyod)
Kava Kava in American Materia
Medica
(Finley Ellingwood)
Properties and Uses of Piper
Methysticum (John King)
Kava Kava in
Boericke's Homeoapthic Materia
Medica
I have, for many years now, gotten my kava from
Rebecca and John Fowler at
Nuka Hiva Trading Company, and
recommend them wholeheartedly.
©
jim mcdonald
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