What is Kava? Benefits of kava

What is Kava?

Kava Kava is an herbal remedy that’s made from the roots of Piper methysticum — a type of plant found in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Its name literally means “intoxicating pepper.” People who live on Pacific islands like Fiji and Tonga have used it for hundreds of years in social gatherings and traditional medicine. They dry out the roots or crush them into a powder. Then they add water and drink the mixture.

The most important health benefits of kava root include its ability to reduce anxiety, help in weight loss goals, prevent premature aging, help quit smoking, reduce menopause symptoms, aid sleep, relax muscles, prevent headaches, and protect the kidneys.

Health Benefits of Kava Root

Health benefits of kava root includes:

1.Pain Relief and Muscle Spasms

2.Sleep Aid

The soothing quality of kava root, which is largely derived from its kavalactones, can have a major impact on your sleeping patterns and habits. If you tend to duffer from insomnia or restlessness while you sleep, why not try adding some kava root to your daily or weekly regiment? It can ease muscle tension and body aches, allowing you to find a comfortable position, while also soothing the mind and allowing you to drift off into uninterrupted sleep.

3.Anxiety Aid

The anxiolytic effects of kava root are probably the most well-known and desired by users herbal practitioners.  By managing the hormonal balance in the body and easing the release of stress hormones into the bloodstream, kava root extracts and decoctions can keep your body and mind feeling calm and content, not to mention eliminating the potential dangers of having too many stress hormones in your system!

4.Headache Prevention

Although closely related to the other pain relief and inflammation benefit, kava root has also shown its efficacy against headaches and migraines, offering quick relief from those suffering from the conditions in laboratory tests. 

5.Kidney Health

Brewing from the rootstock of kava has long been used in traditional medicine to prevent urinary tract infections. As these infections tend to come back quite often for some individuals, having a simple solution like a kava root decoction is a wise choice.

6.Weight Loss

Goals Although this is a second-generation health benefit, kava root can help you lose weight by eliminating stress and anxiety. One of the most common triggers for overeating is stress, so by removing the stimuli, kava root can help people lose weight and avoid snacking between meals.

7.Prevent Premature Aging

Antioxidants are powerful organic compounds that can help our bodies stay safe by eliminating or neutralizing free radicals around our systems. Free radicals are the dangerous byproducts of cellular respiration, and can cause the mutation or apoptosis of healthy cells. This can lead to premature aging, chronic disease, and even cancer.  In terms of kava root, it has often been praised for its life-giving qualities, and studies have shown that free radical activity is decreased with kava root application, as the concentration of antioxidants is so high.

8. Quit Smoking

Kava root is a popular tool to help people quit anything (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, etc.), as it can help curb cravings and eliminate the anxiety so often caused when all you want in the world is a cigarette. Kava root decoction can calm the nerves when you are particularly desperate to break the promise to yourself. In other words, kava root represents a major challenge to two globally dominant industries – cigarettes and anti-depressants.

Side Effecttive

Kava is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when taken by mouth. Don’t use it. Serious illness, including liver damage, has occurred even with short-term use of normal doses. The use of kava for as little as one to three months has resulted in the need for liver transplants, and even death. Early symptoms of liver damage include yellowed eyes and skin (jaundice), fatigue, and dark urine. If you decide to take kava, despite warnings to the contrary, be sure to get frequent liver function tests.

Using kava can make you unable to drive or operate machinery safely. Do not take kava before you plan on driving. “Driving-under-the-influence” citations have been issued to people driving erratically after drinking large amounts of kava tea.

Dosing

The following doses have been studied in scientific research:

BY MOUTH:

• For Anxiety: 50-100 mg of a specific kava extract (WS 1490, Dr. Willmar Schwabe Pharmaceuticals), taken three times daily for up to 25 weeks, has been used. Also, 400 mg of another specific kava extract (LI 150, Lichtwer Pharma) taken daily for 8 weeks has been used. Five kava tablets each containing 50 mg of kavalactones have been taken in three divided doses daily for one week. One to two kava extract tablets has been taken twice daily for 6 weeks. Calcium supplements plus 100-200 mg of kava taken daily for 3 months has also been used.