NALA Journal
What is Kava?
Whether you’ve been seeing it on your social media, in your local health store, or hearing friends and family tout its benefits, Kava is reemerging in popularity. Kava, sometimes referred to as Kava Kava or by its scientific name, piper methysticum, is a rich green, leafy plant that belongs to the Pepper family.
Kava’s Origins
The Kava plant is native to the Pacific Basin, and proliferated the major island groups of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. The distribution of Kava significantly decreased during the 200 years of colonization and missionization. Previous to European contact, the kava plant and the various mythological stories about its origins and powers circulated throughout the Pacific Islands.
How is Kava used?
When most people encounter Kava in real life, they are seeing a refined version of it, as opposed to the whole plant itself. Most Kava found in stores, lounges, and online is an isolated concentration of the Kavalactones chemicals found in the roots of the Kava plant, prepared into a drink.
The traditional preparation of kava is often linked to
social ceremonies and gatherings. Specifics on who may use kava and its symbolic significance vary from region to region. Almost all traditional preparations involve soaking whole kava roots in water and agitating or breaking down the roots until a muddy substance forms. This process extracts the kavalactones from the roots, at which point the substance is ready to drink.
Kava can be concentrated into an edible format as well, such as in Sun Med’s Kava Gummies, now available at
NALA Health + Recovery.
What does Kava feel like?
The experience of ingesting Kava, both as an edible and as a liquid, typically induces a numbing feeling in the mouth, especially in the areas that kava made contact with. That numbing sensation is the kavalactones interacting with the mucous membrane, which is responsible for the fast onset of effects. Next is a wave of muscle relaxation and euphoria that typically lasts over an hour or more, depending on dosage.
Many people utilize Kava for the following:
- Body & muscle relaxation
- Anxiolytic properties (Anxiety reduction or elimination)
- Anesthetic properties (light numbing sensation)
- Mild sedation
- Anticonvulsant effects
Are there risks to using Kava?
The effects of long-term consumption of Kava have not been widely studied by the scientific community. As such, there is no well-established toxic dose for Kava.
According to reports, the dosage of kavalactones from traditional kava usage can range from 750 to 8,000 mg of kavalactones per day. A massive range! For comparison, Sun Med’s water-soluble Kava Drops include 1500 mg of kavalactones in an entire bottle; a full dose (which is 1 ml of liquid) contains 50 mg of kavalactones.
Thanks to longstanding traditional use, we can glean that kava has a remarkably low to not-detectable toxicological impact on the body. The one toxicological impact recorded is Kava Dermopathy, which causes the skin to produce a yellow hue, and is reversible as soon as the person discontinues use of kava. This reaction only occurs when consuming an excessive amount of kavalactones, and the impacts are not permanent. Research regarding the hepatotoxicity of kavalatones has
found, “[T]here is no clear evidence that the liver damage reported in the United States and Europe was caused by the consumption of kava[...].”
There are isolated cases that suggest Kava might have psychoactive properties, but there is not any conclusive evidence that kava interferes with normal cognitive processes. Furthermore,
studies find that Kava does not exhibit the same addictive tendencies that accompany many other substances.
Conclusion
Talk to your local NALA Wellness Advisor to find the purest, highest-quality kava products that work best for your goals. We encourage people to dose low and slow when trying something new. Be sure to check for any possible interactions between kavalatones and any medications you are using. And consider asking your physician about integrating kava into your wellness routine or recreational fun.
Source Citations
BILIA, A, et al. “Analysis of kavalactones from Piper methysticum (Kava-kava).” Journal of Chromatography B, vol. 812, no. 1–2, 5 Dec. 2004, pp. 203–214, https://doi.org/10.1016/s1570-0232(04)00644-0.
Glover, D.D. (2007). Kava. In: Tracy, T.S., Kingston, R.L. (eds) Herbal Products. Forensic Science and Medicine. Humana Press.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-383-7_2
“Kava (Piper Methysticum) Beverage for Traditional and Recreational Use.” Foodstandards.Gov.Au, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 10 Dec. 2021, www.foodstandards.gov.au/sites/default/files/food-standards-code/proposals/Documents/P1057%20SD1.pdf.
Singh, Y. N. Kava: From Ethnology to Pharmacology. CRC Press, 2004.
