An Herbie Girl Walks into a Bar…
When I was just a wee little newbie to the world of healthy eating and lifestyles, I had an experience that opened my mind to the world of medicinal plants. I was working as a barista in a health food store, when suddenly there was a commotion. As I peered out from behind my espresso machine, I saw a co-worker of mine that seemed to be in distress. She was crying, hyperventilating, and her face was bright red. The older women from the supplement department gathered around her, and one of them calmly, yet assertively said, “Get the Kava”. Now, I never did find out what happened to my co-worker to work her up into a frenzy, but the calm confidence of the elder women made an impact on me that I never forgot. I was determined to learn about this mysterious Kava they spoke of, as if it held the answer to a very important question.
Well, the internet had barely begun to flower at that time. The phrase, “Google it”, had not yet sprung to life. The only source of information on herbs was available through books (not many!), or by asking someone with experience. To tell you the truth, I’m not quite sure how I learned about Kava Kava. What I do know is that I was an avid experimenter, and likely just bought a bottle to try for myself. However, I was pinching pennies in those days and likely conserved it as if it were gold. It wasn’t until several years later that I got to experience the benefits of Kava Kava for myself. In 2005, I was in a car accident. I escaped with few visible injuries; however, I reversed the curvature of my cervical spine, subluxated my jaw, wrenched a few ribs, and got a concussion. I woke up with migraines daily for months, and a moderate case of TMJ. On top of the physical injuries, I had developed anxiety while driving. I went to my chiropractor diligently, but nothing really helped the TMJ or the migraines. The dentist made me a special mouthpiece to hold my jaw in place while sleeping. It did help, but I eventually clamped down so hard that I broke it. I was prescribed a plethora of pharmaceuticals. All of them left me groggy and foggy, and I couldn’t use them when I needed to drive or work. At my wits end, I remembered Kava.
Piper Methysticum, commonly known as Kava Kava, is classified as a member of the Piperaceae (pepper) family. The taste of the root is earthy, sharp, and pungent with a tongue numbing effect. The taste of an herb is important to the efficacy of the remedy. When you taste a medicinal, it sends an immediate response through your nervous system to tell your body to start doing its thing. Similarly, when you taste a lemon, your saliva and gastric juices begin to well up inside, ready to get to the business of digestion. The tongue numbing effect of Kava is a signifier of how potent your extract is! The “active constituents” in the root are called kavalactones, of which eighteen have been isolated. If your tongue goes numb for a bit, you can be sure you have the good stuff. In addition, the properties of kavalactones make Kava a good choice as a topical analgesic. Kava is also used to relive stress, anxiety, insomnia, muscle tension, headaches, spasms, and asthma. Its benefactors will experience a positive, contented, state of mind while maintaining cognitive and motor function. Kava also has an affinity for the genitourinary organs, as do many of the herbal allies to those who experience anxiety. It can be especially helpful to those that experience uterine and urinary tract spasms.
Many studies have been conducted on the biochemical mechanisms of our peppery friend. The consensus is that Kava works by reducing the hyperactivity of neurons by modulating the actions of sodium and calcium ion channels. Several studies have also been conducted on how it affects certain neurotransmitters like dopamine, GABA, and serotonin. However, many of these studies do not give adequate results. The reason being that as a medicinal root, it has many compounds that work synergistically and antagonistically as a whole. You cannot isolate one compound from the whole to determine its actions on its own. The other compounds present will mitigate its actions in the body. In addition, there are receptor sites all over the body for the many compounds present in the root, not just kavalactones, but also the compounds that science doesn’t isolate and study. Not to mention the fact that this little root was once alive! So, figure out how to factor that into a study of isolated compounds.
Despite the challenges of modern Western science, we have thousands of years of traditional as well as modern use to guide us in how this herb functions. You don’t always need to know the nitty gritty, to know if something works. For instance, we know that when using Kava Kava, we only use the root of the plant in herbal medicine. The arial portions of the plant contain compounds that have the potential to temporarily cause stress to the liver. The FDA requires herbal manufacturers to include a warning on the label of every bottle of Kava that warns of this potential, even though all reputable manufactures never include the arial portions of the plant in their extractions. Moreover, you would need to consume 10 grams of kava for a period of time in order for these effects to possibly present themselves. Once you cease consumption, the effects go away. I have not yet met anyone that has ever come close to consuming 10 grams of Kava at once. For instance, the liquid extract that I am currently using contains 700 mg of herb per 0.7 mL of extract. I would have to consume over 14 doses in one sitting to reach the 10 gram limit. Over the last 25 years, I have not met a single person that has experienced these side effects. My suggestion is one of common sense. If you already have issues with your liver, then maybe choose a different plant, or take lower doses. However, as I said, these compounds are not present in the medicinal portion of the plant.
So, you may be wondering how to use this plant to give it a try for yourself. I personally have used this plant in several ways. One day while driving home from class in Florida, I came across a cute, little tiki hut establishment on the side of the road. It was a Kava bar! I pulled in and excitedly approached the bartender. He showed me their menu, which contained dozens of different strains of Kava. He explained that each strain grown in the South Pacific Islands, exhibited different effects. Certain Kava strains relaxed the mind more than the body. Others relaxed the body more than the mind. And the rest of them worked to relax the body and the mind. All of them had different potencies per milligram. Fascinating. I told him that I would prefer one that relaxed my neck muscles because I had been in class all day. He grabbed a gourd, and mixed a finely powdered Kava with hot water, and stirred. I’m not gonna lie, it tastes like mud, but it’s the best mud! He even gave me a second gourd for the road. Now you don’t have to go to all this trouble to enjoy the benefits of Kava. There are plenty of good herbal manufacturers that sell liquid extractions, and capsules. Some of my go-to brands are Standard Process, Gaia Herbs, and Herb Pharm. I tend to prefer the liquid alcohol extracts, because I am a small person. I can easily adjust the dose, depending on my situation. If I only need a little and I’m out and about, I can take 10 drops and repeat the dose in 15 minutes until I reach the desired effect. If, I’m really tense and anxious, I can take a full dropper and repeat as necessary. Easy peasy. It still tastes like dirt, though.
So how did Kava help me recover from the injuries of the car accident? Well, I wasn’t reliant on pharmaceuticals to get through my day. I was able to mitigate the pain and tension as needed while maintaining all the cognitive function I needed to operate a vehicle and other machinery. I was able to go to college and graduate Suma Cum Laude. I was able to calmly drive a car without screaming every so often. So yeah, I’d say it was an integral part of my healing process. In short, there are many things that I had to do to affect the healing of my injuries, like increase my protein intake, continue chiropractic care, add magnesium supplementation into my daily routine, limit my refined carbohydrate consumption. Am I fully healed…. nope! I still have problems related to my accident. But at least I can function, and I found a solution that was a whole lot healthier than the alternative.
*Note: If you are currently taking pharmaceuticals. It is always possible that the herbal constituents will interact with the synthetic compounds that make up your pharmaceuticals. Always talk with your health care professionals before trying any other remedies. This article was written for educational and anecdotal purposes only. Do not consider any of this content as medical advice.
