What is Kava? Kava is a natural anxiolytic supplement. Kava extract is made from the ground roots of Piper methysticum, a type of pepper found in the South Pacific. Native to where it's found kava has been used for millennia in the Southern Pacific. Pacific Islanders used kava to make a non-alcoholic psychoactive drink for religious rituals and social gatherings. Pacific islanders also used kava as a medication to induce relaxation and sleep. Nowadays you can find kava at your local supplement store or online. Kava is a prescription free way to ease anxiety and resolve insomnia.
What does the research say about Kava? Systematic reviews on kava show that it has the ability to effectively reduce anxiety, with little to no adverse effects. Although kava is an anxiolytic agent at low therapeutic doses, kava is even shown to increase certain aspects of cognition, such as attention. Kava has also been shown to improve sexual performance in woman, but this may be due to reduced anxiety. This implies that if you get nervous before doing certain activities, kava may be the supplement for you. There are some reports showing that kava may cause liver toxicity but this is a rare occurrence. This liver toxicity may be due to people drinking alcohol or taking medication that causes liver toxicity while concurrently supplementing with kava. These reports of liver toxicity have caused the EU, UK, and Canada to put restrictions on kava. Germany was one of the countries to put a ban on kava due to possible liver toxicity issues in the early 2000's. Since 2014, German courts have decided to lift the ban on kava due to a lack of evidence supporting the idea that kava causes liver toxicity. Due to the belief that kava causes liver toxicity, I would not supplement with kava concurrently with alcohol intake. Furthermore if you have previous liver damage I would be cautious with kava use. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting that kava does not cause liver toxicity. To be on the safe side be cautious when supplementing with kava.
A brief overview of three Kava studies. For the purpose of this article I will briefly reference three studies done on kava. The first study I would like to mention is PMID:15181652, in this study participants were given 300mg of kava extract. After intake of 300mg kava extract participants had an increased state of cheerfulness compared to placebo. Also kava seemed to improve visual attention and short-term memory retrieval compared to placebo. The second study, PMID:14692723, in this study patients suffering from neurotic anxiety were given 150mg kava extract daily for four weeks. Anxiety decreased in 73% of patients given the kava extract compared to 56% in the placebo group. The structured well-being self-rating scale showed decreasing in anxiety in the Kava extract treated group, compared to placebo. Although a 150mg dose of kava extract was efficacious at relieving anxiety, 300mg has been shown to be a more efficacious, well tolerated dose across multiple other studies.The third study, PMID:1156390 kava and valerian root were tested to see how well each reduced stress severity and insomnia. kava was given at 120mg daily to participants. Total stress severity and insomnia significantly decreased in the kava treated group. Similar result were seen with valerian root at 600mg.
Mechanism of action of Kava. The active ingredients found in kava that allows for these anxiolytic effects are called kavalactones. There are 18 different types of kavalactones and when buying a kava extract you want about a 30% concentration of kavalactones. Just to name a few some kavalactones are kavian, methysticin, desmethoxyyangonin, and 7,8-dihydroyangonin. Kavalactones have multiple ways in which they interact with our body to cause anxiolytic effects. Kavalactones interact with and enhance the GABAa receptors. The increase in GABA can lead to CNS depression, which further leads to its sedative and anxiolytic effects. Kavalactones seem to interact with GABAa receptors in a similar fashion to benzodiazepine, but do not bind to the benzodiazepine receptor. If you are asking yourself what GABA is, it is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the body. GABA reduces neuron excitability and puts the body into a parasympathetic state. The more GABA you have flowing through your brain the more relaxed you will be. Kavalactones also also inhibit calcium channels by up to 70%. By inhibiting the flow of calcium, this leads to an inhibition of neuronal firing. Furthermore kavalactones have also been shown to inhibit flow of sodium channels which may lead to a further inhibitory effect. Another vector which kavalactones cause an inhibitory effect is by blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine and epinephrine. Epinephrine and norepinephrine are hormones responsible for your "fight of flight" response and increase in your body when responding to stressful situations. These hormones put your body into a sympathetic drive. By blocking your bodies reuptake of these hormones you can reduce stress, anxiety, and insomnia.
How would you use Kava? We can use kava to reduce anxiety, stress, and reduce insomnia. Studies show that a dose as low as 120mg can be effective. A 300mg dose seems to a very well tolerable and efficacious dose. If you are using Kava to treat anxiety I suggest taking anywhere from 120mg-300mg of Kava when feeling anxious or stressed. If you are using Kava for insomnia issues, I recommend a higher dose such as 400-500mg. Keep in mind, you'd want at least 30% kavalactone concentrations in your kava supplement. I would not take Kava for extended periods of time due to some potential liver toxicity worries. Just like any other supplement you can use it acutely or cycle on and off of it. I personally would use it acutely when feeling stressed or being unable to sleep. Knowing Kava can ease anxiety we can leverage it in our day to day lives. If you are nervous before a job interview or a first date, you can supplement with Kava to ease this anxiety. Also their are ways you can pair kava with other supplements to get a synergistic effect. You can pair Kava with magnolia bark extract for a synergistic effect. Magnolia bark extract has been shown to block cortisol. By combining these to you can decrease anxiety, relieve stress, and resolve insomnia much more effectively. There are many ways you can leverage kava, these are just some ideas. Now you know a little more about Kava extract and its potential uses.
Comments
Post a Comment