You may or may not have heard of the herb, kava, but it has been around for a long time, helping people with many aspects of stress and promoting relaxation. You’ll most likely find it in your local health food store in the aisle where there are products for dealing with stress or available on most online stores. But what is Kava, what forms are available, and what does it do?
What is Kava?
Kava is a tropical evergreen shrub from the Pacific islands, known for its heart shaped leaves. In the Pacific, it’s typically used to create a herbal drink that is consumed in ceremonies and for medicinal reasons due to its soothing and relaxing effects. It’s believed that the herb has been present in the Pacific region for over 3000 years, but due to the documentation of their history through oral tradition (verbal stories, songs, and dancing) it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact time and place kava originated.
Kava is a Tongan and Marquesan term which translates to ‘bitter’. It’s also known as kava kava, awa, ava, ava root, yagona, seka, sakau, malogu, malok, and yaqona.
What are the benefits of taking Kava?
There are many health benefits to taking kava. Here are just some of things it can do:
- Promotes calmness and peacefulness throughout the body.
- Helps with stress and anxiety.
- Helps relax your muscles.
- Encourages feelings of wellbeing by providing a mood boost.
- Helps improve sleep.
What forms are Kava available In?
Kava is available as a tea, capsule, tablet, liquid extract, tincture, and in powder form.
Depending on the form in which the herb is consumed, it should take around 20 minutes to have a calming effect on the body.
The shrub is best taken on an empty stomach if you want to maximise the effect.
Can I take Kava?
People who are suffering from Parkinson’s disease or are prescribed anticonvulsants should not take kava. If you have depression or a liver disease you should also not take Kava.
Pregnant and breastfeeding people should also not take kava.
What are the possible side effects?
Possible side effects of kava are dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, and skin allergies. You could also potentially experience these and other side effects if the quality of kava is poor, if you mix the kava with another substance such as alcohol, or if you consume normal to high doses of kava for a long time. Consult your doctor or GP before deciding to consume the herb.
Long-term use of the herb could also cause hepatotoxicity (liver injury), weight loss, malnutrition, and eye-related ailments.
Overall, kava is a great herb for stress that can bring you some much needed relief when you need it, having been used for millennia to bring relaxation and calmness to the body. This could be one route for you to take on your journey to improving your wellbeing.
DISCLAIMER
Before you start any new diet, health programme, exercise routine, and ingest or topically use any oil, vitamin, mineral, product or compound, it is very important to consult your doctor, therapist or do a patch test to make sure you do not have any adverse reactions.
We do not offer any form of medical or psychological advice. The information in our wellbeing articles are offered for educational purposes only. Our wellbeing articles are not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease. Thank you.
