"Natural Healing with Herbs for a Healthier You"
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF KAVA KAVA
IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
CONTRA-INDICATIONS OF KAVA KAVA
IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
CONTRA-INDICATIONS OF KAVA KAVA
The Food and Drug Administration has been trying to ban the use of Kava Kava. They claim that it has been linked to liver damage. As of now, there have not been any scientific published studies that have proven that liver damage occurs from using Kava Kava. According to M. Blumenthal of the American Botanical Council in January of 2000: "To date there are no reports of adverse reactions related to hepatic [liver] dysfunction associated with the use of kava in the U.S. or Canada." In Germany there have been nineteen cases of liver toxicity that have been linked to Kava Kava use. However, out of the nineteen cases, only one case was shown where a very probable causal relationship could be established between kava treatment and the development of toxic liver disease due to a positive result of an unscheduled re-exposure test. The other eighteen cases did not show even a probable relationship between the Kava Kava and the liver toxicity-most likely meaning that the other eighteen patients had underlying liver issues. If a patient already had liver toxicity, or other risk factors pointing to liver toxicity, the use of Kava Kava would not be recommended. This includes patients with Renal disease, Bile-duct obstruction, and Hepatic Disease.
Scientists in Hawaii have narrowed down a possible source of the recent rash of liver toxicity reports relating to Kava Kava. Some manufacturers were using the stem peelings and leaves of Kava Kava to make extracts, and not the root. The root is what is traditionally used to make Kava Kava extract. One of the interesting things about the ban of Kava Kava in Singapore, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom is that experts were unable to tell how a plant that had been safely used for 2,000 years had suddenly become so toxic. C.S. Tang, professor of molecular biosciences and biosystems engineering at UH-Manoa, had this to say: “Peelings are traditionally avoided by kava drinkers with good reason. If you don't respect traditional use or people who learn by experience then you will get yourself in trouble."
Peelings were made available during the kava boom in Europe between 2000 and 2001 because Kava Kava drinkers in Pacific didn't want them, and stem peelings contain high levels of kavalactones, the ingredient in Kava Kava that provides calming effects. A Fijian kava dealer reported peelings had emerged as a very important trading item because "it's cheap and it's a waste product by kava drinkers, therefore the pharmaceutical companies, love it and it became part of trade.” This is an example of the whole of the plant being greater than the sum of its parts, to quote David Christopher. If the pharmaceutical companies would realize that standardized extracts are not safe, Kava Kava would not be banned in Europe! Even the United States has issues with Kava Kava-the Food and Drug Administration has placed it on a list of unsafe herbs.
Kava Kava has also been contraindicated for people using anti-coagulant medications, such as Warfarin, an anti-coagulant that reduces the chances of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation and in those prone to blood clots. Kava Kava should not be taken with alcohol, barbiturates or anti-psychotic medications, such as Haldol or Mellaril. It should also not be used by people taking anti-anxiety medications, such as Xanax.
As with a lot of other herbs, Kava Kava should not be used while pregnant or nursing. However, it would be a much safer choice than some of the drugs it replaces.
Scientists in Hawaii have narrowed down a possible source of the recent rash of liver toxicity reports relating to Kava Kava. Some manufacturers were using the stem peelings and leaves of Kava Kava to make extracts, and not the root. The root is what is traditionally used to make Kava Kava extract. One of the interesting things about the ban of Kava Kava in Singapore, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom is that experts were unable to tell how a plant that had been safely used for 2,000 years had suddenly become so toxic. C.S. Tang, professor of molecular biosciences and biosystems engineering at UH-Manoa, had this to say: “Peelings are traditionally avoided by kava drinkers with good reason. If you don't respect traditional use or people who learn by experience then you will get yourself in trouble."
Peelings were made available during the kava boom in Europe between 2000 and 2001 because Kava Kava drinkers in Pacific didn't want them, and stem peelings contain high levels of kavalactones, the ingredient in Kava Kava that provides calming effects. A Fijian kava dealer reported peelings had emerged as a very important trading item because "it's cheap and it's a waste product by kava drinkers, therefore the pharmaceutical companies, love it and it became part of trade.” This is an example of the whole of the plant being greater than the sum of its parts, to quote David Christopher. If the pharmaceutical companies would realize that standardized extracts are not safe, Kava Kava would not be banned in Europe! Even the United States has issues with Kava Kava-the Food and Drug Administration has placed it on a list of unsafe herbs.
Kava Kava has also been contraindicated for people using anti-coagulant medications, such as Warfarin, an anti-coagulant that reduces the chances of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation and in those prone to blood clots. Kava Kava should not be taken with alcohol, barbiturates or anti-psychotic medications, such as Haldol or Mellaril. It should also not be used by people taking anti-anxiety medications, such as Xanax.
As with a lot of other herbs, Kava Kava should not be used while pregnant or nursing. However, it would be a much safer choice than some of the drugs it replaces.
KAVA KAVA
by Lindsay Wolsey
by Lindsay Wolsey