Kava Kava Root and Kava Kava Side Effects - Buy Kava Tea?

Kava kava supplements got a bad reputation a few years ago because there were some reports that using it chronically might cause liver damage. Of course, no one was able to prove conclusively that it was the kava kava and not another additive in the supplements that caused the kava kava side effects. With the low quality control in the supplement industry, especially some places overseas (like Asia), it's quite probable the kava kava supplements that sent a handful of people to the hospital didn't even contain kava kava at all.

Regardless, the scare was enough for a lot of kava kava manufacturers to discontinue selling it to the public. As such, it is a little harder to come by kava kava supplements these days (but still not very hard...the general public tends not to think of herbs as being potentially dangerous, to their detriment).

However, the marketing of kava kava tea does not seem much impacted by the hype. I guess most people consider tea to be a more benevolent medium for administering herbs, and there may be some truth to that.

Kava kava tea is essentially a kava kava extract in which the solvent is water.

As such, any lipid soluble components of kava kava are unlikely to be consumed in high quantities in the tea.

If it is lipid soluble chemicals in kava that are responsible for the toxic effects of kava on the liver, drinking tea might be a way around the putative adverse kava effects from taking whole herb supplements.

On the other hand, the beneficial kava kava effects may also be concentrated in the lipid soluble fraction, which would mean the tea is less effective in generating kava kava's beneficial physiological effects - Kava kava is a Polynesian herb (technically, kava ROOT is where the active ingredients of kava are found) that has been used for centuries as a nerve tonic, to calm the mind, relieve stress, and aid in sleep.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Polynesian islanders consume their kava kava as a tea and show no signs of adverse kava effects.

Kava kava is known to inhibit the liver's ability to detoxify the blood of some toxins. It may be that the rare toxic kava effects are an indirect result of the liver not being able to detoxify other toxins in the person's body, if they are already prone to an unhealthy lifestyle. If this is the case, then kava kava supplementation with tea or whole herbs ought to pose little risk for people who already lead an otherwise healthy lifestyle - exercise, not smoking, lots of whole food fruits and vegetables, etc.

More research is needed on whole herb kava root, but used cautiously and infrequently, kava tea's benefits for lessening anxiety and calming nerves outweigh the low risk of toxic kava root side effects.

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REFERENCES

1. Many Supplements Said to Contain Toxins, Make False Health Claims