Recommended wait time, in between drinking alcohol and kava ?

[Plantacious]

I know there are a lot of people who take kava as a total replacement for alcohol, so maybe they won't relate to the question.
But for those who drink both alcohol and kava (at different times), or even if you don't do it, but know a theoretical answer, I would like to inquire.

I know that kava and alcohol can make one sick, if taken too closely together, so how long should one wait, to drink kava, after they have drank alcohol ?
And would it be the same answer, if the sequence was reversed, and the kava was first, and then the alcohol ?
Let's suppose it was a moderate to slightly above moderate amount of both the alcohol and kava, in this case.

I have looked around the internet, but find many conflicting answers.....anywhere from a few hours later, to 24, or 48, or 72 hours later.
And one said, it's okay to take the next, simply once you stop feeling the effects of the previous.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I know there are a lot of people who take kava as a total replacement for alcohol, so maybe they won't relate to the question.
But for those who drink both alcohol and kava (at different times), or even if you don't do it, but know a theoretical answer, I would like to inquire.

I know that kava and alcohol can make one sick, if taken too closely together, so how long should one wait, to drink kava, after they have drank alcohol ?
And would it be the same answer, if the sequence was reversed, and the kava was first, and then the alcohol ?
Let's suppose it was a moderate to slightly above moderate amount of both the alcohol and kava, in this case.

I have looked around the internet, but find many conflicting answers.....anywhere from a few hours later, to 24, or 48, or 72 hours later.
And one said, it's okay to take the next, simply once you stop feeling the effects of the previous.

There's no official answer, because as far as I know, there's never been any real science done on the topic. There is some info about the elimination time of alcohol and the elimination time of kavalactones. If I recall correctly, alcohol is typically out of your system within 2 - 24 hours and kavalactones can range from 1 - 3 days.

Generally, we recommend at least 24 hours between the two, but depending on the doses of each substance and your level of health the time could vary. In kava drinking nations, it's not entirely uncommon for people to drink a beer or something after kava. That doesn't mean it's safe, and there's no way for us to know what damage it is or isn't doing, but it does happen and it's clearly not an immediate death sentence.

Over the years I've had a few experiences with consuming kava and alcohol close together and I generally find it either unpleasant, sickening or slightly pontentiating. Again, this depends on the proximity and doses of the two substances. If you're honestly only drinking a beer or wine or two, you can get away with that if you must. If your getting trashed for the weekend with your buddies, wait until the next day, at least, to drink kava.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I think it depends on how much kava and how much alcohol you are drinking on those occasions and also how much alcohol and/or kava you might regularly drink.

I think a really good rule of thumb to be on the safe side, and maximize enjoyment of either experience is to have a 72 hour window either way. If you're going to drink, stop kava for three days first, then wait 3 days after the alcohol be drinking again. One can get away with less, for sure, but this would be the safest, IMO.

And I found the further alcohol receded in my rear view mirror, the better kava got. So I wouldn't expect kava three days after the last alcohol to be as good as kava 3 months after the last alcohol.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Agreed.
Really what it comes down to is personal metabolism and the strength of your liver.

If you are in a weakend state... avoid the mix all together. That could be sick. Upset... anything ... just not vibrating with health.

The problem with the mix is that the kava seems to block up the liver a bit .. then when the alcohol comes in the body rejects it and sends it up... causing hot flashes and alcohol on the breath .
This is an immediate sign to stop and that it won't be good .

Ultimately you can speed up this process with stuff like Dandelion root tea.. burdock root tea and milk thistle tincture. These help excelerate the liver's function and burdock specifically grabs toxins akin to activated charcoal less intensely of course .

Dandelion is key for me to push the kava though the next day.. I find this helps eliminate dry skin and neasea much faster than on my own.
You can quite literally feel he hehe dandelion pushing the kava out ... I really recommend this before trying to have alcohol after kava or vise versa ..

Another option if you were consuming alcohol and then kava would be kudzu root. Or seeds... in Japan they add them to cocktails.
. What it does is it causes alcohol to be metabolized on the spot. So you feel your hangover that night not tommorow... this has obvious advantages If wanting to consume kava the next day a's the alcohol would be actually gone by then..

Overall though it's really not a silent killer.
It's not something that's "bad" for you and Noone knows why.. and you'll just have to trust us...
You'll feel it ... you'll know this isn't right ... and it wont feel good.

 

[Zaphod]

YMMV - and by all accounts on this forum it is not recommended (for good logical reasons), but I have on multiple occasions had moderate (1-2 drinks) after having moderate (equiv 1-2 aluballs/2-4TBS) of kava with no apparent ill effect and in fact in some cases it was quite enjoyable. Is my liver more damaged from it? I have no idea but a once per year liver test has showed no issues so far. It is not something I do regularly, but on occasion either I really wanted a nice cold craft beer, I got dragged out with friends and wanted to be social, or having a glass of wine with the wifey on the back porch. The worst ill effect I have noticed is increasing the sedation level. With all that said I have never had the desire to have alcohol if I am really krunked, and I have never had the desire to drink kava if I am full on drunk, but moderate amounts of each has not been an issue.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

YMMV - and by all accounts on this forum it is not recommended (for good logical reasons), but I have on multiple occasions had moderate (1-2 drinks) after having moderate (equiv 1-2 aluballs/2-4TBS) of kava with no apparent ill effect and in fact in some cases it was quite enjoyable. Is my liver more damaged from it? I have no idea but a once per year liver test has showed no issues so far. It is not something I do regularly, but on occasion either I really wanted a nice cold craft beer, I got dragged out with friends and wanted to be social, or having a glass of wine with the wifey on the back porch. The worst ill effect I have noticed is increasing the sedation level. With all that said I have never had the desire to have alcohol if I am really krunked, and I have never had the desire to drink kava if I am full on drunk, but moderate amounts of each has not been an issue.

fwiw, what I remember from the times I used to drink alcohol and kava was it was OK to drink kava and then have alcohol, but not ok to drink alcohol and then have kava. No idea why,...... except I used to chug a single beer right before the kava so I wouldn't freak about the taste. But what I mean is you couldn't drink a bunch of beer and then have kava.

Gosh, that was ages and ages ago, eons..... Months. But a whole lifetime apart.

 

[PepperyPyrone]

I find that a very light beer like mic ultra after a few tablespoons of some fine kava is very refreshing on the pallet. I mostly drink heady or balanced kava and have no ill effects from some refreshing light beer, maybe a tad bit of extra sedation and off to bed. However when I have had heavy kava and then wanted a refreshing light beer to enjoy it knocked me the F%#* out. So I believe, based on my personal research and other reports, that alcohol potentiates the sedating effects of the dihydro kavalactones (2 and 5) to an extent that it's is not desirable. With that being said the heady and balanced kavas are fine with moderate light alcohol consumption. Now to the point of hard liquor, don't go there! If you must then give the kava at least a day or two to get out of your system or you will be sorry. I prefer kava over alcohol everyday and sometimes I will have a mix drink with intentions to drink alcohol and quickly find myself wanting kava instead. Kava has changed my life for the better, I used to drink alcohol like a fish and now a light beer is just something I enjoy because it's a refreshing beverage. The times when I do go all out and get hammered on alcohol because I am with other people drinking, I always regret it and am reminded of why I have chosen the path of the kava way. Lead me home baby lead me home.

 

[The Kap'n]

Kava has changed my life for the better, I used to drink alcohol like a fish and now a light beer is just something I enjoy because it's a refreshing beverage.

That is a powerful statement right there.

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

Either one dulls out the effects of the other. Kava before alcohol seems to be the more enjoyable experience since kava has a better overall feeling. I also notice that kava before alcohol seems to lessen possible next morning effects from the alcohol. That's only with reasonable doses though (lots of kava, then a couple drinks at the most). Taking a NAC supplement throughout the day ahead of the sessions would be a very good idea to boost glutathione levels if you choose to have them in close proximity.