Kava and Clogged Pipes

[WakaGrade]

Does kava give anyone else constipation to an extent? I may have to cut back a little.

 

[infraredz]

Not to any extent at all. It's a more potent smooth muscle relaxant than coffee in my experience (as in, after kava, sometimes I have to run to the bathroom). It's strange because there's so much starch in the suspension so I would think it'd have the opposite effect as well as some pharmacologic effects that would point towards the opposite.

Try eating more fiber and staying very hydrated, unless you want to try more medicinal routes.

 

[Deleted User01]

I haven't noticed any constipation due to Kava but I'm on a high fiber diet to conteract the bad effect it has on my Cholesterol. Taking Pain Killers does have a constipating effect fiber or not.

 

[pitshack]

I haven't noticed any binding effect from drinking kava either. Infraredz suggestions about more fiber, and especially more water are spot on. Also, staying physically active helps keep the pipes clean, atleast for me.

You could also try eating prunes or drinking prune juice. About 8oz. of warm prune juice is almost guarenteed to clean you out.

 

[Andrew Procyk]

Sometimes gas and bloat, but not constipation here. The better you strain, the easier on the gut it seems - but some people like those fines for a little extra kick. I'll pass on the gas, no pun intended, if that is going to be the result. ;-)

~AP

 

[Ed!]

You may just be dehydrated too. I read something a while back that 65% of Americans (or some other crazy high number) are chronically dehydrated. Add a lot of kava consumption to that and you may have peed out all your liquids.

I think a lot of people also think they need to eat food when they are really just thirsty.

 

[Crunked]

It's strange because there's so much starch in the suspension so I would think it'd have the opposite effect as well as some pharmacologic effects that would point towards the opposite.

I didn't know that kava made the traditional way is high in starch. Is there any accurate info on the carbohydrate level, i.e. in gross terms grams/100grams of mixture and net terms grams-fiber/100grams of mixture?

Of course the measures would vary according to the strength of the mixture, but any baseline information would be very interesting. I had assumed that drinking kava would have fewer carbs than beer, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[infraredz]

I didn't know that kava made the traditional way is high in starch. Is there any accurate info on the carbohydrate level, i.e. in gross terms grams/100grams of mixture and net terms grams-fiber/100grams of mixture?

Of course the measures would vary according to the strength of the mixture, but any baseline information would be very interesting. I had assumed that drinking kava would have fewer carbs than beer, but maybe I'm wrong.

I should have said that differently (I meant fiber, for one thing). Starch and insoluble fiber is insoluble in water (but soluble fiber is soluble in water), but there is a significant amount of sediment that gets through our strainers.

That root material is made up of 43% starch, 20% dietary fiber, among other things according to Wikipedia. I was just talking from my experience (since there's quite a bit of that in my grog). That being said, I can't see it being higher than 2g so you're most likely right.

 

[Jennifer Gilliam]

I have been experimenting with Kavalactones for about 2 weeks.
Great for my MS spasicity pain!
Last week, all week, I suffered from really bad upper right abdominal pain, which landed me in urgent care.
No infection on CBC, no elevated enzymes on blood work.
Told if it got worse to go to the er!
Ruling out pancreatitis and gallstones, I am now convinced kavalactones (Kona Kava Farms) is causing really bad blockage and constipation.
Pain stops when I don't take any.
1/2 hour after I take an 1/8 of a tsp. The pain starts again... Still constipated!

 

[Deleted User01]

Constipation caused by kava? Who woulda thought. I remember how @kavadude and I were astonished when both of us confessed to having bowel movements right before taking kava. We both thought we were the only ones. Maybe the only ones in the neighborhood. Of course we are talking about good Noble kava and in my case, micronized kava. That's how I get my extra daily fiber and I'm a camper in the morning. Just go with the noble kavas listed on this forum and you will be fine. Maybe some Micronized to get the party started.

 

[Odourman]

Does kava give anyone else constipation to an extent? I may have to cut back a little.

For me it gets things moving.

 

[Rick.Sanchez]

I've also never had this problem with kava. It's probably caused by something else.

I second the dehydration idea. Many many people have diets that are high in salt and low in water without even realizing it. That's a fast track to dehydration.

 

[kastom_lif]

It's a more potent smooth muscle relaxant than coffee in my experience (as in, after kava, sometimes I have to run to the bathroom).

Same here. Whenever I decide to tank a bunch all at once, a visit to the "smol haos" becomes necessary within 20 minutes or so.

Space out your shells. Urgent number two is not nambawan.

 

[Señor Chuggs]

OH man... @WakaGrade I am sorry to hear about your tummy troubles, but at the same time, SOOO relieved I misinterpreted the title of this post. Ive been tossing used makas down my drain (with a disposal) for over a year now and I currently got a contractor running around my house fixing problems and finding new ones.... certainly don't need a drain problem added to that list.

Yes, yes... I know I should compost them. I did try the compost thing for a while, but then I realized I was driving my car to the compost site... so I'm probably saving more carbon by just staying home and tossing them.