Prince Philip
Duke of Edinborogu
The front page shows two kava leaves and has the tag line "Safe and Effective Self-Care for Cramps, Respiratory Problems, and Stress."
Overall, not the best book on the subject.
The author's name isn't on the cover, but rather on the first page, Stephanie Pedersen.
64 page booklet, but after the first 38 pages kava isn't mentioned until the index.
The book is most interesting as an artifact of the "golden age" of kava as a drugstore pill. While traditional preparation methods are mentioned, the author does not seriously consider anyone would actually go so far as to seek out rootstock or resin. All of the treatments recommended involve either a tea, a tincture, or more commonly a pill. Still, the description of how kava may help various conditions does help expand the possibilities open for the medicinal use of kava.
One of the more interesting aspects of the book is the paradox that in 2000 the entire plant was seen as a potential source of extract, but on page 7 there is a one-paragraph version of a kava creation story, or rather a kava distribution story, where my good friend Tangaloa visited earth during a fishing trip, and at the end of the day he wanted some kava to drink with the fish he caught. Unfortunately, he didn't have any kava with him, so he sent two mortals to heaven to bring him a root. Having never seen a kava root, they brought him the whole plant. Lord, what fools these mortals be! Anyway, when Tangaloa seperated the roots from the plant, the above-ground parts of the plant were scattered across the land and grew into new kava plants. Given what we know about how high kavain/low DHM Nobel strains were cultivated over centuries from wild strains much higher in DHM and almost entirely lacking in kavain, we can be sure that Tangaloa really liked the wild stuff.
All myths, including the size of the fish Tangaloa caught, are "rooted" in fact. There is a lesson in that myth, and that lesson is that kava is a beverage made from the underground roots of the plant - it's not a pill you buy at a healthfood store and certainly not something made from the above-ground organs. The above ground parts are used for clonal reproduction, with the most successful mutants (success being measured as pleasing to humans) being quite different than what Tangaloa likes to drink.
I keep asking Tangaloa to post, but he's rather shy about the whole divinity-on-the-Internet thing.
For the record, the "questions" section of the "Standard FDA Disclaimer" post comes straight from this book, and is potentially the most useful part.
Overall, not the best book on the subject.
The author's name isn't on the cover, but rather on the first page, Stephanie Pedersen.
64 page booklet, but after the first 38 pages kava isn't mentioned until the index.
The book is most interesting as an artifact of the "golden age" of kava as a drugstore pill. While traditional preparation methods are mentioned, the author does not seriously consider anyone would actually go so far as to seek out rootstock or resin. All of the treatments recommended involve either a tea, a tincture, or more commonly a pill. Still, the description of how kava may help various conditions does help expand the possibilities open for the medicinal use of kava.
One of the more interesting aspects of the book is the paradox that in 2000 the entire plant was seen as a potential source of extract, but on page 7 there is a one-paragraph version of a kava creation story, or rather a kava distribution story, where my good friend Tangaloa visited earth during a fishing trip, and at the end of the day he wanted some kava to drink with the fish he caught. Unfortunately, he didn't have any kava with him, so he sent two mortals to heaven to bring him a root. Having never seen a kava root, they brought him the whole plant. Lord, what fools these mortals be! Anyway, when Tangaloa seperated the roots from the plant, the above-ground parts of the plant were scattered across the land and grew into new kava plants. Given what we know about how high kavain/low DHM Nobel strains were cultivated over centuries from wild strains much higher in DHM and almost entirely lacking in kavain, we can be sure that Tangaloa really liked the wild stuff.
All myths, including the size of the fish Tangaloa caught, are "rooted" in fact. There is a lesson in that myth, and that lesson is that kava is a beverage made from the underground roots of the plant - it's not a pill you buy at a healthfood store and certainly not something made from the above-ground organs. The above ground parts are used for clonal reproduction, with the most successful mutants (success being measured as pleasing to humans) being quite different than what Tangaloa likes to drink.
I keep asking Tangaloa to post, but he's rather shy about the whole divinity-on-the-Internet thing.
For the record, the "questions" section of the "Standard FDA Disclaimer" post comes straight from this book, and is potentially the most useful part.
