I think there are 3 things that are issues here: 1) insoluble fiber; 2) lubricant laxative; 3) irritants. The insoluble fiber I think I have worked out, I strain twice with a jelly strainer bag, then put the product through a Fijian strainer bag, I have also used cotton socks. I was just thinking that a Buchner funnel would be fantastic, probably too expensive but I'm going to look into it. Basically, it's a filter that you line with filter paper and attach to a vacuum, you need a special vessel between the funnel and the vacuum to catch the supernatant so it doesn't just get sucked into the vacuum, the ceramic ones are the best but probably especially expensive. I used Buchner funnels in organic chemistry. On point #2 the oily substances line the insides of the intestines, I can attest to this and not to be too gross but it is actually pleasant when it's not too much. This does make me think that fat soluble vitamin supplements, like E, beta carotene, and D3 would be a very good idea if you drink kava regularly as the kavalactones could hypothetically interfere with your ability to absorb these nutrients. It might be interesting to mix them into the kava after it's made if a bit gross, maybe there's a powder, not gonna touch cod liver oil that's a little too disgusting plus it contains heavy metals. Third, and I think the most difficult bit to identify and reduce, is the peppery nature of some of the kavas that is probably irritating to the digestive tract, that seems a very strain-dependent thing that you need to know about the different strains and read reviews to predict. It makes me think maybe I should keep a kava journal as I am trying things but it seems like a pain.
I tried 1/2 tsp of ginger powder in this last batch as ginger does seem to help my digestive system, I have used ginger beer to make kava before and it was really nice, also chai syrup, which contains ginger. I'd like to try some fresh ginger root soon. Stone is one that did make my guts funky for a couple days, Kule'a Farm melomelo mixed with Mo'i did to a lesser extent. Sarsaparilla could be nice, if you don't hate the taste of root beer. I have been trying chewing deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) chewable tablets, but they taste like blackstrap molasses, that is the worse taste than just the licorice (the purpose of removing the glycyrrhizin is that glycyrrhizin raises blood pressure, which would make it unsafe if you have high blood pressure).
Also, I take Nexium and haven't been worried about that but maybe I should be. I switched to taking it in the evening rather than the morning, since overnight is when the acid reflux seems to be the bigger problem, not so bad during the day when I'm vertical.
I just ordered some dried Indian sarsaparilla root cut and sifted plus a sarsaparilla syrup for making rootbeer. Should be kind of weird and possibly offensive to kava purists, but also an interesting experiment.
Ordered a Bel-Art Polypropylene Buchner filter for about $17 on Amazon, holds 315ml and uses 90mm filter paper. They have larger ones, but they take odd sized filter paper that was hard to find vs 90mm is very standard. Now to find a vacuum flask, a hand vacuum pump, and a rubber.
