is drinking kava every night unhealthy?

[alpaca]

hello!
i love kava as it is the only substance that agrees with me on a spiritual level, as a former addict it does wonders for my anxiety being clean. i drink kava on nightly basis, 3 - 4 tablespoons of medium grind, one to 2 of micronized, enough for me to get into relaxed semi krunk state. being health conscious i've been wondering if i should moderate my intake. is kava completely free of health risks? (besides dermopathy). i know that the liver failure claims have been disputed for traditional prep. thank you!

 

[Groggy]

I have been drinking kava more or less daily for 6 months (other than dermo) haven't had a problem. There are some other people here that have been daily drinkers for years with no problems either.

 

[Kavafied]

hello!
i love kava as it is the only substance that agrees with me on a spiritual level, as a former addict it does wonders for my anxiety being clean. i drink kava on nightly basis, 3 - 4 tablespoons of medium grind, one to 2 of micronized, enough for me to get into relaxed semi krunk state. being health conscious i've been wondering if i should moderate my intake. is kava completely free of health risks? (besides dermopathy). i know that the liver failure claims have been disputed for traditional prep. thank you!

be sure to stay hydrated, kava will flush you out

 

[alpaca]

Thank you for the replies!
Besides kava I only drink water besides the ocassional cranberry juice. Sometimes I feel I drink to much water lol, I always chase down shells with water and snack on bananas for the potassium so dehydration is not a problem, by the way I've been meaning to try out the aluball kavafied! How long does prep take and is it as effecient as traditional prep?

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

I drink kava almost every night and I have been doing so for over 25 years, no problems. As long as it is Noble kava then you should be fine. Aloha.

Chris

 

[KavaKitty]

I just started drinking kava on a daily basis about a month ago. I'm in recovery as well, and I know what you mean about the spiritual aspect; I don't want to damage my body any further, as I now view it as a gift and my objective is to honor that gift and be about the business of healing it rather than harming it further. With that said (God, I hate that expression), I've done a ton of research on the subject, including talking to professionals (MD's, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) and they have confirmed that not only is kava safe, it can, in fact, help to heal the brain, in that it provides some necessary nutrients that we were lacking, as well as filling the receptors that are responsible for causing cravings for other, more dangerous anxiolytics such as benzos.

As the above posters said, and as you already know, just be sure to drink plenty of water. The bananas are a good idea; if you find yourself getting leg cramps from a loss of potassium (I've never heard of this but someone was discussing it in the shout box earlier) get some supplements.

Namaste.

 

[Sam Handwich]

Nearly every day for 7 months now with no ill effects. In his book Dr. Lebot mentioned that he had consumed 2-3 shells a day everyday for 6 years with no ill effects and no signs of developing an addiction.

 

[verticity]

I have been drinking kava for 2+ years, almost every day, and haven't died yet.

But seriously; the liver claims have been not only "disputed" but also debunked and discredited.

If you drink kava every day, eventually you will get dermopathy. If you can live with that, fine. If you can't, you can take a break. (No tapering needed, because it is nonaddictive) Although from what I understand, it actually takes a pretty long time (like 2 months) for your skin to get back to normal after you stop drinking kava.

 

[currentbun]

Since kava has diuretic properties, be sure to drink a good amount of water to replenish what your body loses while kava-ing.

 

[verticity]

I should add: because it can be dehydrating, like others here said, you need to keep on top of fluids, and should not use it if you have kidney disease.

Also you should avoid combining it with things like Tylenol/Paracetamol or Ibuprofen that stress the liver. Although kava does not cause liver damage it, like many drugs is metabolized by the liver, so you need to be careful combining it with other drugs that are also metabolized by the liver (in particular those that are metabolized by the following liver enzymes in the Cytochrome P450 family: 1A2, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 3A4, 4A9/11; and possibly 2E1) , especially ones like Tylenol that are actually toxic to the liver in overdose. In other words, be careful combining it with most other drugs. You can use aspirin instead, which is metabolized by a different pathway in the liver. Even though it does not cause liver damage, kava could potentially alter the metabolism of your other medicines, that is make them stay in your system longer and thus be more potent than they are supposed to be, because they are competing with kava to be metabolized.

Note: Tylenol is metabolized by CYP450 1A2, 2E1, 2A6, and 2D6 (at high doses), and possibly 3A4.
Ibuprofen is metabolized by CYP450 2C9, 2C8 and at high doses, 3A4, 2C19, 2D6, 2E6, and 2B6

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Re dehydration: lots of people recommend drinking buckets of water in between sessions, but I think it's not necessarily the best approach. Try eating lots of fruits or veggies instead (or additionally to drinking water). http://www.murad.com/blog/eat-your-water-explained/

 

[TheKavaSociety]

I drink kava 4-5 days per week and have been drinking it this often for a few years. No bad effects. One of my liver tests (two years ago) indicated higher GGT, but that could have been because: 1) I had a big night out with booze just 2 days before the test; 2) That was years ago, before I knew about the tudei spiking problem and I was consuming crappy kavas that turned out to be containing quite a bit of tudei. 3) apparently this is not very concerning as many kava drinkers get higher GGT with no adverse health effects..? EDIT: my latest liver test also indicates elevated GGT. Not much, but still. No other health issues.

Regarding tudei: I have recently participated in a big kava event in Auckland with a group of islanders who are not concerned about tudei, noble etc. Obviously I was too polite to question the quality of the kava they prepared (even though it did smell and taste like tudei-spiked kava), I just drank it with them in order to be polite. I didn't drink much, just enough not to offend anyone. Yet, the following day I woke up with a headache and sharp abdominal pain. I cannot say for sure that that was because of that kava, but I never feel this way after drinking good kava..

 

[Edward]

Maybe we should turn it round? Is NOT drinking kava every night unhealthy? I much prefer it to booze

 

[verticity]

Maybe we should turn it round? Is NOT drinking kava every night unhealthy? I much prefer it to booze

Today in the news: Kava deficiency can cause irritability, communication disorders, anxiety disorders, major depression, alcoholism, homicide, suicide, auto accidents, death, genocide, and abnormally smooth skin.

 

[Crunked]

I have been drinking kava almost every night for over 4 years with no ill effects whatever (except that one time I used the boilup-method ) My liver function tests are fine, as are all other indicators.

 

[Edward]

I drink kava almost every night and I have been doing so for over 25 years, no problems. As long as it is Noble kava then you should be fine. Aloha.

Chris

Out of interest Chris, what are your favourite kavas and how much do you drink per day? Do you go big or just a cup here and there? Do you prefer trad prep or micro (or instant?!).

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Out of interest Chris, what are your favourite kavas and how much do you drink per day? Do you go big or just a cup here and there? Do you prefer trad prep or micro (or instant?!).

I drink mostly instant because it is so close to fresh kava. I like Moi and drink it most of the time but I do drink all my other varieties, I had Nene the past few nights. I drink at night time most of the time and I have a big jar full of kava and I just drink till I am where I want to be.
I do use the traditional prep sometimes too but mostly I like to use the instant. Aloha nui loa.

Chris

 

[kavayo]

Today in the news: Kava deficiency can cause irritability, communication disorders, anxiety disorders, major depression, alcoholism, homicide, suicide, auto accidents, death, genocide, and abnormally smooth skin.

This sounds like the side effects for 90% of the pharmaceuticals advertised on TV.

 

[Edward]

I drink mostly instant because it is so close to fresh kava. I like Moi and drink it most of the time but I do drink all my other varieties, I had Nene the past few nights. I drink at night time most of the time and I have a big jar full of kava and I just drink till I am where I want to be.
I do use the traditional prep sometimes too but mostly I like to use the instant. Aloha nui loa.

Chris

That's interesting, thanks.

 

[ThePiper]

What... @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava you use mostly instant? I figured you would be using fresh undried kava! I want to try the fresh stuff pretty badly.