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Kava Effects: Junkfood Junkie vs Healthy Eating Habits

Kava_Lavar

Kava_Lavar

Kava Curious
So I have been an on and off dieter for 20 years. Much of this has to do with binge eating in front of a TV, gallons of coca-cola, skittles, donuts, pizza, etc, etc... I will gain 40lbs and then go back to eating right. Please don't tell me this is unhealthy. I know that. I believe with this keto diet I am on that this will change as keto really changes the way I look at food.. anyways that's a whole topic in itself.

The purpose of this post is to compare the differences of being a junkfood junkie vs eating healthier. I started eating healthy again about 10 days ago and I have seen a drastic change in how Kava effects me. When I first started drinking Kava the third quarter of last till now my eating habits were beyond terrible. Lots of fast food (almost daily) and all the other bullshit I mentioned above.

When I was eating unhealthy it only took two tablespoons of Kava after an empty stomach (6+ hours). I would be good for hours. Now those same two tablespoons (tried 3 different strains) no longer take me to where I want to be. I could never understand how people here could take 6-8 tablespoons.

Is there a correlation between having a healthier diet and how much Kava one needs to have to feel the effects? Because now after staying away from all that bullshit 2 tablespoons does next to nothing for me. I even tried to have a fattier meal after Kava now and did nothing to enhance the effects like it did in the past. And another interesting point here is that I am nowhere close to my ideal weight so I am still not a healthy person as of now. So I think there is something to be said about what your daily food intake consists of.

It would be interesting to see which of the people in that recent poll (how many tablespoons does it take) had a poor diet relates to few tablespoons needed to get kava effects and obviously the people who take 8 tablespoons if they are very healthy eaters. Maybe carbohydrates is the biggest reason because I still have fat in my diet..hmmm
 
wormwood

wormwood

Kava Enthusiast
I'd be really surprised if there was any difference at all. If anything, I think the added energy and sense of well being which accompanies eating well would more sufficiently balance the fatiguing effects of kava. Of all the drugs and substances that I have studied in school or on the internet I can't think of any that would be influenced by food at all, except grapefruit juice, which contains a substance which inhibits a certain enzyme in the body which metabolises drugs, thus granting the substance more free reign in the body with impunity. But that's particular to grapefruit juice and grapefruits only. And the terms "junk food" and "healthy food" are very vague categories, each encompassing hundreds of different types of foods. You have to be more specific in evaluating a particular food in question. One thing that "junk foods" do seem to have mostly in common is large amounts of sugar. So sugar content and its effects of kava physiology within the body could maybe be generically evaluated under the broad label of "junk food." But even some junk foods don't really have sugar ie-potato chips etc.

Aside from that, some drugs are recommended to be taken on an empty stomach, while others are to be taken on a full stomach. Usually for either reasons of absorption or to avoid an upset stomach. But the type of food is never specified. All that matters is either the stomach is full, or is empty.
 
Kava_Lavar

Kava_Lavar

Kava Curious
@wormwood
Potato chips (all the carbs) will turn to sugar. I think carbohydrates are the main culprit here. I literally went from a carbohydrate eating machine to less than 25g of carbs and less than 10g of sugar a day. Yes 'Junk Food' is vague. But I was on a diet of eating fast food daily and eating anything in a bag. Both these things are junk imho.

I mean.. I go 3 months and every day is a good kava day. Now, those same 2 tablespoons, 3 days in a row do next to nothing for me. Coincidental? I dunno man. That's why I am posting this.
 
sɥɐʞɐs

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
I'd personally we wary the keto diet in combination with regular kava consumption, for fear of some kidney issue, never researched it or anything though. As for diet, it's hard for me to say if I've experienced any noticeable differences in the effect of kava, because even when I'm on a consistent diet I can go through long drags of lessened effect or weeks of ideal effects, without changing my eating habits at all.

It's all generally the same in my experience, but I've also never drastically changed my diet.
My usual diet is horrible and consists of eating any of the shitty stuff we all love. If I reign it in, the best I get to would be eating grain/bran cereal, eggs, some fruits, rice, chicken, salads, stir fried veg, and maybe a small portion of junk food.
 
L

LunaKava

Kava Vendor
I eat a high card pescatarian diet normally, and a vegan diet occasionally. I have never really noticed any change in the effects of kava from eating either way. I have however had times where kava just didn't seem to work as well as previously, even at 5+Tbsps. Ingesting any supplement, vitamin, or drug seems to always vary from time to time with each person. Usually 3-4 Tbsps is the normal amount for my daily session.
 
Edward

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
The one thing that stands out but is probably completely wrong is the fat content of your unhealthy diet. The fat could be potentiating your kava effect so that when you switch to eating healthy with less fat you're not getting the potentiation any more. Thinking out loud there and possibly thinking out of my bottom. All I know is that a bit of fat can kick things into life for me after my kava.
 
VictoryRider

VictoryRider

Kava Enthusiast
That's a really good point @Edward particularly if the stomach isn't completely empty. Kavalactones are fat soluble. Makes sense.
Also, @Kava_Lavar, do you typically eat after drinking kava? Because that often potentiates too. So if you ate afterward whilst on
the "bad" diet, but aren't doing so anymore, that can make a huge difference.
 
dino9832

dino9832

Kava Enthusiast
My diet is fairly consistent. Low carb vegetarian. I was eating pescetarian (vegetarian with fish only) for awhile.
It seems I used to get better results with kava. It could be like shakas mentioned. Long periods of lessened effects from kava.
Or, possibly the small amounts of fish made a difference? It's hard to believe it would. I was only eating like 100g (3.5oz) a day.

@Kava_Lavar, on a side note, I've found that Yerba Mate curbs my appetite! If you're trying to work on your diet, you should check out some of the buzz in the Yerba Mate thread on this forum: Yerba Mate
 
Kava_Lavar

Kava_Lavar

Kava Curious
@Edward
On my Keto diet I eat near 130g of good fats. So I am getting plenty of that! :)

@dino9832
I've been wanting to check out yerba mate but not for curbing appetite. I have to force myself to eat on keto diet. What would you compare the buzz to? Coffee?
 
dino9832

dino9832

Kava Enthusiast
@Kava_Lavar, I'm rather new to yerba myself. And like you, I really don't need any appetite suppressing. I'll try to explain how yerba has been for me.
Drink it too quickly, and I feel my pulse quicken! Yet, it's not a caffeine jittery sort of thing.
You have to understand that yerba is like a tea that sits in the bottom of your cup. And, you drink it with a straw that has a filter on it. So, the first few times you fill your cup it's stronger!

It works great to give you a pick-up in the mornings. Then, smooths out as the day wears on and the yerba gets more watered down. The pick-up is NOT like caffeine. There IS some caffeine, but it's not the main ingredient. There's all kinds of information out there on all the health benefits like anti-oxidants and so on. Vitamins, minerals, etc.. It's not an empty booster with no nutritional value.

So, what's the buzz like?..lol. Okay so after drinking yerba mate, I start to feel a sense of well-being. Sort of like drinking a small amount of kava. It's actually a sort of mellow feeling. No road raging or panic over being late in the mornings. Joking about bumper stickers if you're carpooling, or just enjoying some inside jokes with yourself!..lol. It's like taking the edge off the usual stress. Yet, at the same time I feel energetic. Getting busy on emails and things I've been putting off, once I get to the office. I seem to be drinking less kava during the day and saving that for evenings.

I've noticed that some days, it feels like I may have trouble getting to sleep. Yet, sleep still comes. I've also noticed that I wake up easier. Which is huge for me as I am NOT a morning person..lol. My biggest concern right now is a possible elevated heart rate. The nice thing is, there's no real tiredness associated with the mellow feeling. It's almost like caffeinated kava!..lol.

Again, I'm new to this and sort of feeling my way around it. I drink about 1/2 cup of yerba a day. It's about 50 grams worth which is the recommended serving amount listed on the bag. I may start drinking two cups a day and see how that works out.
 
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