Hi all,
Last November I started drinking kava tea made from powder I purchased from a reputable online source. My hope was that it would help me with my anxiety issues.
I'm not sure I sensed any improvement as far as anxiety, however after a week or so I started feeling a slight discomfort in the liver area. Having read about the reported liver issues supposedly caused by kava, I told my doctor about it, and she recommended a break from kava and to have tests done to see what was going on. It turned out my liver numbers were slightly elevated:
AST 38 U/L (normal range: 0 - 37 U/L)
ALT 72 U/L (normal range: 0 - 60 U/L)
I had never had any liver issues and I rarely consume alcohol.
I repeated the tests after four weeks of no kava use, and the numbers dropped down to normal:
AST 26 U/L (normal range: 0 - 37 U/L)
ALT 41 U/L (normal range: 0 - 60 U/L).
I had read a lot about kava before I started using it, and most of those who consume it say it doesn't cause them any issues, so I'm not sure how to interpret all this.
I have stopped using kava for the time being, but I would gladly start again if I could figure out a way to avoid these issues.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Last November I started drinking kava tea made from powder I purchased from a reputable online source. My hope was that it would help me with my anxiety issues.
I'm not sure I sensed any improvement as far as anxiety, however after a week or so I started feeling a slight discomfort in the liver area. Having read about the reported liver issues supposedly caused by kava, I told my doctor about it, and she recommended a break from kava and to have tests done to see what was going on. It turned out my liver numbers were slightly elevated:
AST 38 U/L (normal range: 0 - 37 U/L)
ALT 72 U/L (normal range: 0 - 60 U/L)
I had never had any liver issues and I rarely consume alcohol.
I repeated the tests after four weeks of no kava use, and the numbers dropped down to normal:
AST 26 U/L (normal range: 0 - 37 U/L)
ALT 41 U/L (normal range: 0 - 60 U/L).
I had read a lot about kava before I started using it, and most of those who consume it say it doesn't cause them any issues, so I'm not sure how to interpret all this.
I have stopped using kava for the time being, but I would gladly start again if I could figure out a way to avoid these issues.
Any ideas?
Thanks.