Safe delay between kava and alcohol intake ?

[kl.kavalero]

Hi folks,
i ve been drinking Kava tonight. 
And some friends are inviting me to drink a few beers tomorow night.It's said everywhere that alcohol and Kava don't mix well.
So what do you think ? Can i go out drinking a few pints tomorow night without risking my liver ?And then if i drink, how long  do you think i should wait to drink Kava again after an alcohol intake ?
Any idea or experience on the delay to observe between Kava and alcohol would be great !

 

[kl.Boredomkillz]

Before I started trying out Kava myself I remember a few times where some of my more Pacific Islander friends would talk about heading to a Kava bar one day only to see them the next day at another friends party kicking back with a beer in hand. I'm not advocating drinking it together, but as far as I see if you drink one or the other on any given night it doesn't seem like it causes any ill effects as I have seen people who have just done that. I believe I've read that you shouldn't do both together as doing both would require your liver to work harder, but then again its the same as telling someone they shouldn't drink more than a few beers because it would hurt their liver.



As far as I see it if you don't do it on the same night and don't do it very often in a row together as in Kava one night alcohol the next night rinse repeat, you should be fine. Just never take them together in the same day.

I'd like to note that I could be totally wrong as I only have anecdotal evidence to go on, perhaps someone more versed could correct me if they see a problem.

 

[kl.Boredomkillz]

For what its worth I just read a blog post from Kona Kava Farm and according to the article it is sometimes traditional to drink 1 alcoholic beverage before or after a Kava Ceremony. At least it seems traditional here in Hawaii as this is from Kona Kava Farm based on the big island. I remember reading sometime ago something that was along the lines of this same thought. I've actually been to a party for some Polynesian friends here whos family was serving both Kava and Alcohol. I was in high school back then and at the time it was not my place to try either substance, at least for alcohol. I'm pretty sure the men of the family were drinking both, alcohol from a cooler and Kava from a punch bowl.



Again I'm not saying its safe, but from my experience it seems sort of common place at least here in Hawaii at family parties. My guess is that with the whole Kava being bad for your liver scare that occured in Europe it is probably safer to just say that both should not be mixed together. The Kona Kava Farm blog says that if you were to drink alcohol with Kava it would definitely intensify the effects of the Alcohol which in many ways is a bad thing.



I'd just like to restate that I am in no way saying that it is okay, but from what I gather if you drink Kava one night and Drink Alcohol another you should be fine. I just thought sharing this extra bit of information I found would help and I've just been looking around the net and happen to have come across it.



Heres the post if your interested in seeing for yourself: http://www.konakavafarm.com/blog/?p=231

 

[kl.kavalero]

Thanks man !With your testimony and links at least i could go to my little party knowing that some locals do it like this too.Drank nothing stronger than a few glasses of wine, just felt more tired than usually afterward.
I've also been trying to find some study or scientific backup on this question. i might not be very good at it.

 

[kl.Boredomkillz]

NP I try to help when I can.



Some real scientific evidence would be for sure the best confirmation that it is fine, but as far as I know that kind of info seems hard to come by. From what I can tell the biggest scare between the two being together is the fact that doing to much of each at the same time would possibly overload your liver as that's where its all going to head as its being filtered out. As long as you know your getting your Kava from reputable sources that use only root material you should be fine because if not I'm sure drinking non root material with alcohol even on different days would be very problematic.



If anybody finds some real scientific evidence that would be great, no matter if its for or against what I speculate.