The bad effects on my stomach and bowel

[Pzk]

I know this is a common issue for some people. For me it is becoming more serious now, too.

It seems the more often I drink, even with brakes in between (atm it is 2x a week) my stomach and bowel react bad. Now that I drink my friday kava I almost had to vomit from the last sip I did.
I don't know this from the past. But I saw it coming, because the last weeks somehow my stomach and bowel had after effects even the days without kava.
Well the hard truth seems to be, my body doesn't want it any more or I should limit it to some special occasions.

But is there some stuff you can do to avoid it somehow? I know eating before isn't good for strong effects, but perhaps it is better for the stomach? Perhaps using milk / soy milk instead of just pure water? Perhaps something sweet, perhaps sugar helps? I don't think it is just the taste (which isn't a huge issue for me, but not nice as well).

 

[OzKava]

Hard to help without knowing:

• Are you well hydrated before you begin your kava session?
• What type of kava are you drinking (medium grind root, micronised, instant)?
• If you use medium grind root do you strain the mixture and if so, what do you use for straining?
• What cultivar?
• What dose? (e.g. 25g in 400ml water)
• Is your water room temperature of do you use warm/hot water?
• How many shells does your mixture make?
• What is the interval between shells?
• Do you have a chaser following each shell (e.g. soft drink)?

You may also want to look at this post on the interactions between some medications and kava.

Cheers,
Oz

 

[Pzk]

Thank you for your answer. I know kava since 2020 but had a couple of month breaks here and there. Nothing changed. No problems in the past.

Normally I take medium grind and a nutmilk bag to strain. It doesn't depend on the strain so much it seems, because I felt it becomes worse and worse with 4 different strains from two different shops. Normally I use 30-40gr for about 400ml. I don't like the kava weak - the taste to me is harder than a strong "milky" mix.

 

[OzKava]

Thank you for your answer. I know kava since 2020 but had a couple of month breaks here and there. Nothing changed. No problems in the past.

Normally I take medium grind and a nutmilk bag to strain. It doesn't depend on the strain so much it seems, because I felt it becomes worse and worse with 4 different strains from two different shops. Normally I use 30-40gr for about 400ml. I don't like the kava weak - the taste to me is harder than a strong "milky" mix.

@Pzk Given your answer, about all I can suggest is replacing your nut milk bag with a strainer bag that is 75 micron and to have some soft drink, or some snack food, after every shell. Until the new strainer bag arrives, you may benefit from sterilising your existing nut milk bag. Good luck.

Oz

 

[TrevC]

I know this is a common issue for some people. For me it is becoming more serious now, too.

It seems the more often I drink, even with brakes in between (atm it is 2x a week) my stomach and bowel react bad. Now that I drink my friday kava I almost had to vomit from the last sip I did.
I don't know this from the past. But I saw it coming, because the last weeks somehow my stomach and bowel had after effects even the days without kava.
Well the hard truth seems to be, my body doesn't want it any more or I should limit it to some special occasions.

But is there some stuff you can do to avoid it somehow? I know eating before isn't good for strong effects, but perhaps it is better for the stomach? Perhaps using milk / soy milk instead of just pure water? Perhaps something sweet, perhaps sugar helps? I don't think it is just the taste (which isn't a huge issue for me, but not nice as well).

I have IBS and have battled stomach issues and, with the gut-brain connection, have some fairly intense "impending doom" feelings when things are moving around in my stomach. It's like I can eat something and tell you where it is in the GI tract - super sensitive.

At my worst, I was toss-n-washing K@ still, and the GI issues seriously got my attention.

Today, I'm not having those issues. Here's what I changed:

- (Not applicable to you, but putting here for completeness Started soaking K@ in a Ball jar of 160-degree water before consuming. (Alternately, or in addition, consider enzymes containing "Cellulase" may help break down the cellulose if it's giving you trouble. Leafy material can be tough on the stomach.)
- Started taking Magnesium Glycinate not just at night (in my "Calm Mag"), but in the morning.
(K@ being a partial agonist on the mu opioid receptor can cause constipation, so I take more magnesium than normal.)
- Started adding ELECTROLYTES to my water. "LMNT" brand, but I think there are homemade recipes mentioned in the forum.
(I drink somewhere around a gallon of water a day. You can find yourself wizzing all day and this apparently can have a diminishing effect on salts/minerals.)
The most SHOCKING part: MY DERMO WENT AWAY.
** If I were to show you pictures of the bottom of my feet prior to this, it would not make sense that they could even physically recover. My feet looked BAD. Cracked all around. I'm talking... ashamed to take my socks off in front of anyone. ROUGH. Now I don't even have the ashy sides and arms. The only sign is the slight dryness to my hands. **
- More recently I've started using a finer strainer bag. This gets recommended often and I overlook it - it does make a difference!
(I save the leftovers/macas especially when I use a finer bag, because there's naturally still more left than if I use my larger micron bag.)

There is an old antidepressant (I forget the classification right off hand, but it's not technically an SSRI or SNRI) called Amitryptylene.
My doctor prescribed it to me over a year back, saying it was a "chill pill for the gut".
It seemed to help, but not as dramatically as the magnesium+water+electrolytes+better filtering.

Wishing you health and happiness!

T

 

[Pzk]

I have IBS and have battled stomach issues and, with the gut-brain connection, have some fairly intense "impending doom" feelings when things are moving around in my stomach. It's like I can eat something and tell you where it is in the GI tract - super sensitive.

At my worst, I was toss-n-washing K@ still, and the GI issues seriously got my attention.

Today, I'm not having those issues. Here's what I changed:

- (Not applicable to you, but putting here for completeness Started soaking K@ in a Ball jar of 160-degree water before consuming. (Alternately, or in addition, consider enzymes containing "Cellulase" may help break down the cellulose if it's giving you trouble. Leafy material can be tough on the stomach.)
- Started taking Magnesium Glycinate not just at night (in my "Calm Mag"), but in the morning.
(K@ being a partial agonist on the mu opioid receptor can cause constipation, so I take more magnesium than normal.)
- Started adding ELECTROLYTES to my water. "LMNT" brand, but I think there are homemade recipes mentioned in the forum.
(I drink somewhere around a gallon of water a day. You can find yourself wizzing all day and this apparently can have a diminishing effect on salts/minerals.)
The most SHOCKING part: MY DERMO WENT AWAY.
** If I were to show you pictures of the bottom of my feet prior to this, it would not make sense that they could even physically recover. My feet looked BAD. Cracked all around. I'm talking... ashamed to take my socks off in front of anyone. ROUGH. Now I don't even have the ashy sides and arms. The only sign is the slight dryness to my hands. **
- More recently I've started using a finer strainer bag. This gets recommended often and I overlook it - it does make a difference!
(I save the leftovers/macas especially when I use a finer bag, because there's naturally still more left than if I use my larger micron bag.)

There is an old antidepressant (I forget the classification right off hand, but it's not technically an SSRI or SNRI) called Amitryptylene.
My doctor prescribed it to me over a year back, saying it was a "chill pill for the gut".
It seemed to help, but not as dramatically as the magnesium+water+electrolytes+better filtering.

Wishing you health and happiness!

T

Wow! Great input! I don't know what's up with my gut and bowl, yet. Something is going on independent on Kava, it seems. But sometimes people also develop intolerance with time towards some stuff. That's why I thought. I take K@ also. It took around 4 days now (Friday was the last kava day) until my bowel and my "psyche" cooled down to normal again. I have to think, that bowel and brain are connected, it would explain a lot going on since many years. I wanted to start to look what I can do to clean my bowel and have some good chemistry within my bowel. I am hypersensitive to a lot of stuff and I always wonder why. I already thought my blood brain barrier is broke ... if this would be possible ;-)

 

[Pzk]

Not applicable to you, but putting here for completeness Started soaking K@ in a Ball jar of 160-degree water before consuming.

I had to convert this to "celsius". Really that hot? What does it? Is the taste "OK" afterwards?

 

[Pzk]

Tried it with hot water today, like you said. 160°.

It is very slimy, it was never like that. And even though I used a bit more water, this is very potent. Seems like the hot water can extract more ingredients in the first wash.

Slimy fresh kava...

Edit:

I have a high power blender. Perhaps it isn't slimy when you knead it- but who wants to knead 160 degrees

I took the hot water in the blender with kava, blendet immediately for a couple of seconds. Then let it soak for 10 minutes or so, blend high power for a minute, let it rest again and then a 2 minutes high power blending after another 10 minutes +/-.

 

[Pzk]

Holy... I can barely walk- you don't realize until you stand up... mighty roots

Long time ago I was walking that kind of way using kava.... lol

 

[Orz[EST]]

Kava strainer bag improves quality and maybe allowing the larger solid particles to settle is a good thing that further improves the quality. Decantation, principally.

 

[Groggy]

Tried it with hot water today, like you said. 160°.

To improve the taste, always use cold water, it's night and day.

Kava has always been traditionally served cool/cold, we can always learn from tradition, they exist and are repeated for a reason.

 

[Pzk]

Yes @Krunʞy - that's what I always did. But I tried it, because if it helps with the stomach and bowel, why not?

Until now I am not sure if it is better or not. But the potency is great and the slimy is reminding me of videos from fresh kava produced in a special kind of way.

Also I realized, that it seems, that after 2 washes this kava is almost empty. With cold water I do 2 washes and put the rest in the freezer and use it a 3rd or even 4th time.

But this way it is more potent and I wouldn't use it more than 2 times.

 

[Groggy]

Yes @Krunʞy - that's what I always did. But I tried it, because if it helps with the stomach and bowel, why not?

Until now I am not sure if it is better or not. But the potency is great and the slimy is reminding me of videos from fresh kava produced in a special kind of way.

Also I realized, that it seems, that after 2 washes this kava is almost empty. With cold water I do 2 washes and put the rest in the freezer and use it a 3rd or even 4th time.

But this way it is more potent and I wouldn't use it more than 2 times.

If it works for you, it works!

 

[Pzk]

Update:

I am mostly carnivore since 2 weeks. 2 Weeks before I already did low carb paleo. I am not sure, but due to being ill for a while, I guess I am already in ketosis.

On top I am using bone broth every morning as breakfast. It should/could heal leaky gut. It seems to be very effective. I already feel so much better. Last Kava was on monday, and my bowel is much better than month ago after taking kava.

But I also took less kava and watch the reactions of my body.

If people struggle with bowel issues, take a look into bone broth as breakfast and for cooking in general!

I wouldn't want to say everyone with bowel or autoimmune issues should go carnivore, but bone broth

 

[jewalker7842]

Make sure you do not have a hole in your strainer it can cause all sorts of bowel problems. Look at going to a 50 or 75 micron bag. Make sure the kava is cold as warm kava can cause some nausea. Try drinking some ginger beer or having a peppermint candy as well. Try some different kava too! There is a certain cultivar at a certain point can make me gag and feel nauseas. I don't have that problem with other cultivars, but that is just me. I'm not mention who because it is an awesome company and they are very reputable. It's just my reaction to it.