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Millions of people in the United States struggle with anxiety every year, and countless different medications for it are available. Plenty of potential natural remedies for anxiety also exist, but how do you know what’s right for you?
Mental health in the United States has reached lower levels than ever before. Meanwhile, the popularity of organic remedies is at an all time high. More and more people are turning to nature for aid, and there’s certainly lots to be found.
Lately, an herb called kava has been gaining popularity since many people find it helpful for anxiety symptoms. But what actually is kava, and what does it do for your body? What are the best ways to take it?
If you’re interested in giving kava a try, keep reading to find out whether it could be the right fit for you!
What is Kava?
Before trying out any new medication or supplement, you should always do your research. In a nutshell, “kava” comes from the root of a shrub by the same name, also called Piper methysticum.
Kava has grown very popular in recent years for both medicinal and recreational use, but the plant has a rich history, too.
Pacific Islanders have used kava for centuries, traditionally by crushing, chewing, or grinding up the root and then soaking it in cold water. The resulting drink was used in ceremonies, as they believed it could help people bond and communicate with spirits.
They used kava for medicinal purposes in several ways, too, including alleviating pain.
Kava is considered a depressant, like alcohol, since it slows down the speed at which messages pass between your body and your brain. The reason why kava can help with anxiety is the active ingredient kavalactones.
Kavalactones are muscle relaxants that can cause people who take kava to become relaxed, euphoric, and talkative— more similarities with alcohol, though research suggests that kava doesn’t negatively impact your mental capacity.
Kava is known by many other names in different areas of the world. Waka, lewana, yaqona, grog, sakau, ‘awa, ‘ava, wati, and kava kava— all of these refer to the same beneficial plant.
It also comes in many different forms— powders, capsules, extracts, and drops are all popular ways of taking it in addition to beverages. You can even put it into tea! Just make sure to be careful with your doses, since 250mg per day is the limit.
Research is still ongoing into the benefits of kava, but the biggest reason for kava’s current huge popularity is its potential as treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Kava for Anxiety and Other Benefits
We discussed kava’s history as a medicinal substance, but only recently has its potential for treating anxiety been explored in depth. Researchers discovered that the active ingredient kavain can affect your mood receptors.
Quite a few studies have been done on kava for anxiety and stress relief, and though more research certainly needs to be done the current results are promising.
Older studies, such as one on rats that showed similarities in effects between kava and Valium, have connected improvement in both mood and cognitive function to kava. The latter is particularly intriguing, since some anxiety medications have been reported to decrease cognition.
Kava seems to be less addictive and invasive that some other anxiety medications, and so a lot of people have been tempted to try it out. Whether or not you’ve tried other medications for your anxiety, ask your doctor if kava might be right for you.
A treatment review performed in 2018 shows perhaps the most promising recent proof that kava can help with symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, though the growing popularity of the plant will definitely prompt further research.
Plenty of other natural remedies for anxiety also exist for those who aren’t interested in any new medication or supplements. Exercise, for example, has been found to help relieve people of anxiety symptoms and feelings of stress.
Relaxation exercises specifically can also help, since people who struggle with anxiety will often tense their muscles without noticing. Lessening tension can also help to decrease stress levels.
To that end, meditation is another common way people cope with anxiety. If your thoughts are getting to be too much, give yourself time to sit in silence with them so that you can unpack the emotions behind them.
Lots of different styles of meditation exist. If none help you to work through your anxiety, you could also consider trying journaling. Some people benefit from putting their thoughts on a page as opposed to letting them run rampant in their head.
Time management is another good strategy to have if you’re looking to get a leg up on your anxiety. Dealing with a lot of stress is tough, so you should try to prevent stressful circumstances for yourself when possible.
Kava can definitely help with stress relief, but you shouldn’t rely on it to single-handedly get rid of your anxiety! You’ll have to put in the effort and develop other healthy habits, as well!
Kava also has several other benefits, however. One of the most well-known is how it helps with insomnia. It has been found to help people fall asleep, and also achieve a higher quality rest.
If anxiety is the thing keeping you awake, perhaps kava could help you kill two birds with one stone!
Believe it or not, kava has also been found to help with premenstrual syndrome— much more commonly referred to as PMS —and menopausal symptoms.
Though not much research has been done on this subject, many women claim that kava can help with the cramps and mood-swings that come with their menstrual cycle.
Lots of different factors can determine how kava will affect you, however, so it’s important to understand this right along with the benefits. Always be careful about dosage, especially as it relates to your weight.
You should also be especially careful if it’s your first time taking kava, and possibly start with a smaller dose, since you never know how your system may react to a new medication.
Side Effects
Before trying kava for anxiety, you should be aware of the potential side effects, as is true when introducing any new medicine or supplement into your routine.
If you take too large of a dose, you may feel drowsy, nauseous, or feverish, as well as fatigued the day after use. Physical symptoms can include lessened muscle control due to the increased dopamine levels and red eyes.
Avoid operating heavy machinery while taking kava. Some studies have also suggested that driving with it in your system can increase your risk of being in an accident, so this is very important to be aware of.
Using kava on a long-term basis may lead to other adverse effects. For example, since it artificially increases your dopamine levels, the way your body naturally produces dopamine could be affected, resulting in mood swings and even apathetic feelings.
You may also notice drier skin, shorter breath, and weight loss as far as the physical impact on your body goes. Kava has the potential to reduce appetites, which can lead to malnutrition.
This in turn weakens your immune system, and can make you more susceptible to things like infection. Definitely important to be aware of this.
Certain studies have also connected long-term kava use with liver damage. One of the main causes of this is mixing kava with alcohol, which you should never do.
In fact, you should avoid lots of other substances when kava is in your system. Kava and benzodiazepines— another popular anxiety medication —when taken together can act as a sedative, so mixing them is a very bad idea.
This is why we established earlier that if you are on another anxiety medication already, you shouldn’t introduce kava into your system as well. If you want to try out a different method of alleviating your anxiety symptoms, consult with your doctor.
For that matter, you should talk to a medical health professional if you are taking any other prescription medication, even if it is completely unrelated to your anxiety.
There’s always a possibility that what you’re taking could interact poorly with kava, and it’s always better to know beforehand so you can prepare.
Medications for Parkinson’s disease, for example, have been found to have particularly negative results when mixed with kava, though there would be no reason to anticipate that they would conflict with each other.
Since it has been connected to liver injury in the past, definitely avoid taking kava if you have any liver disease or condition. Children under eighteen years of age should also avoid kava, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding people.
If you do decide to take kava, small doses and breaks between use are definitely the way to go. Better to start in moderation, even if it lessens the effects, than to take too much too fast and expose yourself to the related risk.
Dr. Emil’s Elite 5HTP Plus Supplements
If you’re interested in testing out kava and seeing if it’s the right fit for you, you might want to try Dr. Emil’s Elite 5HTP Plus Supplements. This brand new product would be the perfect way to ease yourself into kava for its anxiety assistance.
Every ingredient in this supplement is geared towards creating a state of relaxation, one of which happens to be the kava root. Each capsule can help with stress relief and overall mood improvement.
A bottle of sixty dietary supplements only costs $34.95, and this gives you a thirty day supply. The Elite 5HTP Plus Supplements are an evolution of our original and very popular 5HTP Plus Supplements, which sold over 500,000 bottles.
These capsules contain the same 200mg each of 5-Hydroxytryptophan and 10mg of Vitamin B6. The original supplements had 20mg of S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine, while these contain half as much.
However, our Elite version has more active ingredients— namely, the kava root that you’re reading for. Each capsule contains 100mg of kava, so if you take two capsules a day as instructed you would still be 50mg below the maximum daily dose.
By all means, however, start with just one capsule a day if you’re worried about the potential side effects.
Another ingredient present in the new supplements is 100mg of magnesium, which can help with stomach and headaches among several other issues. Microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, and hypromellose.
Everything in these Elite 5HTP Supplements was included to help relieve you of stress and anxiety, and the kava root specifically has elevated our original, successful formula to have many added bonuses.
If you’re wondering whether kava might be the right remedy for your anxiety, why not try out these supplements? The blend of ingredients could prove very helpful.
