What is KAVA????
"Kava Root (the only part of the plant that is used) is largely employed as a celebratory drink much in the same way that alcohol is used in the West. It helps mark momentous occasions such as weddings, public festivals, political powwows and holidays, and it is even used in ceremonies honoring the dead. Unlike alcohol, kava does not produce or stimulate aggression. It does not condemn the user to a dreaded hangover, unlike alcohol. Alcohol literally kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, and Kava, when properly harvested, has never actually hurt anyone. Kava has even been known to help reduce alcohol consumption!
Many people find other uses for kava, including many medicinal ones. It’s interesting to note that kava has been shown to help ease anxiety, depression as well as producing a restful sleep. It is used by athletes, businessmen and diplomats to help “take the edge off” and focus concentration. Widely prescribed throughout Oceania and Europe to treat hyperactivity in children, it has also been used to aid children who have difficulty sleeping on occasion.
Kava Root was actually becoming more popular than Prozac in Europe and we here at Kava dot com, while doing our best to remain neutral, feel as though kava’s encroachment on pharmaceutical sales deeply concerned the drug companies. In turn, they became determined to do their best to tarnish the spotless reputation of kava – an ancient, safe and effective herbal supplement!
Much disinformation has been spread concerning kava and liver toxicity. The truth of the matter is that as the popularity of Kava grew in the early 2000′s, unscrupulous manufacturers used the potentially poisonous tops and leaves of kava plants in their kava supplements, thus setting off a chain reaction of rumor and speculation worldwide. Unfortunately, unjustified bans on kava subsequently spread across the world." Makaira Kealoha
Kava or kava-kava (Piper methysticum) (Piperrr: Latin for 'pepper', methysticum: (Latinized) Greek for 'intoxicating') is a crop of the western Pacific.
The name kava(-kava) is from Tongan and Marquesan; other names for kava include ʻawa (Hawaiʻi), ava (Samoa), yaqona (Fiji), and sakau (Pohnpeii).
The roots of the plant are used to produce a drink with sedative and anesthetic properties. Kava is consumed throughout the Pacific Ocean cultures of Polynesia, including Hawaii, Vanuatu, Melanesia and some parts of Micronesia. Kava is sedating and is primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity. Its active ingredients are called kavalactones. A Cockrane Collaboration Review of Systematic review of its evidence concluded it was likely to be more effective than placebo at treating short-term social anxiety. Safety concerns have been raised over liver toxicity, largely due to the use of stems and leaves by supplement makers, as opposed to solely the root of the plant as dictated by traditional uses. However, based on a retrospective study of retained P. methysticum drug materials in Germany, the alkaloid pipermethystine, occurring to about 0.2% in the leaves, is an unlikely cause for the observed hepatotoxicity.
