Some plants have a bad rap. That could be due to decades of misinformation, federal criminality, or off-kilter regulatory bureau or agency limitations for one reason or another. I’m no doctor. And I’m not qualified to tell you what’s good for your health in terms of consumption and what’s not. But I think we can all agree that sometimes the overarching narrative is wrong. That’s what’s going on with noble kava, or Kava Rhizome and Root. According to a recent Monograph from The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP), anyway.
Certain botanicals and plants have been known to help with things like anxiety. Not on a clinical level, but on a user-to-user experience level. However, and this is language directly from the authors, “based on an abundance of clinical and pre-clinical studies, meta analyses, and systematic reviews, kava remains one of the safest and most effective botanical anti-anxiety herbs we have.”
They also explicitly mention that kava has been used successfully for depression and sleeplessness, or insomnia. It also shows some anticancer potential. That’s pretty big news, honestly.
What else does the report share?
Source: By Jaejay77 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0The message provided by the monograph underscores what Pacific Islanders have known for centuries: when used appropriately and responsibly, noble kava is safe. It affirms that there are few common adverse effects from high-volume, long-term use. A notable one is ‘kava dermopathy’ (kani kani), which is a reversible and rare skin condition experienced by some individuals.
More importantly, the Monograph also lays out large-scale reviews to help demonstrate, or rather alleviate, concerns with hepatotoxicity. It has been said that kava negatively affects certain organs in the body. That belief led to near-global restrictions two decades ago. Yet the related issues are exceedingly rare, often idiosyncratic, and associated with the use of organic solvent extracts and non-noble kava use. “Both traditionally prepared noble kava and safe, food-grade CO₂ extractions have consistently shown strong safety profiles when consumed as intended.”
Via a massive collection and decades of clinical trial data, including traditional knowledge, the Monoscope posits that noble kava compares favorably to many commonly used foods and dietary supplements, as long as it is consumed responsibly. But the message is clear, and the research consistently finds that adverse effects are rare and mild. They’re often indistinguishable from placebo, as well. Noble kava’s status as a safe, pro-social beverage when consumed responsibly should be the highlight.
What does this mean in simple terms?
Noble kava, or kava, is not as dangerous as we’ve been led to believe. “This monograph is a turning point,” says Douglas La Rose, Executive Director of the Kava Coalition.
“It brings together decades of clinical evidence, traditional knowledge, and modern science to affirm the safety and cultural importance of noble kava. For policymakers, it offers a roadmap to craft regulations that ensure global access to noble kava products, safeguard legal access for Pacific Island diaspora communities, and validate noble kava as a safe food that consumers worldwide should be able to enjoy.”
The release of the AHP Kava Rhizome and Root monograph will serve as a resource for governments, public health authorities, and industry stakeholders worldwide as they “seek balanced, evidence-based approaches to regulating and promoting noble kava.”
The data to make your own decisions
I’ve never been one to let the government and overreaching health agencies make my decisions for me. No, I’m not injecting alternative medicine into my veins or calling for the use of mysterious substances. Nor am I making any general health claims, or ever intend to. I just think we should all make up our own minds, good or bad, and that means having the data and information to make those informed decisions rather than letting someone else do it and tell us what we should be doing. Reports like this Monograph help push that idea forward, giving us all more informed, collective information to make those kinds of decisions about our health.
The data and information from this story was originally shared by the Kava Coalition.
The Kava Coalition is an alliance of noble kava consumers, experts, and industry leaders committed to advancing kava education, advocacy, and choice. By promoting responsible consumption, market transparency, and cultural respect, the Coalition works to ensure that noble kava is widely recognized, accessible, and valued as a safe, pro-social beverage.
