Are you suffering from stress which is bounding you to perform your daily tasks? Do you feel restless and pressurized even for the minor things? Do you fail to sleep at night and end up with insomnia? If the answers to these questions are yes then you are suffering from anxiety.
This is not a thing to get more worried about. The good news for you is that you can treat it yourself. Yes, you have heard it right.
This article will help you to understand that how Kava Kava works to treat anxiety and depression with scientific evidence.
Does Kava Kava help to treat anxiety?
Kava Kava is a native plant of the Western Pacific region. It is used to prepare a traditional drink which is alternative to tea and coffee. It has psychoactive properties which mainly involves treating mental problems.
For centuries, it has been a part of traditional medicine of various cultures. Kava has many therapeutic characteristics, first and most important is being a antispasmodics which relieves nervous stress.
A study on the aqueous solution of Kava was named as Kava anxiety-depression Spectrum Study (KADSS) which had 60 volunteers of depression.
Five Kava tablets were given to them per day and the results after three weeks were astonishing.
It proved to be a significant anxiolytic and anti-anxiety treatment for the clinical patients. It also helps to overcome severe mood swings which lead to mental disorders.
The Journal Of Alternative And Complementary Medicine has published research which provides a comprehensive review of Kava to be helpful for depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress.
Scientific evidence of Kava to treat anxiety
A detailed study by Adelphi University and Rutgers University in 2013 studies anxiolytic medications and the green alternatives.
They termed Benzodiazepines e.g. Valium, Xanax, etc to work for controlling serotonin by preventing the re-uptake of serotonin from synapse but these medicines fail to correct the lack of serotonin production.
The research offered various herbs to help for anxiety control, regarding Kava Kava to be the best for reducing stress.
A similar study by School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia studied the complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of physical and psychiatric symptoms and disorders in Western populations. They found Kava-Kava to be working best for mild to severe depression.
Research on herbal medicine’s affectivity for depression was reviewed by Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation, the USA which is published in Nutrition Journal explains the analysis of 24 published types of research.
Eight combination treatments and 2619 participants who were tested through various measures.
1786 patients were labeled to be suffering from anxiety and depression.
With randomized control trials, 71% of the patients showed a positive result for an herbal treatment. There were minimum or no side effects.
How to take Kava to cure stress?
Kava Kava is available in whole root form which can be used to make a drink of your choice. However, it may be of a mild or high concentration, with a personal choice.
The traditional recipe contains one tablespoon of the powdered Kava to be mixed with 1 cup water.
Kava Kava for anxiety has a different method to use. Commercially it is available as powder and supplement form which are carefully designed by authentic pharmaceutical companies.
With a general dose of minor stress to high dosage in high stress, Kava supplements help to overcome stress and depression.
Ideally, Kava root should be grounded to powder and mixed with the cold water. Later it should be carefully filtered and boiled for use.
What is the Kava dosage for anxiety?
Being a safe herbal choice, Kava has a different dosage to heal body stress which depends on the health status of the user.
The German Commission recommends the ideal dosage to be 60-120mg per day with no more than three months (without any other medical condition).
However, a general range is from 70mg to 300 mg of it which promotes cellular balance and a resting stage for the body.
Initially, a clinical research from 1919 studied 58 patients o anxiety who were given 70mg of Kava supplement which helped them to reduce the body stress at a significant rate. A comparison of this studies with the latest research.
The American Herbal Product Council has warned people to never exceed the daily kavalactones, the phytochemicals of Kava root, over 300mg per day.
For most of the people, 70mg works well as proved by the research but the new light dose for reducing the anxiety is prescribed to be between 150-250 mg which treats all types of stress.
For treating depression along with stress linked insomnia, Kavalactones of 180mg to 210mg should be taken one hour before going to bed as prescribed by Mosby (2008).
Is Kava a safe choice to be used for anxiety?
A few decades ago, Kava was available widely for chewing as an alternative remedy for anxiety, but the reports of side effects affected its sale. This lead to a ban on the fibrous root of Kava Kava for trade in USA, Germany, Canada, France and UK.
Kava supplements are not banned because of their precise dosage and the doubts of Kava Kava to be harmful were falsified by many types of research later on which regained the popularity of Kava Kava to be used for treating anxiety.
A study by medical center of the University of Maryland proved Kava supplements to be safe for use. It also strengthens that the dosage should not be self-induced but prescribed by a health physician. The most recent study by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council in 2015 proved Kava to be extremely beneficial for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (K-GAD).
To gain the maximum benefits of Kava for treating anxiety disorders and stress, the recommended measure are advised to be followed which involve safe dosage, the quality manufacturer and the consent of a health service provider prior the use of Kava Kava supplements or drink.
Benzodiazepines and Kava mainly have affinity for GABAa receptors and have little to do with serotonin, at least as a means for their effects. Would you mind clarifying this???
Really I don’t get why doctors lump depression & anxiety together when they need opposite treatments. Give an antidepressant to someone with anxiety [especially Prozac or Paxil with high dose fluoride] and your patient will be up on the roof taking out the neighbors with a rifle. Remember the warnings on the label: may cause suicidal or HOMICIDAL ideations.