I’ve mostly considered kava in discussions of insomnia and anxiety, so this is very helpful thanks 😊. And there is a lot of overlap between symptoms that people drink alcohol to relieve and potential effects of kava.
And that pleasant burn we feel when swallowing alcohol? It’s actually a sensation of damage, but we’ve grown to associate it with the pleasure that comes next!
Fascinating point about the sensation of burn we feel with alcohol! Kava certainly doesn’t have the flavor profiles of various alcoholic beverages, but the effects are quite pleasant once you get used to the earthy taste.
Love this. Can you discuss the side effects? In Fiji it’s called kani. The face swelling the next day. And after regular use, the scales skin. My family would love to find a way to enjoy yaqona again without these side effects.
Thanks! These side effects tend to come with regular long-term use. Based on what I could find in the literature, these side effects go away with cessation of use. I'm not sure if stopping for a period before trying moderate use again will help with this.
Yes they do go away with cessation. My poor husband can’t enjoy yaqona anymore unless he has nowhere to go the next day. Because his face gets so swollen and painful. He’s Fijian and has drank it most of his life, but the side effects have become worse in recent years. I guess his body just reacts to it differently now. I don’t get the face swelling, but do the get the scaley skin if I drink it regularly.
Thanks for sharing this! Good to know on personal experiences with the side effects. Sorry to hear he can't enjoy it anymore due to the side effects. It is such a special plant.
[Sorry, Tom - I somehow deleted your comment while trying to edit mine and can't get it to come back. ack! ] Here's my response to your comment:
The genetic history is really interesting. The wild progenitor is Piper wichmannii. Here's a nice paper on genetic variation in P. methysticum and P. wichmannii. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5093396.pdf
I hope to travel to Micronesia and Polynesia sometime in the next few years to learn more about these and other medicinal plants in the region.
I’ve mostly considered kava in discussions of insomnia and anxiety, so this is very helpful thanks 😊. And there is a lot of overlap between symptoms that people drink alcohol to relieve and potential effects of kava.
And that pleasant burn we feel when swallowing alcohol? It’s actually a sensation of damage, but we’ve grown to associate it with the pleasure that comes next!
Fascinating point about the sensation of burn we feel with alcohol! Kava certainly doesn’t have the flavor profiles of various alcoholic beverages, but the effects are quite pleasant once you get used to the earthy taste.
Love this. Can you discuss the side effects? In Fiji it’s called kani. The face swelling the next day. And after regular use, the scales skin. My family would love to find a way to enjoy yaqona again without these side effects.
Thanks! These side effects tend to come with regular long-term use. Based on what I could find in the literature, these side effects go away with cessation of use. I'm not sure if stopping for a period before trying moderate use again will help with this.
Yes they do go away with cessation. My poor husband can’t enjoy yaqona anymore unless he has nowhere to go the next day. Because his face gets so swollen and painful. He’s Fijian and has drank it most of his life, but the side effects have become worse in recent years. I guess his body just reacts to it differently now. I don’t get the face swelling, but do the get the scaley skin if I drink it regularly.
Thanks for sharing this! Good to know on personal experiences with the side effects. Sorry to hear he can't enjoy it anymore due to the side effects. It is such a special plant.
[Sorry, Tom - I somehow deleted your comment while trying to edit mine and can't get it to come back. ack! ] Here's my response to your comment:
The genetic history is really interesting. The wild progenitor is Piper wichmannii. Here's a nice paper on genetic variation in P. methysticum and P. wichmannii. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5093396.pdf
I hope to travel to Micronesia and Polynesia sometime in the next few years to learn more about these and other medicinal plants in the region.