Learn which kinds of kava are safe.

Kava is a drink (herbal tea) or wet paste made from the Kava plant, usually from its root. It plays a major role in the local cultures of Pacific Islands and is a common drink among the islanders. While it is mildly psychoactive, all you can get from it is the reduced stress level and vivid dreams, unless you try to drink a gallon or so of the kava tea (don't worry, you'll nauseate first). Kava is not addictive and until recently it was one of the important exports of many smaller Pacific islands.

The problems started when kava had became an FDA suspect - there were several people across the United States and Canada has suffered liver toxicity and liver failures after using dietary supplement containing kava. As the result, FDA issued a warning about the possible side-effects of kava and the Canadian government completely barred the kava trade.

What happened? Why did the North Americans suffer from liver toxicity while there was no indication of such problems among locals? The answer is simple and, surprisingly enough, does not include any conspiracy theory, though there are several local governments as well as the U.S. government agencies involved in the dispute.

Local kava drinks are made traditionally out of the roots, discarding all other parts of the plant. And, as recent researches confirmed, the roots are perfectly safe for humans. However, when kava became a mass-produced commodity, the manufacturers decide to use the leaves, too - they contain much more psychoactive substances. And only this mass-made kava cause any problems. Due to the recent researches, it seems that the leaves probably contain dangerous toxins in addition to psychoactive substances.

Here's the bottom line: Kava is perfectly safe, not-addictive part of a diet, but only as long as you can confirm that it is made only from the Kava roots. This means that, unfortunately, no industrial kava can be treated as 100 per cent safe. Only if it was made on the islands themselves, the danger is minimal.

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