Nakamal at Home has consistently carried a very diverse set of Kavas from around the South Pacific. They may be the only vendor who has sold Kavas from Vanuatu, Papa New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Fiji, and even Hawaii (at one point).
Tongan Kava is a very creamy, relaxing brew that takes the edge off and is perfect as an everyday Kava. It is one of my all-time favorites and I could drink this stuff all day, every day and be a perfectly happy Kavasseur.
Hello, I already wanted to thank you for your blog, I ordered the "Tongan kava Pride" by kava rex, and "Honey Lemon Kava" by paradise kava to treat my anxiety. Except that the two products have made me exactly the opposite effect! enormous crisis of anxiety and paranoia, like cannabis! you have an explanation for that? I am under benzodiazepines, but these drugs are destroying me, and I looking for an alternative, so if you know a kava that actually acts on anxiety, I'm listening, thank you.
ReplyDeleteHey, just a recommendation, try out kratom. I have crippling anxiety, and though I love kava, kratom finally made me happy. If you want more information, feel free to email me!
DeleteI see that this was from a decade ago, but I just feel the need to warn people. As beneficial as it absolutely can be for an opioid addict who is trying to switch to a weaker opioid in order to taper off, kratom IS an opioid-containing plant. There’s a lot of misinfo out there, but that is an objective fact. Unlike kava, you absolutely can become physically addicted to kratom as you can to any opioid, & that will lead to a LOT more anxiety in your life. Do not treat these as if they were on the same level of safety/risk. Do not treat them as interchangeable natural anxiety remedies or something… If you aren’t already on opioids, I STRONGLY recommend avoiding kratom altogether. Because, best case scenario, yeah, okay, you feel physically good for the duration of the dose & then manage to resist the temptation to take it repeatedly. Worst case, you turn out to be one of the people for whom opioids would be your problem substance, & you instantly become infatuated with those effects, & you keep taking it, & before you know it you’ve been addicted to opioids for years, & might even be tempted to go to more dangerous ones… That is NOT a pleasant path, NOT good for your anxiety, & in the worst scenario you could literally get a fake oxy pill laced with fentanyl or a bag of heroin laced with fentanyl on your first go & end up dead before your 20th or 30th or 40th birthday just because you got into opioids. And yes, that risk exists because of prohibition— addiction would still have all kinds of terrible consequences, but it would at least be a lot safer & more stable & possible to live a long & decent life despite an addiction if these substances were legally regulated for purity & identity instead of being sold on the street, COMMONLY laced with potentially deadly fentanyl at this point… But that doesn’t change the reality that, because they’re criminalized, because addiction is stigmatized & it’s extremely hard for a lot of addicts to seek help, & so on, it IS an extremely isolating, scary, & dangerous environment to end up addicted to opioids in, on top of the standard health consequences of daily opioid use.
DeleteAnyway, there’s no benefit to potentially introducing someone to these addictive substances when they haven’t been before. Especially not in a way where you don’t even warn them that these are opioids we’re talking about— that the risk of physical addiction is very real & if they take it frequently that IS what will happen… I hope they found whatever anxiety treatment/coping mechanisms they need to get by without such things. And if the right variety of kava (which isn’t physically addictive, & is seemingly quite safe as long as you make sure there are no stems/leaves in it) helps, that’s great. But in terms of risk, that’s a world away from recommending the use of an opioid to self-medicate one’s anxiety. One should still be cautious, listen to one’s body (stop if you are having skin reactions or other alarming side effects), & avoid leaning too heavily on it, in the place of proper coping mechanisms. But it at least seemingly CAN be used for anxiety, in a way that isn’t going to lead down a spiral of addiction.
Kavasutra New York City is open in the east village
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