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Kava Kava, Our Favorite PepperRead the article this discussion is about
This archived discussion is "read only". « Previous 1 2 3 Next » » Kassper - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Kava Kava In response to message posted by tootas:Tootas, You can also find many herbs in liquid. We got milk thistle and dandilion in liquid for our dog, and stevia in liquid for us. In a health food store the liquids should be next to the tablets and capsules. We buy all our vitamins and herbs online through Puritan's Pride. The quality and service is excellent, plus they have great sales. We just did the buy 2 get 3 free sale...we're stocked up for a while. hehe Check 'em out. :-D I just did a quick search and they do have Kava Kava in liquid, and it's on sale! -- posted by Kassper » mastiffs2005 - Thanks! In response to message posted by Kassper:You're too cool, Kass! Thanks so much. I always hate to recommend an on-line store because I haven't tried them... it's always best to hear from someone who recommends them because they're a satisfied customer I think it was Kim who asked yesterday about anyone who might write at lifetips.com... aren't you writing for them? She asked over in the fibro thread (I think) if you know anything. I couldn't remember if that's where you have your cancer site up or not... brain isn't working properly this week LOL Love & Hugs, -- posted by mastiffs2005 » tamara_peters - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Kava Kava Thanks a lot Kass. I will check that out now right now. What does the milk thistle and dandilion do for your dog?-- posted by tamara_peters » Kassper - Milk Thistle & Dandilion In response to message posted by tootas:Hey Tootas, The Milk Thistle and Dandilion were for her liver. Her blood had an excessive amount of calcium which pointed to a liver problem so our holistic vet suggested these two herbs to help with that. It did work for a while but we later found out that the excessive calicum was also due to cancer. Sadly, there was no curing her cancer. :-( -- posted by Kassper » tamara_peters - Re: Milk Thistle & Dandilion Hey Kass, I'm so sorry about your dog. I know how hard it is to lose them. I didn't even know there were holistic vets out there. This is all new to me so I do have a lot to learn. I checked out the Kava Kava and I am still debating about it. Thanks again for the info.
-- posted by tamara_peters » Kassper - Re: Re: Milk Thistle & Dandilion In response to message posted by tootas:If you're interested in holistic information for pets check out Animal Animal the Holistic Community. We found some great information that helped out our doggie. I love Kava Kava and St. John's Wort...take both when I go to bed to help me sleep...works like a charm. -- posted by Kassper » Goodelyfe - Kava kava My first taste of kava happened in 1965 during a visit to Fiji. It was at the Fijian Visitors Bureau in Suva. It look like mud in the tanu and tasted even worse.Years later, I was married to an ethnic Fijian woman. Through my brothers in law, I came to get a better appreciation of kava, now more correctly called by me as yagona [pronounced "yangona"] in its proper cultural context. Over many years I have consumed gallons of yagona - different types - waka, lewena and green. It is a social drink known to relax. But it is also an important part of the social glue within this region. When visiting friends, it is important to bring along a kilo of yagona as a sevusevu or gift offering. This is then infused using a tanu [that rather large wooden bowl] filled with water and a sulu [the Fijian skirt cloth] to act as an infuser. The yagona is then pounded in a mortar and pestle to create a fine powder which is then infused in water. Drinking it is a ritual requiring the individual to take the full contents of a coconut bowl [bilo] down the hatch in a single sip. This is usually followed by a great deal of chatting and singing until the next round. There is no doubt that it does relax the individual for sleep comes readily and easily after a few hours of drinking yagona. Now that it appears in a tablet form, I shudder at the loss of context. The culture surrounding the use of yagona is lost, the properties objectified and the use limited. That saddens me. The one thing that is lost by this method of removing this from the cultural context is examining the side effects of the drug, and there are some very negative side effects. For men, it is a loss of sexual ability. Performance drops off in direct proportion to the quantities taken. In Fiji this is the common complaint of their women. Yet another side effect is the occurrence of what is known as "snake skin", a particularly nasty skin condition that arises after many years of taking yagona. As the name suggests, the skin in soft areas, mainly the neck scales and peels like that of a snake. Seeing people suffering from snake skin is a pathetic sight. I mention the above for I have not seen any research upon the long term effects of taking the kavakava tablets. Furthermore, I have not seen any research which concentrates upon the known side effects of yagona in relation to the taking of the kavakava compound. For those enamored with kavakava, the above is a caveat. Once knowing the context, then it is easy to establish the veracity of some of the excited claims being made about the kavakava tablets. -- posted by Goodelyfe » mastiffs2005 - Re: Kava kava In response to message posted by Goodelyfe:Thank you for sharing your valuable and informative insight into this herb. I do agree that in the case of tradition, it would be a sad loss to the people who use this the way you describe. It would be horrible for it to be lost to them. For those of us who are not native to Fiji, I do not feel that we lose anything in the translation to the way we use the herb. It is not a part of most of our own traditions, and we shouldn't feel that it has to be if we have found a place to use it effectively for our own benefits... sleep is vital to all of us, after all... and I myself have seen the benefits for relaxation and would not feel comfortable using it in ceremony on a regular basis. To me to do that, without being from Fiji and knowing its culture and traditions, it would be wrong for me to consume it that way. I have read about the snake skin, and I have not had any experience with that in the form of tablets. I agree that the tablet form is a lot less potent, and that is probably a good thing Also, ANY herbs OR synthetic medicines used for relaxation can cause impotence or lack of sexual drive in men. The same goes for depressants like alcohol. It does sound to me a little like the Fijians enjoy the kava drink much like we enjoy a nice, cold beer LOL Though I may be wrong not being as familiar as you about the culture. And of course, ANYthing that is used for its healing qualities should be taken under the direction of a physician or certified herbalist, along with a good dose of common sense and knowledge of self. Just because I have had a wonderful experience with this herb doesn't mean that it will be as effective with everyone. Thanks again for your input! Your shared information will certainly help make us all better-informed should we decide to use this herb in our individual healing. Love & Hugs, -- posted by mastiffs2005 » Goodelyfe - Yagona In response to message posted by DarleneCheek:Thanks for the love and hugs Darlene. Regardless of the lost cultural context, my reason for raising the two issues is germane to the use of the concentrated active ingredients of the narcotic locally known as yagona but marketed under the name of kavakava. I have done a huge amount of research into this subject because early in the 90's, I began to import kava into Australia for cultural reasons. The reason for the ending of importation was the banning of the substance in 5 of the 6 states in Australia, as well as the 2 territories. The reasons for banning related to the abuse of the substance by non-cultural users. When I tried to halt this legislative over reaction, I had to argue the case upon both cultural and therapeutic grounds. Culture was easy to establish. As to the latter, the Therapeutic Goods Agency [TGA] require volumes of research and independent tests to allow a substance to be imported. The cost of a TGA application is about $150k in addition to any studies that are done regarding the substance. The one thing I found out in this process was that the active ingredients in the narcotic found their way into Roche's line of sedatives and hypnotics branded as Valium and Mogadon. Roche had sent its scientists to Fiji for the purposes of examining the effects of kava. There are many research papers available written during the period of 1952-55 when they set up their research facility in Suva. From then Roche and Bayer became the largest market for kava for many years. That brings us back to the current topic. As yet I am not sure which ingredients remain in the kava tablets currently marketed. I note that the producers of these products have little information available on the subject. Furthermore, there is no information regarding the long term usage of these substances. Bear in mind that the taking of the tablets is in a form far more concentrated in the active ingredients than the average kave drinker consumes. Bear in mind, the major item consumed by a kava drinker is water. Over the period of a night's drinking, a kava drinker will consume a similar quantity of active ingredients as the single pill taker. Consequently, it is my fear that the long term effects of the tablets need to be researched and quantified. Currently the claims are made more on wish rather than quantitative research - and I feel that this is a poor basis for establishing the credibility of a therapy. The reality is that companies producing the product might be in for a major round of compensation claims, especially among women who may develop snake skin through prolonged use. This liability also extends to therapists who recommend such a product. Hence my reason for addressing this issue. -- posted by Goodelyfe » mastiffs2005 - Re: Yagona In response to message posted by Goodelyfe:Oops, hi there Bill How is your web site going? Have you gone live with it yet? When you do, please feel free to drop by and leave the url so we can all visit you... it really is going to be a wonderful site! Love & Hugs, -- posted by mastiffs2005 « Previous 1 2 3 Next » Please follow the guidelines set forth in the Suite101 Posting Etiquette when adding to the discussion. |
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