Kava Science | Kalm with Kava

Kalm Standards: Our Kava Standard & Quality Process

Jason Strand — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:16:55 +0000

The post Kalm Standards: Our Kava Standard & Quality Process appeared first on Kalm with Kava.

Hawaii Health Officials Announce Updated Kava Drink Safety Information

Jason Strand — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 22:00:35 +0000

In recent news, the Hawaii Department of Health announced that kava prepared the traditional way, with water and coconut water, is considered Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). This is a significant kava drink safety determination because it recognizes kava’s long and rich history of helping to ease anxiety, lift moods, soothe feelings of depression, and promote a good night’s sleep. Read on as we delve into the Hawaii Department of Health’s GRAS determination of kava and explain how kava has been safely consumed for centuries. Kava Drink Safety: GRAS vs. Non-GRAS Generally Recognized as Safe, also known as GRAS, is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that means any substance added to food is recognized by experts as safe for the conditions of its intended use. A non-GRAS designation is when a food additive can be added to food, but it is still subject to approval by the FDA. In the U.S., the FDA designates kava as non-GRAS, because they have labeled it as a “supplement” and, therefore, it cannot be used in foods or beverages as an ingredient. At Kalm with Kava, we feel this is a misunderstanding and misclassification of kava because the historical and cultural use […]

The post Hawaii Health Officials Announce Updated Kava Drink Safety Information appeared first on Kalm with Kava.

Kava Liver Damage Myth Debunked by New WHO Study

Jason Strand — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 21:30:50 +0000

The post Kava Liver Damage Myth Debunked by New WHO Study appeared first on Kalm with Kava.

Why Kava Stands Out Among Natural Muscle Relaxers

Jason Strand — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 18:18:38 +0000

Stiff muscles pop up from time to time, no matter how well you take care of your body. Whether it’s from a strenuous hike, the stressful hours you put into the workday, or a difficult exercise you tried for the first time, tight muscles can drag down your body and day-to-day routine. If you’re like us, you value easing these muscle spasms naturally, free from chemicals and prescriptions. You like options that are kind to your body but get the job done. Gentle stretching, rest, and patience can help ease some of this tension, but these options can only go so far in relieving muscle tension. In these cases, we don’t turn to medications or some of the conventional natural muscle relaxers on the market: we choose kava. Below, we’ll review how kava can be used as natural muscle relaxers, what makes it unique in the broader category of muscle relaxers, and situations where kava could help ease your muscle tension. Kava and Muscle Relaxation What Causes Stiff & Tight Muscles? We’ve all had those days where we slept at an odd angle, tried a new exercise, or hunched over a stack of important documents at our desks at work. […]

The post Why Kava Stands Out Among Natural Muscle Relaxers appeared first on Kalm with Kava.

Kava Time: 10 Fun Facts About Kava

Kalm with Kava — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 23:19:49 +0000

The post Kava Time: 10 Fun Facts About Kava appeared first on Kalm with Kava.

Kava Plant Cultivation and Preparation

Jane Kava — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 02:34:51 +0000

Kava Plant Propagation Kava is an interesting plant, particularly when it comes to kava cultivation. Firstly, a kava plant is sterile, meaning that it can’t reproduce naturally. Female flowers are very rare and do not produce fruit or seeds, even when a plant is hand-pollinated. This can make kava cultivation a bit complicated. Kava farmers have to use propagation to plant and grow new kava plants. Each kava plant has to be specifically cultivated from a node on a segment of the stalk. Farmers will take the stem of an existing plant and chop it into 3” – 4” long pieces. Traditionally, these stem cuttings are then planted directly into the ground and nurtured for 3-5 years for a mature plant to grow. Because of the growing demand for kava it is more common now, for kava plant propagation, from node stems to healthy seedlings, to take place in a nursery. And new aid-for-trade programs are seeking to support kava farmers and the development of quality kava in Fiji, Vanuatu, and Samoa. These programs promote the expansion of kava plant nurseries along with the introduction of standards, training, testing methods. Kava Plant Seedlings to Soil Kava plant seedlings are transferred back […]

The post Kava Plant Cultivation and Preparation appeared first on Kalm with Kava.

Relaxation Drinks

Kalm with Kava — Sun, 24 May 2015 22:49:23 +0000

A Better way to Relax The Relaxation drink is a relatively new idea in easing stress and helping people wind down from an ever increasingly busy life. Able to offer the benefits of calm once only available from alcohol without as many negative repercussions, it’s easy to see why relaxation drinks are gaining such popularity. But what’s the difference between all of the drinks out there? What should you be looking for and why is this a better alternative to alcohol? The first widely known relaxation drinks began popping in Japan in 2005. Their main ingredient consisted of GABA or gamma-Aminobutyric acid, an amino acid and neurotransmitter which typically causes a relaxing effect on the brain. The effectiveness of these GABA-based beverages to induce calm is disputed though due to the fact pure GABA does not cross the blood–brain barrier at therapeutically significant levels. Later in 2007 more relaxation drinks began to emerge incorporating many different natural ingredients. Today there is some 300 relaxation beverages estimated to be on the market with ingredients including L-theanine, Kava root, Melatonin, Chamomile, Passion Flower, Valerian, 5-HTP, Melatonin and even Marijuana. Below is an overview of some of these. L-theanine is an amino […]

The post Relaxation Drinks appeared first on Kalm with Kava.