This Exotic Asian Plant Is The Best Natural Alternative To Anxiety Medication

There’s a plant that tribes in Fiji, Micronesia and Polynesia have been using for hundreds of years to calm and at times sedate individuals who suffer from anxiety. It’s called kava, and when used medicinally is a mild psychoactive beverage that’s often compared to Wine.

After harvest, the root of the kava, a member of the pepper family, is ground and shredded. It’s then strained into a bowl using a method of cold water extraction before being served. It’s typically consumed out of half a coconut shell.

More and more, evidence to support the claims that kava is good for treating anxiety is mounting. People who suffer high stress, insomnia, and depression could also be treated with it. In some cases, it appears that kava can be just as powerful at treating anxiety as pharmaceutical drugs.

Dr. Jerome Sarris thinks that General Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, is treatable with kava.

“We have recognized that plant based medicines may be a viable treatment for patients with chronic anxiety,” says Dr. Sarris. “In this study we’ve been able to show that kava offers a potential natural alternative for the treatment of chronic clinical anxiety. Unlike some other options it has less risk of dependency and less potential side effects.”

A study carried out by the School of Veterinary Medicine in Berlin, Germany found that kava had similar anti-anxiety effects to the drug Valium when administered to animals. Human studies are needed to verify effectiveness, however.

“When extracted in the appropriate way, kava may pose less or no potential liver problems,” notes Dr. Sarris. “I hope the results will encourage governments to reconsider the ban.”

In the end, kava is yet another plant that can potentially effectively treat human ailments, but with pharmaceutical drugs so profitable, do you think we’ll ever get any real studies done on it?