Kava and Alcohol Withdrawal Guide

This article will present comprehensive information about kava and alcohol. It will also teach you how to use kava for alcohol withdrawal. Kava is a ground root from the Western Pacific that has been used for centuries by traditional cultures to promote relaxation and social bonding.

Here’s a preview of what you’re going to learn in this tutorial:

• Kava and alcohol similarities and differences
• Benefits of using Kava for alcohol withdrawal
• And much more!

Kava And Alcohol

Kava and alcohol have some similar effects. However, the natives of Fiji do not share our cultural obsession with alcohol. They prefer their traditional kava rituals instead. Having tried kava for myself, I actually feel bad for Westerners who are stuck with toxic alcohol!

Since 2000, millions of Americans have used kava instead of alcohol and as a remedy for post-acute withdrawal. Kava can be found in many large grocery stores, usually in the form of powder or tea bags. We will discuss the best sources of kava because not all kava products are created equally – and the production method for kava is particularly important.

While severe alcohol withdrawal is a medical emergency, kava may be able to help many people who suffer from mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal symptoms, especially anxiety and insomnia.

I have enjoyed mixing kava with cold spring water during parties to enhance my relaxation. I have also introduced kava to some friends who are social drinkers, and one of them has found that he often prefers kava to alcohol.

Even some former alcoholics prefer kava to alcohol, as shared by this message board site user:

While I am not a regular kava drinker, it’s easy for me to see why so many people have had success using kava as a natural remedy for anxiety during post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS)!

Kava And Alcohol: Overview

Kava’s scientific name is piper methysticum, which means “intoxicating pepper.” The roots of the kava plant contain natural compounds called kavalactones that have been clinically shown to help with anxiety. (source)

Kava has the unique ability to preserve mental clarity while inducing relaxation. The same cannot be said of alcohol, which is one of the most toxic substances on earth!

Pacific Islanders have long enjoyed the relaxing properties of kava root powder, which offers the following effects:

How Kava Works

Scientists have found that kava induces relaxation and a sense of well-being through a number of subtle mechanisms. Since many of these mechanisms are weak compared to drugs that act along the same pathways, we will note the three primary ways in which kava exerts its mild psychoactive effects:

There have been up to 18 kavalactones identified in kava root, but only six of them are responsible for the plant’s effects on the brain. Kavalactones mainly affect GABA-A receptors, which are also stimulated by alcohol and benzodiazepines. This mechanism of action accounts for why many ex-drinkers have found relief from alcohol withdrawal by consuming kava.

The sensation of consuming kava is a mellow state of mind and enhanced sociability. Despite its mild psychoactive properties, kava is not physically addictive.

Dopamine and norepinephrine are excitatory neurotransmitters associated with reward and energy. Kava increases concentrations of these neurotransmitters, making it a great social beverage. Kava’s mild stimulation of the CB1 receptor may account for increased feelings of empathy and spiritual well-being.

While kava is quite unique in its chemical composition, one could understand kava as a natural alternative to GABA-enhancing drugs in the same way that kratom is a natural alternative to opioid-stimulating drugs. (You can click on that link to learn how alcohol actually activates the opioid system.)

Using kava for alcohol withdrawal can help to alleviate the following maladies, many of which continue for months during post-acute withdrawal:

• Anxiety
• Restlessness
• Muscle soreness
• Fatigue
• Depression

Years ago, I would have gladly tried kava for alcohol withdrawal when I had mild or moderate symptoms upon quitting. Unfortunately, I did not know what kava was.

I have heard from many people who experienced a profound relief from anxiety by using kava shortly after quitting alcohol. Most of them had either weaned off of alcohol, or had medically detoxed and found their ensuing cravings to be unmanageable. While I have not heard from anyone who used kava to help them wean off of alcohol, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be possible.

Kava provided these people with the gentle support they needed to avoid alcohol and allow their bodies and minds to rest.

As with any form of harm-reduction, care should be taken to repair nutritional deficiencies that contribute to neurotransmitter imbalance and perpetuate the desire to drink alcohol in the first place.

If you are interested in using a stronger alternative to kava, you can read my article about how to use phenibut for alcohol withdrawal.

Note: Unfortunately, kava is too weak of a GABA-agonist to be helpful for symptoms of severe alcohol withdrawal like hallucinations and seizures. If you’re suffering from severe alcohol withdrawal, have no fear:

• Consult a doctor who can prescribe you with a tapered regimen of a benzodiazepine like Ativan.
• To deal with post-acute withdrawal, you may want to get a prescription for gabapentin or baclofen.
• Read my eBook to learn how to reduce the symptoms of post-acute withdrawal and transform your life!

Best Kava For Alcohol Withdrawal

Over the past several years, I have tried kava from several different vendors and in a number of different forms. My first experience with kava came from a tincture that I bought at Whole Foods, which I found to be the weakest form of kava. It numbed my tongue for a few minutes and any relaxation benefit was either muted or nonexistent.

In full disclosure, I medically detoxed after quitting alcohol and did not discover kava until a few years after I had already quit drinking. But I was interested to experience the effects of kava and began sampling powders imported from the Pacific Islands. I found that some of these powders improved my mood slightly and absolutely helped me drift off to sleep, with no after-effects in the morning.

I didn’t really need help sleeping; chamomile tea does the trick for me. And so I forgot about kava for awhile.

A few months later, after having been extremely impressed by the kratom produced by a stellar company called Top Extracts, I decided to sample their kava. I expected to feel a bit dazed and fall into a deep sleep, as I had with the other brands.

Instead, after mixing one teaspoon of Top Extracts’ 70% Kavalactones Powder into a glass of spring water, I felt blissful, carefree, and focused all at the same time.

I caught up with my roommate and read half a book before falling into the deepest sleep I could remember.

If I were using kava for alcohol withdrawal, here is what I would do:

• Order Top Extracts’ 70% Kavalactones Powder
• Drink half a teaspoon mixed into a glass of cold water
• Re-dose every half hour until I felt a relaxing effect (I would not exceed 1.5 teaspoons)
• Use this relaxing ritual each evening for a week or two while taking supplements for brain repair (see below)

I have also tried Top Extracts’ Supercritical 60% Kavalactones Extract, and can report that a dime-sized portion of this kava extract on my thumb made for a wonderful afternoon (it is a paste, rather than a powder). I have not yet sampled their Traditional Solomon Kava, but the verified-buyer reviews on their website are compelling.

I should note that there is something called “reverse tolerance” with kava. If you use kava a few times, you might notice that you need less and less of it to achieve the same effect.

While I did not use kava for alcohol withdrawal, I can state with a high degree of confidence that the kava from Top Extracts is the best quality kava that you will find online. 

If it’s your first time ordering from Top Extracts, you can save 15% on your order by using this promo code: Welcome Friends.

Note: Regular customers of Top Extracts have come to understand that this company only sells the freshest products, and as a result, items frequently go out of stock for short periods of time. If the kava that you wish to try is out of stock, my advice is to keep checking every few days and order the closest available alternative! I haven’t been disappointed with anything I’ve ordered from Top Extracts.

Optimizing Your Recovery

The best way to use kava for alcohol withdrawal is to combine it with a regimen of biochemical repair.

It’s VERY important to provide your system with the building blocks it needs to produce the neurotransmitters, hormones, and many other compounds that your brain requires to achieve long-term stability.

Stable moods are impossible without a stable brain.

If you’re anything like I was when I quit drinking, you’ll probably deny that you have any nutritional deficiencies. You might even deny that you have neurotransmitter deficiencies. I implore you to reconsider these assumptions.

Nearly a year after I quit drinking, I finally understood that the majority of my post-acute withdrawal symptoms were caused by invisible deficiencies caused by prolonged alcohol exposure.

I finally ended my post-acute withdrawal symptoms (including alcohol cravings) by doing a lot of research and spending a lot of money on herbs, vitamins, and minerals.

Calm Support (read my review here) is among the most well-researched options for repairing alcohol-induced nutritional deficiencies.

This supplement consists of high quality nutrients and herbs that have been clinically proven to help alleviate the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. These ingredients cost a lot of money when purchased separately.

Many people are quitting drinking using Calm Support along with external support and basic lifestyle improvements.

Note: The great people who work at Calm Support have been scrambling to keep up with insanely high demand for this product. If it is out of stock, make sure to sign up on their website to receive a notification when it’s back!!

Is Kava Toxic?

There is a persistent myth that kava is inherently toxic to the liver. In fact, kava is not toxic as long as it meets two conditions:

• The kava product has not been extracted using alcohol or acetone
• The kava product has been made from only the roots of the kava plant

The kava plant’s leaves contain a toxic alkaloid, which is why only the roots of the kava plant can be consumed. In the early 2000s, a German company began extracting alkaloids from the kava plant’s leaves as well as the roots. A few customers suffered from liver damage, setting into motion a rumor that kava is necessarily toxic to the liver.

Now most kava products (including Top Extracts) carry a warning that liver damage may occur from consuming kava.

This rumor has also been seized upon by government agencies that are eager to ban natural alternatives to prescription drugs. More research needs to be done on the effects of chronic, long-term kava use, but this is not the kind of usage that we are discussing in this article.

(In 2013, a World Health Organization report clarified that kava is safe as long as only the roots are used and alcohol and acetone are not used as solvents. In 2014, Germany lifted the ban on all kava products that was enacted in 2002.)

As for myself, every few months, I’ll have a teaspoon of kava to chill out during a pleasant evening with friends. I have never experienced any adverse effects.

Is Kava Addictive?

There is no evidence that kava is physically addictive.

If kava addiction is even possible, then we have enough anecdotal evidence to conclude that it is extremely rare. We don’t find “kava addicts” loitering on the streets of the Polynesian Islands. Nor do we have a “kava epidemic” in the U.S., despite our obvious problems with garbage substances like alcohol and heroin.

I have never heard of anyone who has been addicted to kava, but I have read plenty of articles by treatment centers that claim that kava addiction exists. Usually they provide their phone number underneath their article, in case you want to give them tens of thousands of dollars to treat your kava addiction.

“Any form of mind-alteration will lead you back to your original addiction” is an incoherent and sad article of faith that ignores both neuroscience and the reality of self-transformation. It’s incoherent because everything we do is a form of mind-alteration. It’s sad because harm-reduction saves lives and people are suffering. It’s time to enter the 21st century.

Anyway, kava bars are cropping up around the U.S. – and they’re a huge hit with people who have quit drinking alcohol. They’re also a big hit with police, who are busy dealing with drunk mayhem outside of regular bars, while the kava bar attendees enjoy relaxed conversation. What a concept!

Research Studies

A number of studies have been done on the safety and efficacy of kava for anxiety, which is usually the symptom of alcohol withdrawal that leads people back to the bottle.

Three studies in particular are pertinent to the subject of kava for alcohol withdrawal:

• A craving survey and pilot study found that kava can decrease cravings for alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and heroin (source)
• An 18-week study found that kava “may help sufferers of anxiety and provide significant support to use in a clinical setting” (source)
• A 6-week study found that kava is a moderately effective short-term treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (source)

Kava And Alcohol: Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article the similarities and differences between kava and alcohol plus how to use kava for alcohol withdrawal.

Because everyone is different, nothing I write on this site is a definitive recommendation for anyone.

My goal is simply to provide information about many potential solutions for the physical trap of alcohol withdrawal. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and if you’re as addicted to alcohol as I was when I quit drinking, medical detox is your best bet.

I’m not promoting a lifestyle of daily kava usage, although I don’t judge anyone who uses kava on a daily basis.

My favorite highs come from herbs like chamomile, yerba mate, and cocoa leaf – and a great workout in the sun. If I’m with old friends, I’ll smoke a good cigar. I use meditation almost every day to calm my brain.

Nothing feels better to me than waking up with a clear mind and feeling at peace with raw, majestic, mysterious reality.

If you have any questions about kava and alcohol, please leave them in the comment box below.

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