Is Kava a Food or Dietary Supplement?

Is Kava a Food or Dietary Supplement?This is quite a complicated question depending on whom you speak with. The Kava Guru has done his research, and has arrived at several conclusions regarding the current status of kava kava in the United States and throughout the world.

In as short an answer as I can provide: kava kava is currently sold in the United States as a dietary supplement, and is not currently accepted as a food ingredient, even though it is made of natural products. This isn’t to say that several very food-like products are coming out that are based on kava kava. For example, over at the Kava Marketplace, there is Kava chocolate from Kava King. Now, chocolate bars are typically thought of as a food, but the folks over at Kava King insist that their product is a dietary supplement and have the data and research to back it up.

The same is true of a Kava Gum that has recently (2013) appeared on the market. I have spoken with the owner of that company, and he stated that he has a 29-page legal document that justifies the gum part of the kava gum as being nothing more than a delivery method for the kava. I am not an expert, but I don’t see any reason why that kind of use cannot be justified, and would think that the FDA would have a difficult time taking issue with the kava gum product.

As far as kava chocolate and the Kava Candy that has also appeared, in my discussion with an FDA consultant, just because someone calls something a rose, doesn’t make it a rose. So, just because someone is calling these kava products “dietary supplements” doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what they are. It’s all a whole lot of gray area, but the Kava Guru is here to help you through the gray!

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 defines a dietary supplement as “a product (other than tobacco) that is intended to supplement the diet and that bears or contains one of the following ingredients: a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total daily intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of these ingredients” [1]. In other words, dietary supplements are substances meant to be taken in addition to a balanced, healthy diet; they are not intended to make up a large portion of a meal or of someone’s daily caloric intake [1]. The Food and Drug Administration’s definition of a dietary supplement also notes that these are often taken in the form of pills, capsules, tablets, powders or liquids [4]. Before taking any supplement, you should read a full, independent review about that supplement and what it actually does. For example, if you wanted to buy ProLon, it would be a wise idea to read a prolon FMD review so you know exactly what you’re getting and how it can effect the body.

One helpful way to determine if kava is a dietary supplement or a food is to look at its intended use. Foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts contain macronutrients (healthy fats, carbohydrates, and proteins) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.) that contribute to overall health. In contrast, a dietary supplement is often taken to generate a very specific effect [1]. For instance, people take a kava kava supplement to relax, relieve anxiety, and treat insomnia. While some people find that activities like yoga, listening to music, or taking shrooms and weed helps them to relax, others turn to alternative supplements. Kavalactones are a very specific class of compounds that give kava these physiological effects. In other words, many dietary supplements are targeted to address specific ailments or generate specific effects that contribute to wellness. In contrast, healthy foods keep you healthy by giving your body a broad range of the nutrients it needs to maintain wellness.

Is Kava Part of a Healthy Diet?

Let’s briefly look at what’s in kava besides kavalactones: by weight, fresh kava root is about 80% water, 43% starch, 3.2% sugars, 3.6% protein, and 3.2% minerals. Kavalactones make up about 15% of the root by weight [2]. Though kava is usually prepared as a beverage, if you were to eat kava root it would provide about 20% of your daily fiber needs [2]. Not bad!

However, contrast that with maca root, a relative of the turnip frequently called a superfood for its rich array of nutrients: maca root contains high levels of many health-essential macro- and micronutrients, including polysaccharides; complex carbohydrates; essential fatty acids; glucosinates; proteins; several minerals such as calcium and potassium; and trace elements including magnesium, selenium, iron, manganese, and zinc [3]. Maca contains a range of chemical constituents that our bodies require to maintain bodily health, making it by definition a “functional food” rather than a dietary supplement [1]. In contrast, even though kavalactones have demonstrable benefits for health, our bodies do not require them as they do micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, or macronutrients such as carbohydrates and proteins.

Is Kava a Food or Dietary Supplement?

Maca root (Lepidium meyenii) is a nutrient-rich Andean superfood from western South America.

Of course, just because the FDA does not consider kava a food doesn’t mean you can’t mix it with foods in any recipe you choose! The Kava Guru is passionate about finding new ways to cook with kava, and we add our favorites to our Kava Recipes page as often as we can. And as always, we welcome comments below about your favorite kava recipes and creative ways to enjoy this dietary supplement!

Sources

1. Halsted, Charles H. 2003. “Dietary Supplements and Functional Foods – 2 Sides of a Coin?” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 77 (supplement): 1001-1007.

2. “Kava – Composition” Wikipedia. Accessed March 12th, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kava#Composition

3. “Lepidium meyenii – Constituents.” Wikipedia. Accessed March 12th, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidium_meyenii#Constituents

4. “What is a Dietary Supplement?” About FDA. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Last Modified December 30th, 2009.http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/transparency/basics/ucm195635.htm

Can I Cook With Kava?

Can I Cook With Kava?With so many amazing recipes available online for Kava Kava, it’s tempting to cook with Kava! Technically, kava is a dietary supplement and NOT a food ingredient. So, as far as the FDA is concerned, one can’t go to a store and purchase any Kava products that are food items. But that does not prevent the kava community from cooking to their heart’s content with kava! There are many foods and beverages that are enhanced by the earthy taste of kava. Also, foods with well-known relaxing properties such as dark chocolate often synergize extremely well with kava not just in terms of taste, but also effects. If you’re looking to cook kava into some meals, you will need to ensure that you have the correct kitchen appliances available to you to make the meal. If you don’t, you could consider visiting Home Depot, for example, to try and find the correct cooking equipment. You should even be able to get money off by visiting https://www.raise.com/coupons/home-depot to look for offers and coupons. Hopefully, this will help you to purchase some appliances and cook some great kava meals.

You can look to our “Kava Recipes” page for any recipe we get and love enough to post.

Heat and Kavalactones- A Primer:

For a long time it was believed that applying heat destroyed the active kavalactones in kava-those compounds responsible for the root’s relaxing, analgesic and euphoric effects. The general wisdom still holds that kavalactones begin to denature (break down) at temperatures of 140 degrees Fahreheit and above [3], making cooking with kava a tricky proposition! In the South Pacific, kava is traditionally enjoyed as a cold tea, which reinforced the notion that kava could not be heated lest the kavalactones be destroyed.

However, it turns out that sometimes kava is heated: in Hawaii, a little-known way of enjoying kava is to briefly add hot stones to a bow of prepared kava; the brew is then whisked and consumed once it has cooled off [1]. A more in-depth exploration of kava’s heat resistance was undertaken in the blog at Kava.com in “Boiling and Baking With Kava” [3], with interesting results: the writer tried heating kava gently in water for 5, 15, and 60 minutes, and also tried immersing kava root in boiling water for the same lengths of time. They reported no diminishment in kava’s relaxing effects when the root was either gently heated or boiled for 5 minutes; after 15 minutes there was a noticeable dip in the strength of the kava, but it was not completely inactive; at 60 minutes, the kava had become inactive (and also unpalatably bitter).

The results suggest that there is a much more flexible range of temperatures at which kava remains active than was previously believed. This makes sense due to the diversity of kavalactones that have been identified in kava root (as many as 14 in total, with 6 found in high concentration in the root): researchers have speculated that some kavalactones are more heat resistant than others and maintain their integrity, and thus effects, at higher temperatures [6]. The duration of high heat exposure also seems to matter. The experimenter in “Boiling and Baking with Kava” noted that kava stayed active after 5 minutes of heating but was reduced in its effects after 15 minutes of heating.

Of course, the Kava Guru can’t create an article about cooking with kava without including some of our favorite recipes! The three selections below all use kava in interesting, unexpected, and delicious ways that make the most of its earthy complex flavor and wonderfully mellowing effects.

Spiced Kava Chai:

Some kava manufacturers are already offering chai-flavored instant kava that is tasty and effective. But for authentic South Asian flavor, it’s hard to beat chai that’s freshly prepared [4]. Based on the classic spiced black tea of India, this recipe combines powdered kava root with ancient spices such as cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon, all of which have their own analgesic, relaxing and hypnotic effects.

Combine 1 tablespoon powdered kava with 1 cup water in a small pot. (Although we can’t endorse using more kava than this, some people double up the amount of kava in this recipe to counteract any decrease in effectiveness due to heating it.) Bring the kava and water mixture to a simmer and add cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, ground ginger and cinnamon to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, take the kava chai off the heat and filter the liquid through a strainer bag to remove the kava pulp and spice solids. Serve as is or add hot milk, nut milk or honey to taste.

Can I Cook With Kava?

Spicy kava chai is the perfect thing for warming up on chilly evenings – minus the jittery effects of caffeine!

Kava Chocolate:

The synergistic potential of kava and dark chocolate is just beginning to be recognized in alternative health circles [5], and the Kava Guru says it’s about time-because not only do the earthy and sweet tastes of kava and bittersweet chocolate complement each other, their relaxing and euphoric qualities do too! Though it may take a bit of experimentation to get right, it’s easy and economical to make kava chocolates at home with only a few ingredients for an all-natural, delicious treat. Best of all, the relaxing kava counterbalances the stimulating effects of chocolate, so these goodies won’t keep you awake at night.

Mix 1 tablespoon of kava in coconut oil, vegetable oil or another vegetable fat. This will start the extraction of kavalactones and is essential for any recipe that uses plain powdered kava root. The mixture should become an oily paste. Next, heat about ½-1lb of good-quality dark chocolate in a double boiler (or a small pot over a larger pot full of simmering water) until it just melts. Mix your extracted kava root in with the melted chocolate and stir over low heat until the mixture is completely blended. Pour your kava chocolate into chocolate molds or an ice cube tray and refrigerate until it has firmed up and is ready to eat.

Kava Ice Cream: A frozen variation of “cooking” with kava-chilling with kava might be more accurate-kava ice cream [2] combines the earthiness of kava with the sumptuous creaminess of ice cream for an amazing chilled treat. The milk, eggs and cream in the recipe also provide automatic emulsification of the kavalactones, making the finished product quite strong as well. The one caveat is that you will need an ice cream maker for this recipe, but luckily there are plenty of relatively inexpensive models available and you can find reviews for them by reading blog posts like https://allgreatappliances.com/best-ice-cream-maker/. This is a good way to get you started in your search for an ice cream maker that suits you and your kitchen!

Ingredients: 2-4 tablespoons powdered kava root (depending on the desired strength of the finished dessert)

1 cup whole milk
2 cups half and half
¾ cup sugar
5 egg yolks, separated from the white

Preparation: Stir together the milk, cream, and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl, then pour in the milk mixture, stirring constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat, stirring until it thickens to a pudding-like consistency. Let it cool to about room temperature before blending in the kava powder. Place the mixture in your ice cream maker and freeze according to the instructions for that model.

Mahalo,
Kava Guru

Sources
1. “Awa Root.” Kona Kava Farm. Accessed March 12th, 2014. http://www.konakavafarm.com/articles/awa-root.html

2. “A Refreshing Perspective (and Refreshing Kava Ice Cream)”. Kona Kava Farm Blog. Accessed March 7th, 2014. http://www.konakavafarm.com/blog/?p=312.

3. “Boiling and Baking with Kava.” Kava.com. Accessed March 7th, 2014. http://www.kava.com/?p=480

4. “Kava Recipes – Spiced Kava Chai.” Kick Back with Kava.com. Accessed March 7th, 2014. http://www.kickbackwithkava.com/index.php?route=articles/articles&articles_id=9.

5. “Organic Goodness: Chocolate and Kava”. Kona Kava Farm Blog. Accessed March 7th 2014. http://www.konakavafarm.com/blog/?p=58.

6. Singh, Yadhu N. (ed.) Kava: From Ethnology to Pharmacology. CRC Press, 2004.

Kava Recipe – Kava Colada

Kava Recipe - Kava ColadaOn a warm evening on the big island of Hawaii, kava grower Zachary Gibson proudly demonstrated his latest drink, a kava colada. “See, I take a whole ice tray of frozen pineapple-juice cubes, put them all in a blender with a full can of coconut milk, add one ounce of fluid kava extract and just a little honey and vanilla, blend it all up, and it makes six really delicious drinks.”

Zachary whizzed the concoction in a blender until the mixture was smooth and creamy. The fat in the coconut would help absorb the kavalactones in the kava extract. The pineapple, coconut milk, honey, and vanilla would all blunt the bitterness of the kava. Six of us hoisted the kava coladas and drank together. The drink was impressively delicious, and we all felt the effects of the kava immediately. Zachary was excited. “See? You make a drink like this with kava, and people will really like it.”

We enjoyed the kava coladas so much that we made another blender full about 30 minutes later and drank those too. Half an hour later, we had a third round. Meanwhile, we did what islanders in Oceania have done for thousands of years. We sat together as the warm, golden sun set into the vast Pacific Ocean, and we shared thoughtful conversation and good company.

 Excerpted from “Psyche Delicacies” by Chris Kilham.

If you have any great Kava recipes, please let us know.  If we like it we will post your idea and/or recipe and send off a free package of 4oz Powdered Kava Root from any one of the Kava suppliers we list or review here as a personal “Thank you!” to you.

Kava Review – Kava Dot Com

This Kava Supplier definitely counts as being one of the most interesting websites we’ve ever visited. For many years, Kava Dot Com has been a source for unbiased Kava information. In 2013 they made a bold move; they decided to go from being an informational website to an eCommerce website. Are we glad they did?

They started the Kava Marketplace; an online store featuring Kava Kava from a number of different Kava suppliers. They also introduced their own brand of Kava in two disctinct grades; Hawaiian Kava with about 4% kavalactone content, and Vanuatu Noble with a minimum of 8% kavalactone and a very “happy” 4-2-6 chemotype. We were a bit skeptical of their Vanuatu Noble variety and thought perhaps that was nothing more than some marketing hype. But we’re pleased to report that their Vanuatu Noble Kava truly lives up to its name, and a little digging into what exactly a 426 kavalactone lineup revealed some very interesting information.

In short, there are 6 major kavalactones out of the 18 in total that have been discovered. Those 6 major kavalactones have been assigned numbers, and it turns out that kavalactone levels are actually “fingerprints” for Kava, and allows one to determine the origin of any Kava root. So, the Vanuatu Kava, with it’s 4-2-6 kavalactone lineup, has a high concentration of kavain (4), with dihydrokavain (2) following, with a 3rd major component of methysticin (6). It turns out that kavain and dihydrokavain encourage dopamine release in the brain, making the Vanuatu Noble variety one of the most pleasurable Kavas out there.

Interestingly enough, it turns out that a specific cultivar of Hawaiian Kava called “Mahakea” Kava, also can have a kavalactone lineup of 426 as well. So, whether it’s a Hawaiian cultivar called Mahakea or the Kava Dot Com Vanuatu Noble Kava Root, if a happy, pleasant repose that lasts longer than one might expect is your cup of tea (or should I say “shell of Kava”), then look no further than KavaDotCom and their Kava Marketplace for your Kava.

If you’re looking for flat out strong but giddy Kava Root, then you’ve found your perfect Kava. If you’re looking for a more complex, and perhaps a more cultured Kava, then the various offerings from Bula Kava definitely fit the bill.

But, Kava Dot Com doesn’t stop at just Kava Root. They’ve got lots of Hawaiian-themed party favors, vegan chocolate, and an entire line of SuperFoods. We get it; Kava is good for a healthy life, and SuperFoods are also good to keep a body healthy to enjoy a happy life. We’re not sure how much SuperFood they’re selling at the Kava Marketplace, but good for them.

Not all Kava Suppliers are represented over at the Kava Marketplace, but we’re hoping to see more Kava Suppliers added as time goes on, as the positive reviews stack up, and other Kava Brands take notice. I know if I were a Kava Brand, I’d be giving the folks over at Kava Dot Com a call to see if they’d be interested in adding my product to their catalog and possibly starting a subscription service for loyal customers. If that becomes an option, FastSpring can help set up recurring billing payments for these services, so businesses and customers can both be happy with the outcome. Seems like a win-win for everyone involved.

Kava Dot Com gets 5 Shells out of 5.

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What Does Kava Taste Like?

Dear Kava Guru,
What does Kava taste like?
Rob, Chicago, IL

Now this is a challenge I’m happy to take on!  First of all, let me say that I have yet to meet someone who has been introduced to kava kava who hasn’t needed to acquire a taste for it.  As my wife said when she tried kava for the first time; “You really have to want to drink this.”

This isn’t to say the taste of kava is unpleasant.  Certainly not.  Even for those who find the bitterness something they’re not used to, especially in the West, don’t think the taste itself is necessarily unpleasant.  A comment we hear often is that kava has an “earthy” flavor to it.  That’s not to say that kava tastes like dirt!  I would agree with the assessment that kava has an earthy flavor.  But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for this complex plant.

For me, I would say that kava is something like unsweetened Turkish coffee.  It’s a strong coffee that has the coffee grounds still in it when consumed.  That’s not entirely accurate either, but it gives you a general idea of what to expect.  Imagine a very earthy coffee with the consistency of a milkshake.  The fact is, is a kava beverage made from fresh kava roots is much thinner than kava that’s made from the kava powder that’s typically commercially available.  Whether you extract kava yourself or purchase it as an instant mix, unless you double the amount of liquid that the instructions tell you to use, the kava drink will be a bit thick.

And the bitterness of kava is difficult to cover with just about any kind of sweetener.  Personally, I’ve found that the traditional mixers for kava continue to be the best at “masking” the bitterness of kava.  And those two key mixers/extractors for kava are coconut water or pineapple juice.

That’s my guess why kava is still a relatively obscure “afcionado” type of dietary supplement instead of a household name; it takes some work to get past the taste if you want to enjoy this complex plant as it has been used traditionally for thousands of years.

The good news is that making kava into a drink isn’t the only way to enjoy this dietary supplement.  There are pastes, cordials, capsules, and even a couple of beverages that have begun to appear on the market.  With kavalactone pastes, you still need to taste the kava, but it’s just a small pea-sized amount that can be swallowed quickly.  Capsules, of course, have virtually no flavor of their own.  But traditionally, kava has been drunk in a single gulp from a half coconut shell.  (A single round of kava brew is called a “shell of kava”.)

I can say this:  of all those who worked to acquire a taste for kava, about 75% of those I’ve introduced to kava have discovered the subtle complexities of the root.  They’ve found a mixer that they actually enjoy blended with kava, and find the taste quite pleasing.  For me, working to acquire a taste for kava changed me forever.  Now, I begin and end each day with a shell; it energizes me in the morning, especially when I eat a healthy breakfast with fruits and grains, but it has the opposite effect in the evening, when I slow down, unwind, and gulp down a shell of kava.  It gives me a relaxed, gentle repose that melts away the stress of my day.

Mahalo,
Kava Guru

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