Have you ever tried drinking kava? This traditional beverage, which has been used in the South Pacific for many centuries, where it is considered to be a plant medicine, has gained a lot of raving fans over the past few years because of the great effects that it offers our overwhelmed and stressed nervous systems. But there are sometimes some weird side effects.
For example, does Kava make you poop?
Yes, kava can make you feel like you need to go to the bathroom, especially when it’s filtered badly and plant fibers are left in the drink.
Typically it will not make you feel like you need to go to the bathroom immediately, but it’s a pretty common experience. Even when made properly, there’s a lot of fiber going in there! And if you do a bad job filtering the makas (or plant fibers), you’ll almost certainly need to go.
I’ll explain more below.
Digestive Issues – Does Kava Make You Poop?
Even if you’re new to drinking kava, and are following the recommended preparation guidelines and dosage, in some cases, you may find that it affects your digestive system in a negative way.
Some kava drinkers find that its active components — the kavalactones — cause mouth-numbing, stomach upset, diarrhea, dizziness and headaches, dry and flaky skin with a jaundice-type of effect, and seizures.
This is particularly true if you are consuming the makas, or plant fibers, directly. Kava should be filtered of as much of this material as possible. It’s not traditionally consumed. Toss and wash is a bad idea!
Prepare your kava beverage to be as much like the traditional drink as possible, and you’ll have the most success with the fewest strange effects. Even though it tastes bad.
Prepare your kava beverage to be as much like the traditional drink as possible, and you’ll have the most success with the fewest strange effects. Even though it tastes bad.
Filtering Your Kava
You should be removing any plant fibers you can find from your kava drink before you drink it. The goal is to have a completely liquid beverage, with perhaps some sediment that settles to the bottom. But no fibers should be in the drink at all.
If you don’t filter your kava properly, you’re turning your kava into Metamucil! Of course you’re going to need to go to the bathroom, you’ve just drank a ton of fiber.
Everyone is Different
Some drinkers of kava find it makes them constipated, which is a side effect of consuming kavalactones. However, with other people, consuming the beverage made from pure kava root will aid in relieving their constipation.
Everyone is different! This means that drinking the same brew of kava won’t affect you in exactly the same way as it will the person sitting next to you, even if you’re sharing it. Depending on your sex, height, body fat percentage, and weight, the active ingredients will give different effects.
This makes drinking kava a very personal journey, and so you’ll have to play around with how much or how little you consume in order to find your own kava sweet spot.
If you do enjoy the effects of drinking kava, but it’s making you have to go to the toilet to poop more than usual, then you may want to try consuming a more diluted beverage or improving your brew technique.
If you do enjoy the effects of drinking kava, but it’s making you have to go to the toilet to poop more than usual, then you may want to try consuming a more diluted beverage or improving your brew technique.
By adding more water to your kava mixture and filtering completely, you’ll not only make it taste a lot less bitter, but you won’t be able to drink as much in one go.
For other kava beverage options, please read our article How To Make Kava Taste Better by clicking here.
Diluting your kava drink with water or juice may work to help slow down your digestive system, which will keep you from feeling like you have to poop. And don’t have a big meal for at least two hours before you drink it, otherwise, you won’t get your desired effect as fast.
Toilet Issue
If you love drinking kava for its calming effects, then there’s no reason why you need to stop doing so. But if kava is making you poop a lot, you may not be making the kava correctly.
If you’re consuming kava pills or things like that, stop! That stuff is bad. Pick a good traditional kava or micronized, and make a tea the traditional way (or use an Aluball). Filter it properly, and pick out any little twigs or sticks that you see before you drink.
Further Effects of Kava
Kava acts as a depressant in your body, which means that it has the ability to slow down the signals in your nervous system that travel between your brain and your body. This is why so many people find it a comforting drink that they can use to relax.
The plant, which is a member of the pepper family, is grown in the South Pacific, and the beverage is made by steeping its roots in hot water.
It’s the roots of the plant that contain the active ingredients, also known as kavalactones, which are responsible for the relaxing and euphoric effects that many people experience after drinking it.
However, inferior brands of kava also include the stems and leaves in this mix, so it is best to avoid these products because it’s not guaranteed that you’ll get the desired effect of relaxation and euphoria, and drinking these may even cause you some harm because they are not regulated.
Drinking kava in small recommended doses has an effect on the nervous system that helps people to gain control of their anxiety, panic attacks, and depressive feelings, which is why it’s also known as Nature’s Xanax or benzodiazepine, two common anti-anxiety drugs.
Kava also helps people who suffer from insomnia get a good night’s sleep. This means that drinking the traditional beverage can improve your overall sense of well-being, which is something we can all feel if we have regulated nervous systems that are free from added stress.
And this is why so many people in the West have started doing so, although too much of a good thing always leads to something bad. That’s just the way the world works. And partaking in too much kava is no different.
Overdoing kava with more than the recommended dosage, or using it for a long term can result in health problems, including apathy, a lack of appetite, and weight loss — not in a healthy way. So, if you’ve been drinking a lot of kava, and are pooping a lot, then you will definitely want to stay away from consuming it for a little while.
And learn to make it with an Aluball to stop the fibers from getting in your drink!
