Medicinal Herbs and ADHD

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE — LISTEN NOW
February 5, 2021 • 49:27 min

About this Episode

In this episode, naturopath and medical herbalist Amanda Williams joins our host Sara Le Brun-Blashka, MS, to talk about kava (Piper methysticum), known to many as “life essential,” “peace elixir,” and “root of happiness.”

Kava comes from the South Pacific islands, where it is deeply rooted in the culture and customs of the people who live there. It is traditionally drunk as a beverage, or people chew the roots and spit them out.

Many scientific research studies have been conducted on the modern clinical applications of kava. Scientific evidence from clinical trials supports the use of kava for:

  • Anxiety; generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
  • Insomnia, especially stress-induced
  • Skeletal and smooth muscle relaxation
  • Pain relief

In her practice, Amanda Williams uses kava with patients for a handful of situations, including social anxiety, public speaking, travel, dental visits, toothaches, and sleep – both right before bed and after waking up during the night. Kava can also be used in a chiropractic setting prior to adjustment for patients whose muscles are particularly tight; kava may induce calmness and relaxed muscles for an effective adjustment. Kava can be used acutely for six to eight weeks or over longer periods of time on an as-needed basis.

Kava is often combined with other herbs in practice, such as California poppy and Jamaican dogwood. Amanda emphasizes the safety of using kava and the importance of water extracts when sourcing kava, as well as making selections based on the quality of both the raw material and the finished product.

Scientifically driven. Education focused. Healing Inspired.

Subscribe to Insights

Receive clinically driven nutrition insights you can trust.

Animated Newsletter WM

Join Our Community to Read Further

This is a premium article created for our Healthcare Practitioner readers. Create a free account to continue reading and gain full access.

Dismiss

signup-logo

WholisticMatters offers health care practitioners and nutrition enthusiasts alike the opportunity to create a free profile for access to site features like bookmarking. Enjoying an article you are reading or a video you are watching? Save it to come back to later! Sign up in seconds for continuous access to all that WholisticMatters has to offer.

WholisticMatters also offers health care practitioners who create a free user profile access to exclusive content and tools to utilize in clinical practice. Articles, tools, and downloads created specifically for practitioners to use in their office for better patient education in clinical nutrition and health. Sign up today with your email and credentials so we can confirm you as a health care practitioner, and you are free to peruse the resources unique to you and your colleagues in health.

close
mobile-signup

Create Your Account:

show-pass Please use 8 or more characters with a mix of letters, numbers & symbols
signup-logo
close

Create a free account to use our great bookmarking tool

Once your account is created, you'll be able to save and organize what matters to you!

Already have an Account? Login Here


Click 'Sign Up' above to accept Wholistic Matters's Terms of Service & Privacy Policy.
close

Are you a Healthcare Professional? Sign Up For Free Access!

We'll verify your credentials and get you access to our great interactive tools.

Already have an Account? Login Here


Click 'Sign Up' above to accept Wholistic Matters's Terms of Service & Privacy Policy.