Kava Canada Blog
Kava Canada Blog
Kava in Canada for our health, sleep and inner peace.
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Kava as a substitute
to alcohol
Our Personal Experience
contributed by Tripsister.com
I used to be able to drink alcohol in large amounts as a teen and
in my twenties. I wasn't a very responsible drinker and thank god
I only got my driver's license until much later. Drinking wine with
friends at a dinner table was fine and gave me pleasurable effects.
Drinking a few beers while out in nightclubs made me feel like the
life of the party. It is not the case anymore. My body doesn't seem
to welcome alcohol. Only one sip and I feel the alcohol rushing through
my veins like some sort of evil poison. I become negative and careless.
Even in small amounts, for instance, a glass or two of wine and I
get headaches that can last 2 even 3 days. My body feels sick and
my immune system weakens. Alcohol doesn't do any good for me anymore.
Kava vs Alcohol
In a boxing ring, kava would
definitely knock down alcohol in the first round. Kava has very few calories,
contains no sugar as opposed to alcohol that can cause obesity and diabetes. Kava
is an anti fungal and cancer is a fungus so we can say that kava has anti-cancer
properties. Alcohol, including wine, is carcinogenic. Kava boosts the immune system
and alcohol weakens it. Alcohol causes damage on the liver and kava drank the
traditional way, using only the root part, contains ingredients that protect the
liver. Unlike alcohol, kava doesn't cause hangovers. Kava definitely weighs more
on the scale and has more going for it than alcohol. Kava one, alcohol zero!
Kava is for me the best alternative to alcohol. Praise the kava gods! I am
so thankful for kava and all of the kava growers in the world! One of the good
things about kava is that you can't really overdose with it. You will fall asleep
before you do. With alcohol it's almost as if with every glass you think you'll
feel better and after every one you actually feel worse. With kava, it's easy
to draw a line and call it a day when you've had enough.
Kava is wisdom.
Wisdom is insight and common sense. Wisdom is all about balance, cautiousness,
concentration, enlightenment, experience, foresight, good judgment, intelligence,
knowledge, moderation, perspicacity, poise, reason, recognition, sagacity, sanity,
sophistication, stability and understanding.
Now let's stop and think
about this for a moment. Would we be able to say the same terms apply to alcohol?
No way! I don't think so! Kava has class. Kava kicks ass! Alcohol would be the
opposite: ignorance and stupidity. Think about someone drunk and what comes to
mind naturally is dumbness, empty headedness, foolishness, incapacity, ineptness,
ignorance, mental incapacity, nonsense, senselessness, shallowness, silliness,
simplicity, slowness, sluggishness, unreasonableness, weak mindedness, weakness
and the list goes on and on.
Environmentally wise, kava is "greener"
than alcohol. We know that alcohol is made of different fermented grains and most
growers of those grains (barley, rye, oats, wheat etc.) need to use a lot of pesticides
either natural or chemical. Cereal grains should be restricted for food purposes
in my opinion. Wine producers in France have been using copper for centuries as
a natural insecticide over a million of hectares and in a near future the soil
toxicity will become fatal to mammals. The kava plant is very fragile. It doesn't
grow well if pesticides are used anyway and most of the farmers sell organic kava.
Are you convinced now that kava is a great substitute to alcohol? You'll
tell me that kava doesn't taste very good and doesn't accompany a nice meal like
wine can. Maybe not, but I assure you that your food, once you sit at the table
after drinking a few shells of kava, will taste so good! And the effects will
last subtly for many hours. You might want to eat a light dinner and it's better
that way anyway. It's better to have a big breakfast, a big lunch and a light
dinner. If you're into staying up late, then wait a couple of hours after you
eat and have a few more coconut shells of kava!
No matter what your lifestyle
is, kava will adapt to you and you'll adapt to kava. And if ever you want to take
a break from kava, no strings attached, you won't have any trouble doing so like
with alcohol.
The kava recommended on our website have been tried and tested
by us. We wouldn't recommend anything that we wouldn't take ourselves. Our best
advice is to stick to the powdered root and stay away from any by products. Drink
kava the way it has been drank for over 3000 years, steeped in lukewarm or cold
water (never hot). See our recipe.
Kava
in Canada : The issue of the 2002 ban and stop-sale of Kava
in Canada by Health Canada
Vanuatu Kava : An Introduction
to the Vanuatu island archipelago. Vanuatu is said to have the best
kava in the world with the most varieties. Available in Canada shipped
direct from Vanuatu.
Fiji Kava : An Introduction to
Fiji and Fiji Kava
Hawaiian Kava : The kava
plant, also called awa, is not a native plant to Hawaii and was introduced
in Hawaii by the Polynesian settlers.
Kava Recipe
contributed by TripSister
Our Kava Regular Recipe
Serving:
1 cup of kava
1-2 Tbsp powdered Kava
1 tsp soy lecithin
1 cup water
Mix in blender for 4 minutes, strain in a bowl, using a knee high nylon
stocking, squeeze the liquid out and poor into cup (coconut shell preferably).
It's best to make a big batch. Myself, I find the blender a bit loud and
once a day is enough noise for me! For two people you can make 4-6 cups of kava
in one shot and then just sit back and enjoy your cup of kava. We prefer to take
kava on an empty stomach, at the end of the day before supper. Taking kava before
going to bed can keep some people awake.
Lecithin is used as an emulsifying
agent to release the kavalactones from the kava powder that is not water soluble.
If you don't have lecithin you can use a neutral oil, like canola or vegetable.
There are many different kinds of Kava. You might have to adjust quantities according
to taste. You can try juice, soy milk or plain water. to help extract the kavalactones
that are not water soluble. Also, the strength and quality varies greatly from
one company to another.
Note: Never use hot or boiling water to make
your kava, it will kill the good relaxing properties.
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