Supported by several
European clinical studies which demonstrated kava's anti-anxiety effects, kava
became huge.
Kava sales became huge
and for the first time, many South Pacific island cultures flourished
economically because of the resulting brisk kava sales.
Two studies by Duke
University Medical Center in 2001 showed that kava is safe for the liver and
causes no noticeable problems. It was
shown in these studies that kava extract is as effective for the treatment of
anxiety as Xanax and Valium without the hazards caused by those drugs.
One week prior to the
publication of the Duke studies, a European-based report declared that kava had
caused liver toxicity in 21 people and kava sales crashed.
Ignoring the results of
the Duke studies, insurance companies panicked, European health regulaters
over-reacted and the Pacific islanders were left with plenty of kava on the
shipping docks and no sales.
After several years and
reviews by many research teams, the kava liver toxicity report was found to be
shoddy and baseless. But the damage was
done.
Despite absolutely no
evidence of liver toxicity among kava drinkers and demonstrated liver safety in
medical studies, kava still carries the taint of poor research.
Things are beginning to
turn around though. The epicenter of
kava culture, Vanuatu is preparing for the next kava boom.
With more than 100
varieties of kava, each one produces a slightly different effect. During the interim between the "kava crash"
and now, large plantations of noble kava have opened thus ensuring the best
types of kava will be super-abundant when kava sales take off -- as they are
already starting to do.
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