KUDZU: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing and Reviews
It is known to be extremely safe, with very few reported adverse side effects. As expected, I didn’t really feel anything after taking it until I began drinking. I recall feeling a very slight prickly feeling in my skin after I’d had a few drinks, and a mild head rush. How much water should I be drinking? The major dependent variable was self-reported alcohol consumption as measured via the wrist actigraphy device. Using the continuous measure of alcohol consumption, drinking was quantified using a number of different variables as noted above. In addition, responses to the audible prompts multiple times a day were used to assess desire to consume alcohol. In conclusion, while kudzu shows promise as a natural remedy for alcoholism, more rigorous clinical studies are needed to determine its effectiveness. 3 Medication Adherence It has been suggested that kudzu may be effective in reducing alcohol consumption, alcohol cravings, and withdrawal symptoms in individuals with alcohol use disorders. During the baseline session, the placebo-randomized group consumed 2.7 ± 0.78 beers before treatment and increased consumption to 3.4 ± 1.1 beers after treatment. Side/adverse effects also were tracked on a daily basis by entries in their diaries; items addressed a wide range of somatic complaints. As with any herbal supplement, it is essential to consult a healthcare professional before incorporating kudzu into one’s regimen, especially if taking medications or dealing with specific health conditions. While it does not quite make the cut, it is definitely worth trying if you’re looking to cut down on or quit drinking. Because of this effect, it might also be helpful for people who have quit drinking and want to make sure that a potential slip doesn’t become a full-blown relapse. Taking this plant would decrease the chance that a drink would turn https://ecosoberhouse.com/ into an endless parade of drinks. Of course, it’s up to the individual to ensure that he or she doesn’t use this as an excuse to fall off the wagon. Although I’m sure it would have helped me detoxify, I did not use it after I quit drinking. My experience was limited to an experiment that I did years ago to see if taking the herb would reduce my drinking levels. Kudzu Side Effects and Risks We have subsequently shown that puerarin is the major active isoflavone because 7 days treatment with this compound alone (1,200 mg/day) produced a similar reduction of binge drinking as the extract (Penetar et al., 2012). Given that a week of preplanning is unlikely before a binge drinking episode or opportunity, we built on our previous findings to explore in the present experiment if a single dose of kudzu extract taken shortly before a drinking session would reduce alcohol consumption. This randomized between-subject, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved two weeks of baseline, four weeks of treatment and two weeks of follow-up. Seventeen men (21–33 years) who reported drinking 27.6 ± 6.5 drinks/week with a diagnosis of alcohol abuse/dependence took either kudzu extract (250 mg isoflavones, t.i.d.) or matched placebo on a daily basis. They reported alcohol consumption and desire to use alcohol using a wrist actigraphy device; twice weekly laboratory visits were scheduled to monitor medication adherence and adverse events. Although the dose used in the present study has been vetted in prior studies, testing multiple doses would be helpful to fully explore the magnitude of effects of the kudzu root extract and determine if an even greater reduction in drinking is possible with a higher dose. How To Take Kudzu For Alcoholism? Participants were randomized on a blind basis to receive either 4 capsules of the extract (for a total of 520 mg isoflavones) or placebo (sugar beet filler) 2.5 hours before the start of an afternoon drinking session. This pretreatment time was selected based on our pharmacokinetic study of puerarin absorption and elimination (Penetar et al., 2006). Drinking data were collected using a small wristwatch-like device (ActiWatch® Score, MiniMitter Co., OR) and daily diaries. The ActiWatch has a small button and digital LED faceplate and participants wore the device 24 hours a day for the entire 8-week study and were asked to record all drug and alcohol use by pressing kudzu for alcohol cravings the button to enter the proper code. Should I check my cholesterol levels at home? He suggested that they test Kudzu to see if it would reduce alcohol consumption among their rats. As with any herbal supplement, it is essential to consult a healthcare professional before incorporating kudzu into one’s regimen, especially if taking medications or dealing with specific health conditions. Kudzu may also interact with certain medications, such as disulfiram (Antabuse) and methotrexate. One animal study in particular demonstrated that kudzu extract and its major components are very safe, even after relatively large doses (2 g/day) over a 3-month treatment period (Keyler et al., (2002). Kudzu may interact with certain medications, such as benzodiazepines, and can cause adverse effects. The maximal possible observations were based on the number of side effect categories that were recorded, multiplied by the number of study days in each phase, which was then multiplied by the number of subjects participating in each study phase. This profile differs somewhat from that of kudzu extract and may represent a novel herbal compound that may be a therapeutic candidate. It is important to place the magnitude of the effects of kudzu extract on alcohol drinking in context. Alcohol drinking was not completely eliminated by kudzu extract in the present study, but was reduced from baseline drinking by an average of 45% over the four weeks of treatment. From a harm reduction perspective, kudzu extract results in a desirable outcome for a population of heavy drinkers, especially when one considers the other drug addiction treatment important finding of the present study—kudzu extract was without any adverse events and minimal side effects. We recently demonstrated that kudzu extract does not potentiate the intoxicating effects of alcohol (Penetar et al., 2010) and it does not interfere with sleep wake activity (Bracken
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