(WXYZ) \u2014 A trending herbal drug is raising safety concerns.\u00a0A new report finds a surge in poison control center calls linked to kava, a substance often marketed for relaxation.\u00a0It highlights serious cases, including hospitalizations and deaths.<\/p>\n
Herbal drug kava could pose serious health threats, report finds<\/p>\n
I\u2019m often asked about supplements by my patients, including kava. Kava contains compounds called kavalactones, which act as a sedative. That\u2019s why some people use it to relax or ease anxiety. Here in the U.S., it\u2019s sold in concentrated extracts and ready-to-drink beverages, often marketed as an alternative to alcohol. And while it may sound natural because it\u2019s an herbal supplement, it can actually have serious effects on the body.<\/p>\n
Now, this report found poison center calls related to kava jumped 383% between 2011 and 2025. A large number of the more recent calls involved young men aged 20 and over. Nearly 40% of the calls in 2024 and about a third of the calls in 2025 involved serious health issues.<\/p>\n
On average, about 1 in 5 people with kava-related problems were hospitalized each year. Kava can cause liver toxicity, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, nausea and drowsiness. In rare cases, there have even been deaths \u2014 eight were linked to kava over the study period.<\/p>\n
In addition, the report found that many of the cases involved kava mixed with other substances like alcohol, benzodiazepines and kratom. These cases tended to be more dangerous. In fact, 30% of the calls involved kava and kratom, which can lead to seizures or tremors.<\/p>\n
There are definitely people who should avoid kava \u2014 for example, if you have liver disease, kidney issues, depression, Parkinson\u2019s disease or blood disorders.<\/p>\n
Also, if you take medications \u2014 especially for anxiety \u2014 or drink alcohol, combining them with kava can increase sedation and serious side effects. It can even affect how your medications work.<\/p>\n
Now, if you\u2019re looking to manage stress or anxiety, talking to a health care provider is a great first step. They may recommend therapy, lifestyle changes or medications that are better studied. Also, simple strategies like mindfulness meditation, and regular exercise can also help.<\/p>\n
Finally, kava products are not regulated in the US. Even though they\u2019re often marketed as \u201csafe,\u201d the Food and Drug Administration warns that many formulations here have been linked to adverse health effects, especially in large amounts. It\u2019s always best to discuss kava with your doctor before trying it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(WXYZ) \u2014 A trending herbal drug is raising safety concerns.\u00a0A new report finds a surge in poison control…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[17451,17326,102,6591,17453,56,54,55,17452],"class_list":{"0":"post-520763","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-7-action-news","9":"tag-detroit","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-medication","12":"tag-metro-detroit","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom","16":"tag-wxyz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}