Therefore, if you know how potent the unextracted powder is, it is almost always a better option. If you are harvesting your own kudzu, you must be careful and prepare it properly. Be sure that you can identify the plant clearly since it appears much like poison ivy. The combination of these two remedies is also useful in relieving many chronic digestive complaints including the symptoms of IBS , acute diverticulitis, and leaky gut syndrome. Because of its anti-inflammatory nature, it may benefit people with a range of inflammatory conditions including rheumatism, fever, and pain.

Analyses showed that all of the products contained less than one percent of active Kudzu. “The most urgent need is helping people who cannot help themselves, who need a drug to help them stop drinking,” Keung said. None of the subjects had any side effects from mixing kudzu with beer. After the first session, some subjects received capsules of kudzu, others a placebo. “It’s a vine,” says Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, registered dietitian and in-house nutrition expert at Betches Media.

Kudzu for Alcoholism: The Ultimate Dosage Guide

Some common applications include treating fevers and easing symptoms of diabetes. Now kudzu’s popularity is also picking up in the Western world as a wellness supplement. Additionally, eliminating hot flashes and night sweats, an upset stomach and inflammation are all benefits that you may find from eating kudzu root or taking it as a supplement or tea. Lukas and Lee hold a patent for kudzu extract to treat alcohol abuse and dependence.

In Thailand, the women use Pueraria Mirifica or Thai kudzu to relieve the symptoms of menopause. In Thailand where I live, it is used as an ingredient in cooking or found as a supplementary ingredient for improving symptoms like night sweats and hot flashes. For women going through the menopause all too familiar with many of its symptoms such as night sweats and hot flashes, kudzu root may help. Kudzu is recommended as a natural remedy for a stomach upset caused by poor digestion.

Kudzu root benefits

As a safe, over-the-counter preparation, kudzu may be used alone in initial attempts to curb alcohol consumption, but it may also become a useful adjunct to the currently available prescription medications. This latter scenario might very well permit the use of lower doses of prescription medications and thus reduce the incidence of side effects. Furthermore, because kudzu extract exerts its beneficial effects within hours of the first dose, it could be administered along with a prescription medication and provide “coverage” until the other medication begins to work. Kudzu root (Gegen in Chinese) is the dried root of Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi, a semi-woody, perennial and leguminous vine native to South East Asia. For more than 2000 years, kudzu root has been used as a herbal medicine for the treatment of fever, acute dysentery, diarrhoea, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Over seventy phytochemicals have been identified in kudzu root, with isoflavonoids and triterpenoids as the major constituents.

In vitro, kudzu has demonstrated antiproliferative (1), anti-inflammatory (3), and neuroprotective (16) (18) properties. In animal studies, feeding with kudzu root suppressed alcohol intake and withdrawal symptoms (4). Keung, not directly involved in Lukas’ study, said he has extracted a compound from kudzu root that he hopes to turn into a drug for reducing alcoholics’ cravings.

Other potential health benefits

Alcohol products should be taxed relative to their external harms and several new categories are needed to encompass the rapidly changing landscape of alcohol products. Beginning in the early 1990s, the $10.50 per proof gallon returned to Puerto Rico and the USVI temporarily increased to $13.25. The higher rate https://ecosoberhouse.com/ of tax collections returned to the territories would often be included in tax extender packages. The additional revenue was welcomed by the territories, but because the additional revenue was constantly part of a temporary tax extender package, the revenue was difficult for the territories to count on reliably.

Now it makes sense as to why most any southerner knows what kudzu is. Kudzu is native to Asia, particularly China, Japan and Korea, and has been used in Eastern medicine for centuries. It’s related to five species in the genus Pueraria (P. montana, P. lobata, P. edulis, P. phaseoloides and P. thomsoni). With strict editorial sourcing guidelines, we only link to academic kudzu extract for alcoholism research institutions, reputable media sites and, when research is available, medically peer-reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses (1, 2, etc.) are clickable links to these studies. And while it did contain the isoflavones that are thought to be the active ingredients, our volunteers had to take five pills each to achieve the desired level of 500mg.

Although kudzu is used in traditional medicine, the evidence on whether it has benefit for any condition is unclear. Lukas’ study was inspired by Dr. Wing Ming Keung, a pathology professor at Harvard Medical School who has studied kudzu’s potential medical applications. Kudzu root, leaf, and flowers have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for centuries. But today you can find it in the supplement aisle of most grocery stores.

• The root contains isoflavones, a compound that has been shown to reduce alcohol consumption in rats.
• This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
• In addition, another systematic review determined that evidence on benefits for any condition with various species of kudzu are limited and unclear (28).
• But before any consumer can enjoy their drinks, alcoholic beverage retailers, wholesalers, and producers must navigate a complex web of regulations and taxes.

One study in mice found that kudzu vine extract was highly beneficial in treating alcohol-induced liver damage by scavenging harmful free radicals and boosting the natural antioxidant system (6). Today, the most popular ways to use kudzu root are as an herbal supplement or a root tea. This article examines the benefits, uses, and potential side effects of kudzu root. More recently, kudzu root has made its way to Western countries as an herbal supplement. Because of this effect, kudzu 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.

Drugs & Supplements

Many people with alcoholism and their families are desperate for a solution to their problems and kudzu may provide them with genuine hope. A recent study by Harvard-affiliated researchers revealed that kudzu—an herb found to reduce alcohol consumption—does not work by increasing the intoxicating effects of alcohol so that individuals get drunk faster. In conclusion, while kudzu shows promise as a natural remedy for alcoholism, more rigorous clinical studies are needed to determine its effectiveness. It is crucial for individuals struggling with alcohol addiction to seek professional help and consider evidence-based treatments. Studies on the effectiveness of kudzu for alcoholism have shown mixed results. While some studies have shown promising results, others have found no significant difference between kudzu and a placebo.

According to research, it works because it raises the level of alcohol in a person’s blood. This may not sound desirable but it means a person will get the same effect from the alcohol they consume without needing to drink as much. Kudzu root is a plant with a long history of use in Asia especially in China where it is a popular and important medicinal herb. You may not be familiar with the name, but if you have ever spent any time in the South of the US, you may have noticed an invasive plant clambering over yards and trees and poles. There is a good chance that the plant you spotted was kudzu and despite its invasive nature, it is actually very good for you. Supplements are available as extracts in liquid, powder, capsules or tablet form.