Kava has been used for millennia by South Pacific island natives as a non-alcoholic, non-addictive socially-bonding and anxiety-relieving agent of tranquility, as reported in 1999 by Australian anthropologist Harry Feldman. Historically, barring abuse, alcohol has served the same valuable purposes throughout the ages.
However, a well-documented fatality, and other liver damage incidents, after mixing alcohol and kava was cited by Dr. Hyla Cass, in 2002, in "Integrative Medicine." Kava and alcohol each produce dose-dependent liver toxicity, as reported in "Clinical Toxicology" in 2007.
Chronic Kava Use
Harry Feldman, in a 1997 paper submitted to the Australian National University, described life-long use of Kava as a beverage, in both private and social settings, in the Pacific island nation of Tonga throughout the last thousand years. Many people drink it daily. Kava has been found to contain powerful tranquilizing and neuromuscular relaxing agents, producing an alert tranquility. Traditional users deny health hazards.
Kava Liver Damage
Researchers studying kava use, at the University of Hawaii Medical School in Manoa, Honolulu, published their findings in 2007 in "Clinical Toxicology." They documented that 65 percent of male chronic kava users, typically drinking large quantities, demonstrated liver gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) enzyme levels more than twice that of non-kava drinkers. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), another liver enzyme, was up to eight times normal. Dr. Sandra Cabot, Australian author of "The Liver Cleansing Diet," published in 1997, confirms that these levels indicate significant kava-induced liver disease.
Chronic Alcohol Use
Abuse of alcohol is well known. According to "Alcoholics Info," over 14 million people in the United States were addicted to alcohol in 2009. Much alcohol use is triggered by a desire to escape stress and anxiety. Medicinal use of kava in the United States, where its use is legal as a food supplement, is growing among people with the same motivations, making it widely used for emotional support. According to Dr. Cass's reports, combining alcohol and kava is combining two liver-toxic drugs.
Alcohol Liver Damage
Over 13,000 people die annually from alcohol-induced liver disease, according to researchers reporting for MedlinePlus in 2009. Symptoms of alcoholic liver disease are due to inflammation, also called hepatitis. Cirrhosis is the final phase of alcoholic liver disease. Symptoms include fatigue, jaundice, mental confusion and loss of appetite. None of these symptoms are typical of ordinary kava use, but their absence could lead an alcohol user to believe that adding kava would be harmless.
Dangerous Mixture
Dr. Cass notes that when used alone, occasional use of kava is considered medically safe and beneficial. But she adds a warning from documented cases of liver damage. Investigation has shown that almost every case was due to concomitant use of drugs with known liver-toxicity, including alcohol. Death, liver transplantation and liver failure have been documented.
Combining kava and alcohol should never be attempted.
