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The way it appears to work is that the isoflavones speed up the effect of alcohol on the brain, alerting us to slow down. However, it does not make people feel more https://ecosoberhouse.com/ drunk, or affect their physical abilities or mental agility. It is, therefore, thought not to make alcohol more dangerous – merely slow down our rate of drinking.
Kudzu cuts alcohol consumption
- Increased consecutive days of abstinence is a desirable outcome of an alcohol treatment program, especially during the initial phases of treatment (Washton and Zweben, 2006).
- We found that, on average, each person consumed 7 units of alcohol after the placebo and, on average, 5.5 units after the kudzu.
- Kudzu, scientifically known as Pueraria lobata, is renowned in traditional Chinese medicine for its diverse applications, including the treatment of alcohol dependence.
- Additionally, kudzu may help reduce inflammation, which is often a contributing factor to the development of type 2 diabetes.
- When given equal amounts of alcohol, kudzu- and placebo-treated individuals respond similarly (Penetar et al., 2011).
The kudzu root may interact with certain medications or pose other health risks for certain people. Therefore, it’s always best to consult your healthcare provider before taking it. Some evidence suggests kudzu root may help with liver damage, while other preliminary evidence suggests it may cause liver injury in certain cases.
- In retrospect, my experience demonstrates the utility of kudzu for alcoholism.
- The placebo-treated group opened 33 beers during baseline conditions and 38 following treatment whereas the kudzu-treated group opened 32 beers during baseline conditions and only 21 following treatment.
- A comprehensive approach that includes medical supervision, counseling, and support is essential for addressing alcoholism effectively.
- This may be due to the isoflavones in kudzu, which can help regulate hormone levels.
- 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.
Kudzu’s been used to help treat alcoholism
He worked for many years in mental health and substance abuse facilities in Florida, as well as in home health (medical and psychiatric), and took care of people with medical and addictions problems at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He has a nursing and business/technology degrees from The Johns Hopkins University. Ultimately, a comprehensive kudzu to stop drinking approach to health and well-being, including evidence-based treatments, remains paramount. Research has found that kudzu can help improve insulin sensitivity, which can help regulate blood sugar levels. Additionally, kudzu may help reduce inflammation, which is often a contributing factor to the development of type 2 diabetes.
Kudzu, the medicinal plant for combating withdrawal symptoms.
- Recent guidelines recommend we stick to 14 units a week, which will be harder for some than others.
- A standardized formulation of kudzu extract produced minimal side effects, was well-tolerated and resulted in a modest reduction in alcohol consumption in young non treatment-seeking heavy drinkers.
- Capsule sets were individually packaged in small envelopes and marked on the outside with date and time of day to be consumed.
All of the above mentioned mechanisms, with the exception of a disulfiram-like one, require repeated administration and time to develop. Since consuming alcohol while taking kudzu extract is not aversive, another explanation is necessary to account for the extremely fast onset of action observed in the present study. The correlational analysis of absolute amount of alcohol consumed and breath alcohol levels in this study indicates that the physiological effects and the rate of elimination of ingested alcohol are not altered by kudzu administration. This was demonstrated in our previous study (Penetar et al., 2011) where pharmacokinetic parameters such as peak concentration and elimination time were not affected by kudzu. In that study, however, we did find evidence of an initial more rapid rise in blood alcohol levels in kudzu-treated individuals, suggesting that isoflavones may alter bioavailability of alcohol to the brain during the ascending alcohol absorption phase.
In the second study, participants who were treated for 4 weeks with kudzu extract significantly reduced their alcohol consumption during weeks 2 through 4 of the study (Lukas et al., 2013). We have subsequently shown that puerarin is the major active isoflavone because 7 days treatment with this compound alone (1200 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. 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. The complete lack of side effects would favor the conduct of such studies. Other limitations of the present study are the use of a rather narrow aged male population who drink only at moderate levels.
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. Another study conducted in 2013, also by David M Penetar and his colleagues5, evaluated the efficacy and safety of kudzu extract in men and women who were not seeking treatment for alcohol addiction. The study included around 4 weeks of treatment in which kudzu was administered with an isoflavone concentration of 250mg. No side effects or changes in vital signs, blood, renal or liver function were recorded.
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Kudzu is being investigated for treatment of alcohol use disorder and cervical spondylosis; the estrogenic activity and cardioprotective effects of kudzu and its constituent puerarin are also under investigation. However, limited clinical studies exist to recommend use for any indication. For hundreds of years, practitioners of Chinese medicine have prescribed kudzu root for reducing alcohol intake. Starting in the early 1990s, researchers at Indiana University investigated this effect in rats’and in golden Syrian hamsters, which have a particular liking for alcohol. The results were very encouraging, with the animals’ voluntary alcohol intake reducing by more than half in most cases.
