Kava: Psychedelic Benefits in an Alcohol Alternative – Cameron George with Dave Asprey : 859

<p>This episode of Bulletproof Radio revisits one of my favorite varieties of plant medicine, called kava. It’s a plant-based drink from the South Pacific Islands that relieves anxiety, boosts mood and enhances cognitive abilities. It has a pretty impressive resume:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Kava is a safe, natural alternative to drugs and alcohol</li><li>Kava offers effects similar to&nbsp;micro dosing psychedelics</li><li>When humans consume kava, it helps protect the body from all forms of stress (physical, chemical, emotional)&nbsp;</li></ul><p>I’m talking with Cameron George, a researcher, writer, entrepreneur and the founder of <a href="https://gettrukava.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TRU KAVA</a>. He’s been on the show before,&nbsp;<a href="https://daveasprey.com/podcasts/tru-kava-731/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kava Just May Be The Next CBD – #731</a>, so don’t miss that one for a great starter resource! This time, we get into kava’s growing use in the United States, its links to community and social connection, and how it makes an amazing alternative to alcohol.</p><p>Cameron likes kava as an alcohol replacement, he says because [for the most part] “people who&nbsp;are migrating towards kava are looking for healthier alternatives that are non-addictive, that don't interfere with their faculties and kind of keep them sober, but bring kind of that enhanced sobriety.”</p><p>Kava lowers the emotional stress system in the brain that is overactive and easily triggered.&nbsp;It increases GABA, an amino acid which is a building block for proteins, and in the brain, kava acts as a neurotransmitter and&nbsp;activates serotonin.</p><p>“Whenever you talk to the indigenous people of the South Pacific,” Cameron says, “they don't speak of kava in the same context. In the U.S., we just see it as an anxiety relieving herb that helps with sleep and stress and things like that. They speak of it as a spiritual entheogenic medicine that improves the quality of your thoughts, your perspective,