When Your Hands Are Tied and You Feel Helpless Faith Keeps You Going

“All licensed kava products sold in Canada today are in direct response to Life Choice challenging the false claims, uncovering the truth, and removing the negative stigma associated with quality-sourced kava.”

Most folks know the difference between a Rolex and a Timex watch: a Rolex is one of a kind, made from the highest quality material available. The value of a Rolex is set knowing it is the very best watch money can buy and a Rolex knockoff does not lessen the value of the original. In a way, the copy is a tribute to something that is established as the very best, this recognition comes with a price and it takes consistency, dedication, education and plenty of time and money; it does not come overnight. The same cannot be said of the natural health industry, watches are one thing but when comparing to the sea of vitamin brands all touting they have the highest quality it is a daunting task.

Our office had a phone call last week from one of our retail stores: they said they could not sell our product since it was priced higher than the other brand with the same name. They said they knew the Life Choice brand was made better but people did not care, they just bought the cheaper brand on sale, what could they do?

For your better understanding let me share with you my story of Kava Kava, starting at the beginning. As a personal testimony I have used kava in my clinical practice and my personal life for decades and experienced only positive results. The pharmaceutical industry gets nervous when a natural health product becomes too popular, to the point they can replace their drugs—we have experienced this with many of our products and kava is no exception.

What Is Kava?

Kava (Piper methysticum) is a root product grown in the South Pacific; it has been safely consumed as a brewed beverage for over 3,000 years. The earliest account of kava dates back to the late 1700s, with the journeys of Captain Cook. To equate the effect: kava beverages in tropical climates are similar to the use of alcoholic beverages in the West, without alcohols side effects. It has useful therapeutic properties for treating anxiety, hyperactivity, stress, restlessness, and cancer prevention.

In 2001, the Duke University Medical Center conducted two clinical studies[1] on Kava extract. One study showed that kava was safe to use with no stress or damage to the liver. The second study compared kava’s effects to SSRI medication, the medicinal class known as the benzodiazepine class of drugs (Xanax or Valium, trade named Prozac, Xanex and Valium) which generate sales of hundreds of millions of dollars. The second study showed kava to be as effective as these drugs for treating anxiety without dependency or withdrawal symptoms.

From Banned to Legal

Suspiciously, one week prior to the release of the Duke University findings, a European-based report from Germany declared—contrary to all previously-known medical science—that kava had caused liver toxicity and death in 21 people. Global kava sales plummeted, insurance companies panicked, European health regulators over-reacted and Pacific Islander growers were devastated. As a result, the Duke University study lost all merit, and the health benefits for treating serious medical conditions using natural products were never embraced or acknowledged. The European report did its damage. One year later, in 2002, Canada and other European countries banned the sale of kava, citing that liver toxicity may result in death.

American toxicologist/pharmacologist Prof. Donald Waller, of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago concluded—of the approximately 30 hepatic adverse event reports (AERs) from Germany and 5 submitted to the FDA between May 1998 and September 2001—”that there is no clear evidence that the liver damage reported in the U.S. and Europe was caused by the consumption of kava,” and that those cases in which there is a possible association between the use of a kava extract and liver dysfunction “appear to have been hypersensitivity or idiosyncratic base responses.”[2]

In 2009 I consulted with kava experts and conducted a detailed investigation; it so happens that those who claimed liver damage already had cirrhosis of the liver. The annual Kava sales in Germany were approximately $400,000 per year before the report, and with twenty-one reported liver toxin cases. In the same year, Kava sales in the US were over $300,000,000 with zero reported liver complaints. We investigated the money trail: what company would benefit most from the European Report? The German pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche was examined, and their #1 selling drug with 2.3 billion pills sold in 1978 was Valium, once coined as “Mother’s Little Helper”.

The same year Health Canada listed Kava kava as a possible cause of liver toxicity and death, completely based on the European Report with no testing proof of their own—, which, unfortunately, is often the case. I took up the challenge to rectify this error, in 2012. After summiting the 3.5 years undisputable safety evidence to Health Canada, Life Choice was granted the first product license for kava, with the label claim, “calmative and sleep aid”—a far cry from the warnings, “may cause liver toxicity or death.”

The Problem with Copycats

I recall my first kava listing meeting with the buyer of a large retail chain I had done business with for 20 years. I was so excited as this was the first-time kava could be legally sold in Canada after being removed from the market for 10 years. After my meeting I noticed an employee of the store putting stock on the shelf, and wouldn’t you know, it was unlicensed kava from the company Botanica. I went back to the buyer to voice my concern of selling unlicensed kava, especially knowing how Health Canada felt about the product. I was told they would continue selling the unlicensed kava with our licensed kava and let the market decide. As you can imagine I felt betrayed, innovation and intellectual knowledge had no importance, even our natural health industry trade organization refused to make a statement about kava being officially licensed and to explain the importance of purchasing only licensed products.

Sure, it is sour grapes but there is much more at stake here: the responsibility for being first to market requires maintaining a higher standard than the marketplace. Life Choice needed to use 5-year noble root kava, and water extract process to preserve the roots integrity and we needed to produce the lab tests to Health Canada proving the product contained the six strains of kavalactones.

Unlike synthetic pharmaceutical drugs, natural health products cannot be patented, and once the evidence for licensing gets Health Canada’s approval, they allow other brands to piggyback on our submitted research evidence to receive their licensing, without the need of maintaining the same high-quality standards. Why? Because Health Canada does not care about the product quality of natural health products, they can be feed grade, radiated, genetically modified, and grown or produced from biosoils (sewage sludge). Copycat brands are not required to keep the quality standards as those first to market and as such, they use immature roots, stems and leaves and alcohol extracts and do not need expensive tests to prove the 6 kavalactone strains. They are able to sell their questionable products at a fraction of the costs. How is a consumer to know there is a quality difference if the stores are not educated on raw material quality or refuse to disclose the evidence? For me the worst thing is having a questionable low-quality product on the market, especially knowing that Health Canada would love nothing more than to permanently remove kava from the marketplace.

The Importance of Kava

So that you understand the importance of Kava kava, and why I spent hundreds of hours in research and submission, let me give you some insight to the science I was perusing of this amazing kava root.

In 2009, the journal Psychopharmacology published a 3-week placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover trial that recruited 60 adult participants who had experienced 1 month or more of elevated generalized anxiety. They received five kava tablets per day, which totaled 250mg of kavalactones. The study found that participants’ Hamilton Anxiety Scale scores were significantly reduced; kava was also effective in reducing depression. Participants experienced no serious adverse effects and no clinical hepatotoxicity.[3]

In 2010, the Department of Zoology at Cairo University studied the effects of kava on rats. They found no adverse effects on the liver and kidneys, and suggested that kava might be preferred to treat anxiety, due to the lack of withdrawal and addictive properties.[4]

In 2014, after examining island natives that were both regularly drinking kava and being heavy smokers, they discovered a very low incidence of lung cancer. The University of Minnesota conducted a placebo-controlled study with mice, giving a cancer agent without kava to half and the cancer agent with kava to the other half. The results were astounding a 98% rate for lung cancer prevention. For smokers, kava may be the best solution available for preventing lung cancer.[5]

For kava to be effective, it must contain the 6 different kava chemotypes, defined by the concentrations of the six major kavalactones in the 5-year noble kava root. These active ingredients flavokawain B (FKB) has been identified from kava root extracts as a potent apoptosis inducer for inhibiting the growth of various cancer cell lines, including breast, and prostate cancer.

The beauty of Kava for women is it offers aphrodisiac effects allowing the brain to become calmer and less agitated and more at ease. Kava is even a great product to use for designated drivers as they get similar effects like alcohol without the side effects, since kava does not negatively influence driving abilities, when taken in moderation. It is a win-win solution for those wanting to be social while abstaining from alcohol.

The Importance of Product Quality

The efforts to produce product quality standards for natural health products should never be discarded, they are our only alternative to prescription drugs. The undertaking to improve kava quality standards is difficult in a marketplace driven solely on the profit generated for shelf-space. The quality standards are diminished when the market-share is not controlled, there are strict regulations for kava cultivators, farmers, harvesters, but it falls apart with manufacturers, and as a consequence, consumers and physician treating patients for anxiety, tension, and restlessness have little results when quality standards are lacking.

Innovation and discovery are the bases of advancement in any society and most fields, from the simplest improvement to the ground breaking technology. Once a novel idea is created, it becomes essential to protect the discovery from being copied and stolen and this includes the health industry. I have been told from those on inside that the pharmaceutical industry is a cutthroat business, ideas are often copied with slight variations, then patented cutting out the researchers. Sadly, there does not seem to be any difference in the natural health industry as money has a way of justifying one’s deeds.

Kava presents an amazing natural-agent for helping with many of the health issues society is facing today.  All licensed kava products sold in Canada today are in direct response to Life Choice challenging the false claims, uncovering the truth, and removing the negative stigma associated with quality-sourced kava.

When your hands are tied and you feel helpless it is faith that keeps you going. Trying to establish quality standards in the natural health industry seems to be impossible. The only saving grace is reaching out to the individual end-users with education and awareness and for word of mouth from those who know the difference quality standards make. The power for change is in the hands of the consumers, this applies at all levels. It is your purchases that drive the marketplace. Knowledge is the key, while speaking out and demanding change,  remembering that price is only an option in the absence of value.

Life Choice Kava Kava Testimonials:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐We are very pleased with this product! The Kava is an excellent way to unwind after a long day. The root has been aged for five years, so the flavour is mellow and smooth. It’s also GMO free and gluten free, which is great news for those with dietary restrictions. We would definitely recommend this. Orland, Ontario

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We are very pleased with this product. We’ve used other kava products and this one is by far the best! The taste is amazing (a bit like chocolate) and it really works to calm our nerves and help us sleep. We highly recommend it! Kailash, Ontario

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐I really like this Kava Kava supplement. It is strong with 400mg and is also a standardized extract form with 30% kavalactones in it. That is the Kava Kava concentration that has been proven to be effective in studies. Usually 1 or 2 caps is enough to take the edge of stress off. Thanks to Life Choice for bringing this kava root supplement back to Canada and getting the NPN from Health Canada. Dieter, Ottawa

Other First To Market Products Life Choice Has Accomplished to Bring to The Marketplace:

References:

[1] Connor, Kathryn-Davidson, Jonathan. 2002.

[2] Waller, Danald P. 2002.

[3] Sarris, J et al. 2009.

[4] Noor, Neveen A. 2010.

[5] Bian, Tengfei et al. 2020.