The leaves from the kratom plant have been used by the people of Southeast Asia for centuries in traditional medicinal practices.
Increasingly controversial over the past few years, public and scientific opinion of kratom ranges from healthy natural supplement to potentially dangerous drug.
Are you wondering what are the positive effects of kratom?
Let’s take a look at five kratom health benefits.
1. Chronic Pain and Inflammation Relief
Kratom has been long used in Southeast Asia for a number of purposes, one of which is pain management. In recent years, kratom has been increasingly used by people in the West for self-managing their pain.
This plant is also believed by some to have anti-inflammatory effects. There are two compounds that are thought to be responsible for the anti-inflammatory capabilities of kratom: Epicatechin and Rhynchophylline.
There are a number of different ways you can take kratom. These include everything from taking kratom capsules to making a tea out of the dried leaves.
2. Immune Function Support
The immune system is an incredibly important part of your body. It helps to protect your body from germs, harmful substances, and cell changes that can lead to illness. That means when you support and boost your immune function, you’re helping to keep yourself healthy.
One of the health benefits of kratom is thought by some to be it’s ability to boost the immune system. There are a number of alkaloids in kratom that might support your immune system. These alkaloids include:
- Isomitraphylline
- Isorhynchopylline
- Isopteropodine
- Mitraphylline
Kratom can either be taken when you feel you are getting sick or as a preventive tool over time. It is incredibly important that you know that some people believe that kratom can, if taken regularly, cause dependence and withdrawal symptoms.
3. Anxiety Reduction
One of the health effects of kratom is that it helps to inspire a positive state of mind. Many users finds that it helps them reach a more optimistic outlook on life overall.
Kratom isn’t an opioid, but it does have similar effects to opioids like codeine, heroin, and morphine. This is because mitragynine binds to the opioid receptors in your brain that regulate mood.
This means that taking kratom can lead you to feel more upbeat and more anxious. Kratom’s unique properites of being both stimulating and sedative means that it can help calm your anxiety while lifting your mood.
4. Boosts Energy and Improves Focus and Concentration
Some studies have shown that kratom use can induce and enhance certain metabolic processes, which can in turn increase a person’s energy levels.
Another one of the kratom benefits is that it helps increase your blood circulation. This allows more oxygen to be transported to your body cells, which means those cells can metabolize food and produce energy more quickly.
Kratom not only can help boost your energy, but it can make it easier for you to focus and concentrate as well. It is believed this is because of the presense of acetylcholine, which is a neurotransmitter that makes cortical circuits more able to respond to stimulation of the senses.
5. Addiction Recovery
Since there are some similarities in the effects of kratom and opioids, kratom has been used during recorvery from drug addiction.
Not only does kratom use provide similar sensations, it may also help treat some of the symptoms associated with opiod withdrawal. Conditions such as anxiety, sleeplessness, vomiting, nausea, and mood swings might be made better by using kratom.
What Else Should You Know About Kratom?
Basically, there is still a lot of research to be done in order to prove to the scientific community that kratom is a safe, effective, and medicinal substance. When you do research online about this plant, you’ll find a wide range of opinions. While some sites might refer to it as a miraculous and magical plant, others might call for it to be made illegal.
A Drug Enforcement Administration proposal was made to classify kratom as an illegal Schedule 1 drug. This proposal was later withdrawn after a petition, letters from Congress, and public demonstrations protested against making kratom illegal. In a letter from prominent research scientists, the FDA was urged to regulate rather than ban the substance which could potentially save lives that might be taken in the opioid epidemic.
Regulation of kratom is urged by these scientists in order to protect consumers from contaminated kratom products. For example, in 2018, there was an outbreak of salmonella that was linked to certain kratom products.
The bottom line is that you’ll want to keep your eyes and ears open in regards to kratom information. While some sites claim it has no ill effects, and others argue that it’s deadly and dangerous, there is likely truth somewhere in the middle. With substances that haven’t be subject to much research and are the focus of so much controversy, it’s up to each individual to come to their own conclusions.
Kratom Health Benefits: Final Thoughts
There are a lot of people who swear by the health effects of kratom. While some people think that kratom is dangerous and should be banned, the long history of medicinal use in Southeast Asia should stop and make you wonder if this is in fact so.
It is important, however, to do your own research when you’re considering taking a substance about which much is not known. Read information from a variety of sources and come to your own informed decision about whether or not consuming this plant is right for you.
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