Things You Need to Know Before Buying Kratom

Kratom has been around for years now and you might have heard about it more than once. It’s a popular supplement being used by countless people worldwide for its alleged benefits. Although there aren’t major studies that fully back kratom as a health supplement, there are many people that stand by what the plant does for them.

Main Image courtesy of: Silvia Stödter from Pixabay

 

If you’re more than curious about what kratom is and what it is for, here is something you may want to know more about.

 

What Is Kratom?

Kratom is the tree and what people use are its leaves. Its leaves are processed - usually dried and crushed, before being shipped for use. The tree from which the leaves come is usually around 4 to 16 meters high as per the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Moreover, the tree is indigenous to Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and New Guinea but it can now be found elsewhere.

Traditionally, the leaves are dried. It is consumed either by directly chewing or turning the leaves into a brewed tea. However, it has since been made to other forms including capsules and pills. This makes kratom easily available and consumable for people that want to try it out.

 

Kratom’s Composition

Research reveals that kratom is made up of over 40 different alkaloids. What’s surprising is that more of them are being found as research goes on. Understanding what kratom should do means having to understand kratom alkaloids first. Some of these alkaloids react with the chemical composition in our body for varying effects.

One of the most common alkaloids found in the plant is what’s called Mitragynine. As per Kratom Education, it makes up for 70% of the alkaloid composition in kratom leaves. It’s also studied to be an agonist with the human body’s mu and delta receptors so it helps these receptors trigger a biological response.

It’s still up to studies to fully uncover what these alkaloids do. However, it’s at least good to know that there are some traces of compounds that do have benefits on the plant’s leaves.

 

Is It Safe?

For now, it’s too early to say that kratom is safe. However, it’s worth noting that there have been no significant cases of kratom causing people direct harm once consumed. In terms of side effects, the plant has been known to act as a sedative which can also cause feelings of euphoria for the users. As such, some governments consider it a drug.

There are three variants of kratom - red vein, green vein, and white vein. Of the variants, the white vein kratom is said to be the most potent stimulant and the red vein is the weakest. The green vein is said to be somewhere in between.

More studies are looking into kratom and what it can do. It will only be a matter of time before these studies fully uncover what the plant is capable of too. When that time comes, there’s a chance that more governments will consider it as a viable supplement.

 

Read about the Risks vs Benefits of Kratom.

 

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