Kudzu for fighting alcoholism

Little by little we are starting to see that some of the alternative medicines or treatments that are often looked down upon by the mainstream medical professionals actually do work. Recently, in the wake of Vioxx recall in September 2004 and then Bextra recall in April of this year, it was pointed out in a study that acupuncture may actually be effective in pain relief among arthritis patients.

Another popular alternative plastic surgery procedure based on Chinese medicine is an acupuncture facelift. For those patients who do not wish to go under a knife, this is an excellent choice. (Related article: Result of acupuncture face lift)

Now we are learning that a Chinese herb, Kudzu, may actually reduce alcohol drinking among heavy drinkers, with literally no side effects. According to a paper published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research by Scott Lukas, David Penetar, Jeff Berko, Luke Vicens, Christopher Palmer, Gopinath Mallya, Eric Macklin, and David Lee, Kudzu treatment resulted in significant reduction in the number of beers consumed that was paralleled by an increase in the number of sips and the time to consume each beer and a decrease in the volume of each sip. These changes occurred in the absence of a significant effect on the urge to drink alcohol. There were no reported side effects of kudzu treatment.

These data suggest that an extract of this leguminous plant may be a useful adjunct in reducing alcohol intake in a naturalistic setting. Of the available medications for treating alcohol-related problems, none are universally effective, and all have side effects that may limit their use. In previous studies, extracts of kudzu containing a variety of isoflavones have been shown to reduce alcohol drinking in rats and hamsters.

It is now possible to buy Kudzu herb supplements from an online herbal products store, e.g. Vitacost, Herbal Remedies, The Vitamin Bin, Herbs MD, and Vita Springs.

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