Kudzu (Ge Gen) has been reported to help people in recovery with alcohol cravings! Kudzu or Ge Gen (Chinese pinyin name) is of the most studied herbs in the Chinese pharmacopeia. It is also one of the oldest and most used herbs as well. Kudzu has many medicinal properties and actions that are used today. Kudzu can help with diahrrea or general digestive complaints, especially when the digestive compliant is due to stress. Kudzu helps with relieving muscular tension in the upper body region and it helps increase blood flow rates. It is effective in helping with the common cold and new research shows that it is effective in curbing alcoholic cravings. We have the medicinal herb kudzu as a single herb and also in an “anti craving formula”. As a single herb and in a formula it is very effective in reducing the biological and physiological cravings people have with alcohol.

As stated in an earlier Townsend letter, “Animal research and empirical experiences indicate that kudzu, in combination with other herbs or nutrients, may reduce alcohol craving. Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is one of seven Chinese herbs in a Traditional Chinese Medicine formula known as ‘drunkenness dispeller.’ In 1991, David Lee, an organic chemist at Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, joined with scientists at Shin-Yang University in China to test an herbal compound, based on the traditional formula. They found that giving the compound to rats that had been injected with alcohol improved the animals’ motor coordination. Lee told two researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Skipper Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies about the compound. The researchers, Amir Rezvani and David Overstreet, were working with strains of rats that apparently like alcohol’s effect and will drink it voluntarily. When testing Lee’s herbal compound on the rats, the UNC researchers found that the rats drank significantly less alcohol. The rats’ response to the compound does not decrease over time. Because the compound does not slow the body’s metabolism of alcohol (which would keep alcohol in the bloodstream for longer periods), the researchers believe that the herbs may be affecting the brain’s reward system, making alcohol less desirable.”

“When tested in isolation as a single herb, kudzu has given mixed results. A study that tested a kudzu root extract (1.2 grams twice daily) showed no statistically significant difference in craving and sobriety scores between veterans taking the extract and those taking a placebo (J. Altern Complement Med, 2000 Feb). Phyllis Van Duesen, however, has used kudzu to help her American Indian clients stop craving alcohol. Van Duesen is a Pawnee/Osage iridologist with 30 years’ experience in natural health care. In addition to taking kudzu in capsules, she recommends that clients take vitamin B complex and mineral supplements and avoid processed foods that contain extra sugar because of a link between sugar craving and alcoholism. Van Deusen suggests that consumers who want to reduce alcohol craving avoid liquid extracts of kudzu that contain alcohol.”

Rector, Leta. Cure the crave for alcohol: inexpensive and painless. News from Indian Country: The Independent Native Journal. Mid Oct 2002

Shebek, J & Rindone, JP. A pilot study exploring the effect of kudzu root on the drinking habits of patients with chronic alcoholism. J Altern Complement Med, 2000 Feb; 6(1): 45-8

Smith, John, UK herbalist. Kudzu Recovery.
www.planetherbs.com

Spivey, Angela. Sobering Effects from the Lowly Kudzu. From Endeavor Magazine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, April 1996 www.med.unc.edu/alcohol/research

Brad Whisnant, Licensed Acupuncturist and Certified Herbalist

Renaissance Medical Center