Kratom: a brilliant stimulant or a health gamble?

Kratom in the fitness community is kind of like bitcoin in the investor world. At times it experiences a rise, at times a fall, but with each new wave of popularity it captures more people's attention. But whereas some time ago kratom was primarily sold in various closed communities on social media, today typing the word into a search engine will bring up dozens of specialized eshops. And as you read through the promised effects, you may be thinking that there must be a catch somewhere that the sellers aren't talking about. In today's article, we'll break down kratom down to the last component so you can be clear once and for all.

Article Content:

• Slightly stronger caffeine
• Benefits and variations of kratom in a nutshell
• What are the negatives?

Slightly stronger caffeine

It's clear that no one really cares much about the facts of the plant kingdom, yet they are extremely important to answering the question "What is kratom?". And we can assure you that it is not a man-made substance, but the ground leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree, which has no Czech equivalent, but belongs to the family of bryophytes, which includes the coffee tree (source of caffeine), the quinine tree (source of quinine) and the yohimbe tree (source of yohimbine).

And this is related to its effects. As the main substances present are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the eponymous supplement containing dried ground kratom leaves offers very strong stimulation and, due to its binding to opioid receptors, can also induce feelings of euphoria. As you can probably guess, it has its limitations.

Kratom powder is most commonly the ground leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree.

Benefits and variants of kratom in a nutshell

Like the other articles in our magazine, this one will be neutral. Knowing that the whole issue of kratom has its advantages, we should present some of the basic benefits, which vary depending on which variant you choose. Kratoms are in fact divided according to the color of the veins of the leaves:

• White kratom - White kratom is often considered to improve cognitive function as well as promote creativity. It has an energetic effect and is therefore often used by students, athletes or busy managers.
• Yellow kratom - Young leaves with otherwise white veins often have yellow veins. This type of kratom is considered to be very stimulating, promoting communicativeness while inducing feelings of mild euphoria.
• Red kratom - This type of kratom is the opposite of yellow kratom and instead of being stimulating, it has a calming effect, promotes relaxation and can help with pain.
• Green kratom - This is a compromise between red and yellow kratom. It promotes good mood and talkativeness, but at the same time does not have any extreme stimulating effects.

What are the negatives?

The above mentioned effects are not just a marketing invention of the sellers, as a number of independent scientific studies have also shown the effectiveness of kratom. And while this herb may have made an almost miraculous impression on you so far, which you simply have to experience for yourself, here comes the aforementioned but. What are the risks of kratom?

You don't know the exact composition

Kratom is legal in the Czech Republic, but not as a food or dietary supplement. Theoretically, you can buy it, but it is not intended for use, but a bit utopian, perhaps as a collector's item. A related issue is that sellers have no need to check the quality and report it to the relevant inspection authorities. Not only do you have no idea of the exact composition, but often the resellers running the shops do not. It is perhaps no surprise to anyone that some mixtures contain, for example, adulterants of synthetic cannabinoids, which can give you a positive doping test. And just the fact that you don't know exactly what you are buying should put you off.

No one actually controls or regulates the sale of kratom, so each tablet may contain something different.

It's a drug like any other.

Although many kratom users may not agree with this opinion, kratom is a drug like any other. Unlike caffeine, however, the risk of developing an addiction is much higher , and the oft-repeated phrase about keeping it under control and not taking kratom every day may be applicable to any drug, but in practice it works for few after a few weeks, months or years.

At higher doses, the negatives outweigh the negatives.

At low doses, kratom can be described as a safe product. However, once you overdo it, you may experience aggression, anxiety, itching all over the body and severe nausea. Of course, expert evidence speaks of cases of death or serious liver damage, but these are more likely to be extreme cases caused by a huge dose or the interaction of many substances.

With kratom, it is very difficult to estimate the dose. And if you exceed it, there can be a range of side effects.

We don't know how or what kratom interacts with

According to the available data, kratom should not be combined with cocaine, caffeine, yohimbine, alcohol, antidepressants, MAO inhibitors or nervous system drugs. But the problem is that the possible interactions of each ingredient with a wide range of other substances (whether drugs or medications) is not well researched.

What to take away from today's article?

The main thing you should take away from today's article is that kratom in small amounts is definitely not bad and the positives can actually outweigh the negatives. The problem is that this supplement is not regulated, and so you cannot rely on the fact that the ingredients listed on the packaging are actually contained inside the product.

Thus, you may take completely different ingredients than what the seller declares and you may experience different effects, or the product may be contaminated with potentially problematic ingredients (such as synthetic cannabinoids). If you know of a verified vendor or are able to determine the actual content of the substances yourself in the laboratory, kratom is available for you to try. Otherwise, we don't recommend it too much - a much better option is perhaps caffeine in tablets.