Tips To Choosing the Best Kratom
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From caffeine to nicotine, the legal to the illicit, using stimulants for recreational and medicinal purposes has been a constant throughout human history; in the modern era, the well-known corporate slogan, "America runs on Duncan" (a reference to the popularity of Duncan Donuts' unique brand of coffee) is a testament to that fact. While caffeine may enjoy some of the most widespread use of any stimulant out there, other natural stimulants like kratom have similar effects. For those interested in trying something new, choosing the best kratom to buy can be a daunting task. Not enjoying the same level of notoriety and wide-spread use as coffee beans, fewer people are aware of the uses and origins of kratom leaves, which in turn causes them to suffer from the negative stigma of the unknown. There's nothing to be afraid of though, as kratom leaves have been cultivated and used in some parts of the world for hundreds of years.
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Why Buy Kratom, Anyway?
The first step down the road of choosing the best kratom to buy is to understand what it is, and a little bit about the history of its use by man. Kratom is actually a name that refers to the leaves of a specific type of Southeast Asian deciduous evergreen tree known as the Mitragyna speciosa. The tree grows indigenously in Thailand, and as a result the kratom leaves have become deeply ingrained in some veins of Thai culture. The leaves contain a combination of chemicals that act as a specific type of opioid receptors. There are approximately 40 distinct chemical compounds in the kratom leaves, but the most commonly recognized as the "active" chemical is 7-hydroxymitragynine.
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The result of this chemical composition is that kratom leaves can be used as a pain management tool, mood enhancer, and depending on the strength of dosage a sedative or stimulant. In Thailand, especially the southern peninsula, chewing the leaves is a common cultural practice. Some estimates put the rates of usage at up to 70% of the male population in certain regions, with an average of 10-60 leaves chewed on a daily basis. In addition to chewing the leaves whole to extract the chemicals through mastication, they are also commonly brewed in tea. Because of its characteristics that act as an opioid receptor, an increasingly common use of the leaves is to help opium addicts break their addictions. Numerous case studies exist where individuals dependent on pain killers such as morphine were able to gradually able to lose their addiction to the substance without experiencing the painful withdrawals often associated with the process. On the flip-side of that, the process of "quitting" kratom has been likened by many to caffeine withdrawals.