Have you ever thought about mixing kratom with other natural compounds? Come on, you must’ve thought about turning into that little herbalist you’re secretly carrying inside your soul.
If your answer to this question is a loud YES, here’s a little treat. It’s perfectly possible, and in some cases recommended, to mix kratom with other herbs. While you may very well use kratom solo and still experience its wide range of benefits, some herbs out there are capable of boosting its benefits in multiple ways.
Today, we will talk about one of the most beneficial pairings – kratom and chamomile.
New to Kratom? Here’s All You Need to Know
This guide is created for both kratom aficionados who are looking for new ways to enjoy their herb and for complete novices who are just starting their adventure with kratom.
Let’s take a closer look at the history, use, and benefits of the plant.
History
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a long-cultivated tree that belongs to the coffee family. It is native to the areas of Southeast Asia, namely Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where farmers used kratom as a part of natural medicine and a stimulating recreational substance.
Originally, Asian workers chewed kratom leaves to ingest the beneficial alkaloid content, but then, people started grinding the herb to a fine consistency and incorporate it into all source of beverages. Due to this shift in preparing kratom, we can now experience a whole range of kratom products, including dried powder, capsules, and pre-made drinks or mixtures with other herbs [1].
Uses
At this point, you’re probably wondering why the buzz around kratom got elevated to the global scale. The array of benefits that come with the plant is impressive, to say the least.
Kratom users mostly seek analgesic effects in their herb. Like we said, Asian laborers, farmers, and professionals used kratom to get relief from various health conditions. Among many of them, the pain killing effects were the number one feature of Kratom, as it helped workers alleviate pain after an exhausting day [2]. Now, it has become a popular and safe alternative for over-the-counter painkillers.
Other than that, Kratom is used as a stimulant to increase energy levels, improve focus, and boost cognitive functions. People enjoy kratom for its ability to act fast and provide a solid boost of energy comparable to a double espresso shot, but with one major difference – kratom does not generally lead to jitters, even when consumed in doses higher than average.
Effects
Okay, fellas, let’s wrap the above data up a little bit. As mentioned, Kratom comes with a wide range of both medical and recreational benefits, including:
- Pain relief
- Euphoria
- Stimulation (low-to-moderate doses)
- Stress relief
- Nootropic boost
- Anxiety reduction
- Sedation (higher doses or certain strains)
- A safe alternative to opiates
But where does this sea of goodness come from? To answer this question, we need to dig deeper into the chemical buildup in kratom.
Without further ado, the effects of kratom come from its alkaloids (active chemical compounds). The leaves of kratom have over 40 alkaloids, including 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and mitragynine [3]. These alkaloids operate on the opioid receptors in your brain, just like opiates. However, unlike opiates, kratom can exhibit its effects without the dangerous side effects of opiates.
Now, let’s examine the history and properties of chamomile for a second.
A Brief History of Chamomile
Chamomile is one of the most popular therapeutic plants in the world. Contrary to Kratom, it grows almost everywhere and is also widely available. To be honest, you don’t even need to go to a dedicated ‘chamomile store’ – you will find it in any supermarket.
And better yet, as far as we’re concerned, chamomile is also legal on the global level.
The plant originated in Western Europe, although now it is cultivated in many places in the world. Similarly to kratom, chamomile has different varieties, such as the German chamomile or the Roman chamomile.
The herb was particularly popular in Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece, where people used chamomile for relieving pain and treating digestive issues. However, chamomile reached the peak of its popularity in the Middle Ages, when it became a remedy for many conditions, such as arthritis, burns, skin problems, and gout. Even today, when the popularity of chamomile has been given over to plants like cannabis and kratom, it is still one of the most commonly used therapeutic herbs.
One Plant, a Myriad of Benefits
Don’t get fooled by the tiny size of chamomile flowers; they have many active compounds, such as bisabolol, acetylene, flavonoids, chamazulene, coumarins or terpenoids. Thanks to their presence, chamomile is rich in health benefits that range from analgesic to anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and sedative [4].
Given this, chamomile can be used to:
- Reduce stress
- Fight anxiety
- Relieve pain
- Improve sleep
- Bolster the immune system
- Ease digestive issues
- Prevent cancer
- Improve the health of the cardiovascular system
- Treat skin and hair conditions
- Speed up the healing of wounds
- Fight hemorrhoids
How Can Chamomile Enhance Kratom Effects?
If you’re taking kratom for its analgesic and relaxing properties, chamomile can help you boost these features so that the effects become more potent. Likewise, kratom enhances the benefits of chamomile.
So, can we say that chamomile is a kratom potentiator? From the technical point of view – no, it’s not. A potentiation refers to blocking certain enzymes in your body which helps the boosted substance increase its effectiveness.
Chamomile is not capable of blocking any enzymes, nor does it inhibit the detoxification process. Instead, the benefits of chamomile add up to the effects of kratom, and since chamomile is both a natural painkiller, sedative, and relaxants, you can experience a whole new dimension of the effects from both herbs.
Further, by mixing kratom with chamomile, you create a shield for your stomach that protects it against the digestive issues linked to increased kratom consumption. This may come handy when you’re an inexperienced kratom user and you accidentally overindulge in the herb.
How to Mix Kratom With Chamomile
Combining kratom and chamomile is no rocket science; all you have to do is add one chamomile bag to your kratom mix and let the combo boil for 10 to 20 minutes.
This portion makes for a generally recommended single cup of kratom and chamomile. What you must keep in mind, though, is the kratom dosage. Never start with large amounts of kratom, and even if you’re a savvy user, don’t go overboard with it for the sake of your own health. This applies specifically to enhanced kratom or extracts that have a higher concentration of alkaloids.
We don’t have good news for those who don’t like the taste of kratom beverages. Adding chamomile to your kratom tea will not make it taste any better – just more herbal. You can sweeten your drink with syrup, honey, sugar, or any sweetener you like.
Is This Herb Pairing Safe?
Generally speaking, yes. That is, of course, as long as you keep the kratom dosage in moderation.
When abused, kratom can cause several side effects, including nausea, digestive issues, jitters, and dizziness. On the one hand, chamomile can counter these symptoms. But on the other hand, the herb comes with sedative properties, so taking high doses of kratom with plenty of chamomiles could result in a couch lock or make the drowsiness even worse.
Also, when combining kratom and chamomile, make sure you’re not allergic to the latter. Allergy to chamomile usually includes itchy throat, red and dry eyes, and swollen lips. If you experience any of the above symptoms after drinking your kratom-and-chamomile tea, stop consuming chamomile immediately.
Have you ever tried pairing kratom with chamomile?
References:
- Daniels A. J. Mitragyna Speciosa: An Analytical Study. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (2015), Birmingham, Alabama.
- Adkins J. E., Boyer E.W., McCurdy CR. Mitragyna Speciosa, A Psychoactive Tree From Southeast Asia With Opioid Activity. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry (2011); 11(9): 1165-75. Published in 2011.
- Farah W. Suhaimi, Nurul H.M. Yusoff, Rahimah Hassan, Sharif M. Mansor, Visweswaran Navaratnam, Christian P. Müller, Zurina Hassan, Neurobiology of Kratom and its main alkaloid mitragynine, Brain Research Bulletin, Volume 126, Part 1, 2016, Pages 29-40, ISSN 0361-9230.
- Srivastava, Janmejai K, Eswar Shankar, and Sanjay Gupta. “Chamomile: A Herbal Medicine of the Past with Bright Future.” Molecular medicine reports 3.6 (2010): 895–901. PMC. Web. 9 Sept. 2018.
