Kratom with Dr. Christopher McCurdy

An estimated 3 million Americans use kratom products for recreational purposes, in self-treatment of opiate addiction, and to manage pain. Yet, our scientific understanding of its safety, efficacy, and potential for addiction is still poorly understood. With new data emerging each year, scientists are starting to gain a better picture of the full spectrum of risks and benefits of this SE Asian medicinal herb. Our guest this week, Dr. Christopher McCurdy, is an internationally recognized expert on kratom. Chris is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, where he also directs the UF Translational Drug Development Core. We address questions like:
1) What is kratom? Where does it come from and how does its traditional use differ from the ways it is consumed in the USA?
2) What are the major active compounds found in kratom and how much variation is there in different products?
3) What are the side effects of chronic versus acute use of kratom?
4) Are there any drugs you should avoid taking in combination with kratom?
#kratom #MedicinalPlants #Pain #Addiction #tea #Herbs #HerbalSafety #Stimulant #Science
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Kratom: Uses, Risks, and Research Insights with Dr. Christopher McCurdy
00:00 Welcome to Foodie Pharmacology: Exploring Kratom
00:38 Meet Dr. Christopher McCurdy: A Kratom Research Expert
02:35 Kratom's Traditional Uses vs. Modern Applications
07:03 Investigating Kratom's Chemical Complexity and Potential Uses
29:46 Exploring the Safety and Interactions of Kratom
33:50 Exploring the Chronic Effects of Kratom
34:40 The Increasing Tolerance and Dose Escalation in Kratom Users
36:53 Side Effects and Interactions of Kratom
38:10 Kratom's Impact on Pregnancy and Newborns
41:53 Understanding Kratom Usage and Its Scope
44:39 Navigating Resources and Future Research Directions
48:48 Collaborative Opportunities and Closing Remarks

[@gsdlover257]

Thank you Dr. McCurdy for all of your research.

[@texas_muslim]

I'm a white American and a Muslim convert. I don't drink alcohol but Kratom really helps me a lot and that is an understatement. We don't drink alcohol of course but yes, like the people in Malaysia, it's a great alternative. I've been taking it for 4 years and it helps my Generalized Anxiety Disorder perfectly. I take 6.4 grams 2 times a day. It really does a lot to help me live better.

[@Mysticstonehealing]

Thank you doctor❤ We apreciate all your hard work. I know theres got to be something in nature to help with opiod withdrawal and pain management

[@Mxxnmuk]

I've taken kratom like 3x a day for like 5 years now and I still take the same dose as when I started I take 3 grams at a time and I take green and red separately and they still have the same effect I don't have a tolerance and I haven't had any health issues I haven't been sick or anything for like a decade but I'm really healthy cause I know the fact humans are frugivores so all I eat is fruit and herbs cause that's actually food unlike 99% of most Americans diets which is just toxic chemicals that kill them so yea I'm super healthy and run and skate every day and I'm 33 an most people think I'm 23.

[@RandomHuTaoSimp]

I've been carnivore 23 years. I'm 33, and I also get that I look a lot younger. Unfortunately for the claim humans are frugivores, is factually false. 2019 stable isotopes clearly show humans evolved on 80% ruminant animal meat and 15 to 20% fibrous tubers. And these stable nitrogen isotopes are tested on the long bones of humans through the world. All tested positive for hyper carnivory. We have the stomach acid of a carnivore. We have a short digestive tract like one, we don't have a 4 chamber stomach and we can literally create our own glucose through gluconeogenesis from positive and negative selection pressures through out evolution. We have a large efficient gallbladder designed soly for the breakdown of fat and protein and a common trend of people who lose their gallbladder are people who end up doing super low fat diets. We might have been frugivores 4 to 7 million years ago before coming down from the trees, but sorry we have evolved from the agricultural revolution 12,000 years ago and beyond. Also I'm taking 120 capsules of kratom a day. But it's still not affecting me. However, I need to cut it down

[@Mxxnmuk]

@@RandomHuTaoSimp watch yahki awakened on KZbin he will show you the way. You missing out on being alive. You are what you eat. You eat dead shit your brain dead ha you eat living raw livet instead of diets then you are living and youl feel amazing. All fruit yo you can heal everything with all fruit livets.

[@Mxxnmuk]

@@RandomHuTaoSimp I can't see anyone just eating meat by themselves unless they demon possessed. If you never told them meat was food they would prolly just eat fruit. If you never told people fruit was food they would eat it and find out ha. I can't imagine children wanting to kill animals and eat them if no one told them to it just seems demonic to me and the parasites are demons that control people's endocrine glands which is the chakra system so people need to kill their parasites and then they won't crave weird stuff. Americans don't kill their parasites as much as other countries traditionally do.

[@Kangarooleathershoe.]

@@RandomHuTaoSimpAny images available of either of you? I’m terribly skeptical

[@RandomHuTaoSimp]

@@Kangarooleathershoe. ok but i charge for strangers asking for photos.

[@jimothyj2638]

Fantastic interview! We need more research on all these alkaloids. I never knew about the seratonergic effects

[@calebliang4984]

There’s even an alkaloid with nmda antagonism very minor albeit but it’s impressive that it’s there nmda antagonism is responsible for drugs like ketamine and pcp

[@ronnie5329]

In the fresh leaf and white strains there is more noradrenaline action. Almost everyone ive seen trying to keep upping their dosages will get tired of the slightly annoying side effects. In that sense it has a self regulating mechanism for abuse potential.

[@Gods-Child2477]

I love the Green and Red maeng Da

[@2nostromo]

I make opium every spring and usually run out by autumn. Kratom gets me through the dark days. Funny thing, my Doctor supports my use of Kratom but not of opium. I do not live in the USA btw. He also says I have a "normal amount of arthritis for a 70 year old". I'm 70. So in his view a disease state is normal. We really are still in the middle ages when it comes to doctoring.

[@dipper888bp]

How do you ingest opium?

[@2nostromo]

@@dipper888bp I weight it into 00 size capsules. But it is a serious thing. I take the risk because it keeps me in motion. If you are thinking about it there is more to it than just collecting sap which is so vile it will make u sick. probly not wise to discuss here. where jas that "free speech" internet gone? heh

[@willthomsen7569]

Opium is smoked. And nobody really doing that would say it to the world on the internet lol

[@MarioGomez-nd2mx]

​@@willthomsen7569You'll be surprised.

[@AmandaBellefeuille-pq8oz]

I have been on 100mg of sertraline (generic zoloft) for years and started taking kratom a couple of years ago and have not noticed any side effects from use.

[@hellokittycutie2003]

good to know!!! thx

[@dianealm743]

When I take Kratom 1/2 teas daily I do not have a problem with Asthma and never have to use the inhaler. I read that there is medical research on Asthma and Kratom now

[@eddiesland93]

Thankyou for that research

[@user-qh9st9xn9f]

This is really awsome and much more interesting than other videos I have seen where it is just an argument over kratom..Thanks for researching the potential danger of benzo. and ssri use with this kratom. For me I have consumed kratom for pain I have secondary to Primary Aldosteronism--Veins and circulation-super high bp led to venous insufficiency,neuropathy. Plus DjD arthritis...It helps me to be more functional and enjoy more activities.Ive never had a Euphoric feeling from it

[@dmk7826]

What time in video does he talk about mixing with benzo...and ssri....can you tell me the (min)00:00 ?

[@user-qh9st9xn9f]

23:50@@dmk7826

[@discipledesigned]

i’m curious how low, stimulant effect inducing doses would affect prolactin levels over time. obviously higher doses would increase the speed at which the endocrine system is deregulated, but how long on how minimal of a dose would serum prolactin be affected?

[@thateabishhh]

KRATOM SAVES LIVE! Thank you for this interview! 49:29

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

Kratom is highly addictive. The withdrawal is HORRIBLE. You've been warned.

[@thateabishhh]

@@OoSwIItchyOo warned by who? Google?

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

@@thateabishhh Of course not! Warned by MY firsthand experience, and if one just searches KZbin or Reddit for "kratom" withdrawal one will find TONS of user reports of just how bad it is. It truly is agony, and if you don't think so just try stopping for a week after consuming it regularly for 1 month...you can find out for yourself the hard way like so many of us have.

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

@@thateabishhh I lost all ambition for everything in my life because I used this plant for too long. KZbin and Reddit searches will provide anyone with the horrors of "kratom withdrawal"

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

@@thateabishhh I also became quite violent while on it, but that is because I'm a naturally violent person, I'm sure.... Still, many others report the same. Even a name for it: Opi Rage

[@aldon78]

Hello, I have a blood rutime blood test on Monday is kraton alter my test results?

[@Erinskow]

No

[@Bob-bm1fk]

Always good to see his vids pop up. Kratom on.

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

Kratom is highly addictive. The withdrawal is HORRIBLE. You've been warned.

[@Bob-bm1fk]

Google old Mississippi and Kratom and give that a read. Buttercup. A substance so addicting that it stops the addiction. Smh. Thanks for playing. It's about freedom. I use Kratom for chronic back pain. Geez.

[@Bob-bm1fk]

kzbin.infocxPf9_pnduQ?si=yKxiT0RL5kMzlMIC

[@MikeHunt90731]

I ve never had a problem.not everyone is a raging addict like YOU who has no self control 😅​@@OoSwIItchyOo

[@banaresali]

to get off opiates like suboxone, burenorphine type substances is challenging like nothing some one has ever been challenged to do before for so many people...kratom is great for weening off for good. just dont use more than a teaspoon or 2 a day

[@thetruejay20]

Feel free shots are Kratom, and Kava.

[@iDudditsi0G]

Kratom Saves lives!!!

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

Kratom is highly addictive. The withdrawal is HORRIBLE. You've been warned.

[@iDudditsi0G]

Why did u abuse it?

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

@@iDudditsi0G I didn't abuse it, that's the thing. I just used it everyday.

[@iDudditsi0G]

Have to use it wisely taper use potentiators like turmeric take breaks it’s not for everyone …you good?

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

@@iDudditsi0G good now that I'm off the dope yezzir 😁

[@george.s.8491]

We would be absolutely crazy to throw the baby out with the bath water when it comes to kratom. It has it’s potential cons, but waaay more pros.

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

Kratom is highly addictive. The withdrawal is HORRIBLE. You've been warned.

[@notmyrealname9059]

Compared to what?

[@dipper888bp]

True; but it’s not for addicts. Addicts can’t take it as prescribed like every other drug. No addicts can skip days, addicts can’t.

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

@@dipper888bp If anyone takes this drug every day, they qualify as an addict.

[@george.s.8491]

@@OoSwIItchyOo that’s why it shouldn’t be taken every day. There are plenty of folks who use it regularly that are very careful. You don’t have to warn me, I totally understand, but that’s my fault, my stupid choices. Everything can be used in moderation as a tool.

[@dipper888bp]

90 g for one dose? Or per day?

[@notmyrealname9059]

An average dose is between 2 grams for more stimulating effects, and 6 grams for far more sedating, opiate effects.

[@dipper888bp]

@@notmyrealname9059I’ve never felt sedated no matter how much I took.

[@dipper888bp]

@@notmyrealname9059 6 grams not sedating at all for me, more the opposite

[@dianealm743]

With Kratom lessons more

[@dianealm743]

Less is more

[@lesjones5684]

He’s a Nigerian 😂😂

[@ljh150]

How does kratom affect the gut microbiome?

[@TeachEthnobotany]

Great question! We don't know yet. I have a student working on metabolism of kratom compounds by liver enzymes and we hope to student gut microbiome effects in the future as well.

[@youtuberadical9421]

No scientific answer yet unfortunately….but if you experience constipation on Kratom it can negatively affect gut biome….constipation allows bad bacteria to grow and multiply on the trapped fecal matter. When I use to consume Kratom daily, I also used 400 mg Magnesium Citrate, and 1-2 grams of triphala and was usually fine

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

It wrecks it. Massive constipation. Kratom is highly addictive. The withdrawal is HORRIBLE. You've been warned.

[@gsdlover257]

Have to stay super hydrated with electrolytes

[@MarioGomez-nd2mx]

I use Kratom and take my usual dumps in the morning. 💪

[@michaelblankenau6598]

Oregon baby ... Lol

[@user-us5pv8zw3z]

#BostonStrong

[@MarioGomez-nd2mx]

#LomgbeachCa

[@lesjones5684]

Try some 😂😂

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

Kratom is highly addictive. The withdrawal is HORRIBLE. You've been warned.

[@MarioGomez-nd2mx]

For you it was mild for me nothing compared to Norco, Vicodin, tramadol, now those were HORRIBLE. Took me 2 months to feel somewhat better.

[@OoSwIItchyOo]

@@MarioGomez-nd2mx Check yourself. Kratom withdrawal is HORRIBLE. Look it up on KZbin and stop arguing with strangers.

[@MikeHunt90731]

You are not going to convince anyone raging addict 😅

[@banaresali]

you left out "for me because I was taking other shit also which i wont admit to"

[@Mlpgirl168]

..to the unfortunate addiction prone individual

[@lesjones5684]

Leave kratum alone 😂😂

[@lesjones5684]

Just take some kratum 😂😂😂