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Do you take kratom?
If so, you may have heard about reports floating around fear-mongering the presence of heavy metals such as lead in this mystical botanical.
We’re here to cut through the noise and offer an unbiased opinion of what those reports really say, and how that may impact you as a consumer at The kratom connection.
But first…
Kratom comes from the processed leaves of the Mitragyna Speciosa, an evergreen tree native to South Asia. This tree, a distant cousin of the coffee plant, produces a myriad of naturally occurring alkaloids that are known to produce opioid-like and stimulant-like effects when ingested at various dosages.
Although used for centuries in Southeast Asia, in the USA kratom has been a plant of great contention. More than 14.5 million users in the USA advocate for its purported benefits and the positive impact it has made on their lives. On the other hand, agencies such as the FDA caution its use, claiming that the botanical could be addictive, and that it may (in some cases) contain unsafe levels of heavy metals or other unhealthy substances.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) was the first agency to ‘sound off’ on the potential for kratom to be unsafe due to heavy metal contamination.
The long and short of it is that the FDA analyzed just 30 different samples (an incredibly small subset of the total kratom products on the market). What they found was that some of these products contained ‘significant levels of lead and nickel at concentrations that exceed safe exposure for oral daily drug intake.”
The FDA has not been shy about their disdain for kratom. Like any good government agency, they like big splashy headlines that make people gasp.
Let’s take a quick detour to explore other items you may eat daily that the FDA has also sounded off on…
TUNA POISONED WITH MERCURY – that’s right, your tuna sandwich could also be killing you. According to the FDA, the levels of mercury (a highly toxic compound) present in tuna can “harm an unborn baby or young child’s developing nervous system” and that people should eat NO MORE than two meals of tuna WEEKLY. Tuna is so dangerous that the FDA recommends that we only eat it TWICE weekly MAXIMUM.
This is just one of many examples where the FDA means well, but sometimes gets a bit excited about shouting DANGER DANGER!
If we take a closer look, what we see is that the FDA warns that CHRONIC LONG TERM exposure to the heavy metals they found in the small sample of kratom they tested, could lead to heavy metal poisoning and symptoms such as an increased risk of high blood pressure, cancers and central nervous system damage.
That sounds scary, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, per the FDA “These concentrations for a one-time dose aren’t concerning…But if this is taken regularly (i.e. daily) over a prolonged period of time, these levels become a concern.”
The FDA and DEA have long made it clear that they want kratom made illegal in the USA. This report is an extension of the efforts to discredit kratom as a wellness supplement.
This isn’t’ the first time, nor will be the last, that the FDA has leveraged poor science and ‘studies’ with inherit bias to push an agenda.
1. Only 30 products tested out of thousands
2. Inference but no clarity on whether or not ALL of the products tested were contaminated
3. There is a lack of information on how or where these products were purchased. Were they ordered from China? Was this a purchase of raw natural material or the finished/processed retail product?
4. Potential danger of exposure is compared against ‘reported usage patterns’. What are these? There isn’t a standard dose for kratom set by the FDA. We don’t know if that was use 3x daily or twice weekly (for example), nor do we know at what dose. Seems sloppy for ‘scientific research.
5. The third paragraph of the report references a theoretical ‘long term user’, again, failing to define what that means.
IN the report, the FDA cites nanograms as the measurement of detectable heavy metals.
The FDA’s standard for maximum exposure to nickel and lead for adults has been established. This level, set at 5 micrograms/day for a 110lb adult for lead, and 200 micrograms/day for a 110lb adult for nickel, are levels at which daily consumption is said to be ‘safe’.
A nanogram, for reference, is 0.0001 micrograms….well below the daily limit established by the FDA.
Tea, coffee, tuna and other generally ‘safe’ and common food items have come under scrutiny for heavy metals and other toxins. Much of which is the result of the soil in which it is grown and cultivated.
Although the FDA’s report shouldn’t be dismissed, it should be scrutinized for its heavy bias, poor science, and ambiguity. Its sample size is also quite small, and not representative of the entire kratom market (not by a long shot).
Which makes buying from a reputable source more important than ever before.