What do the states mean?+
- Solid: well studied, and it works.
- Half-there: the science is still forming.
- A ghost: almost no real studies.
- Hollow: well studied, and it does not work.
- A cord: the pair itself has been tested together.
- Air: nobody has ever tested this pair.
The full scoring method: How we score
Kava benefits: where the science stands
For stress and anxiety: not settled yet.
Stress and anxiety are what most people take kava for, and the best studies disagree: two found it helps, one found no effect. As of August 2026, the verdict on this page rests on evidence from 28 trials, drawn from the strongest research among the 129 papers on PubMed that mention kava. Every claim is checked below.
129 papers on PubMed · evidence from 28 trials · 1 caution
Claim by claim
- Stress and anxietyThe science is still forming. The best studies disagree.
Pairs people ask about
The three sources we read
- 2003Randomized trial · 68 people · moderate benefit for stress and anxietysource
- 2005Randomized trial · 391 people · no clear effect on stress and anxietysource
- 2010Meta-analysis · pools 24 trials, 2,619 people · moderate benefit for stress and anxietysource
Chosen as the strongest evidence out of 129 papers on PubMed. Every row links to its paper.
Fair questions
Does kava work?+
For stress and anxiety, it is not settled. The best studies disagree.
Is kava safe?+
One caution is recorded: Kava has been linked to serious liver injury, and several countries restricted or banned its sale over it. Do not take kava if you have liver problems, and do not combine it with alcohol or with medicines processed by the liver. Talk to your doctor first.
Why only 3 sources, when PubMed lists 129?+
The 129 is every paper that mentions kava in any way: animal studies, blood measurements, papers where it is a side note. The strongest sources are combined reviews, and each one already gathers every trial its authors could find. Our 3 cover 28 trials between them, and every one is linked above. Both counts are measured, not estimated.