You may have purchased your very first batch and wondering how to take kratom to reap the best results. And even if you’ve been taking kratom for some time now, knowing what you should and shouldn’t do can make the results even better.
While the popularity of kratom and the amount of information available on it is growing, sadly, there’s lots of misinformation too. And it may be hard to find exactly what you’re looking for or information that you can trust.
We’re on a mission to make useful quality information on kratom easily available. Therefore, we’ve put together this guide to help you know what exactly you should and shouldn’t do when you take kratom.
How to Take Kratom: What You Should Do
1. Choose Which Kratom is Best for You
Kratom comes in four different vein colors. Three of them, red, white, and green, are natural, while the fourth one, yellow kratom, is achieved through a different type of processing.
- Red vein kratom is often called “slow”. Its effects are soothing, relaxing, and analgesic. It’s excellent for pain relief, relaxation, dealing with insomnia, stress, and anxiety.
- Some call white vein kratom “fast”. That’s because it’s energizing and uplifting. It’s great to increase energy and productivity as well as improve the mood.
- Green vein kratom is a moderate midway between the above two. It has both stimulating and soothing effects. So, you can expect mild pain relief, increased energy, and calm focus.
- Yellow kratom is also rather moderate with effects that are close to those of green and red vein.
In addition to those, you may also come across extracts, resins, and blends like Trainwreck kratom. We generally do not recommend those to new users because their dosage can vary or be imprecise and effects may be unpredictable.
Kratom possesses its qualities depending on the concentration of the alkaloids that it contains. This can vary according to the place and conditions in which kratom grows as well as the vendor.
Because of that, there may be differences between different strains of each vein. An example is Red Bali and Red Sumatra. While both are red strains, Red Sumatra is more invigorating while Red Bali is the most popular relaxing strain.
Pay attention to the qualities of each individual strain and choose what offers the effects that you’d like to feel. Keep in mind that when you get started, moderate strains can be a better fit for beginners, especially if you are looking for energizing effects.
Some vendors offer samples that you can order if you’d like to try kratom. You can start with those to see which kratom works best for you. This will prevent you from buying large amounts of kratom that you may not like.
2. Know How Much Kratom to Take
The effects of kratom can vary depending on what dose of it you take. You can use the breakdown below as a guideline:
- 2-4 grams is the amount that can result in stimulating effects. We advise you to start with no more than 2 grams at the beginning. 1 gram may be even better as you can always add more if you have not reached the desired effects. 4 may be too strong and you may achieve soothing and sedating effects instead. Yet, it may be suitable for more experienced kratom users.
- 4-6 grams is the dose to achieve pain-relieving and soothing effects. Once again, we advise beginners and those who are less experienced with kratom to go for 4 grams only, as anything above it can be sedating.
- 6-8 grams would result in soothing, euphoria, pain relief, and may even put you to sleep. Note though that this may be too strong for some users. In general, we advise you not to go over 8 grams.
Whatever effects you’d like to achieve, we advise you to always start with a smaller dose and gradually build up to achieve the desired effects.
Keep in mind that your body’s ability to absorb the herb will depend on its composition and body fat percentage. So, if you’re an athlete or have a very low body fat percentage, we advise you to start with half of the suggested and gradually word out what your body responds to best.
Other factors such as whether you are taking your kratom on an empty or full stomach can also influence how your body responds to a dose. You will likely feel faster and more intense effects if you take kratom on an empty stomach. This, however, can be too much for a new user. Taking your dose with a little food can result in smoother effects.
3. Measure Kratom Accurately
While it may seem easy to simply take a spoon and eye your dose, we strongly advise you to not do that. Depending on how much you put into it and how fine the powder is, the amount can greatly vary. You can take a completely different amount of kratom every time.
By measuring and taking the wrong dose you can achieve different results and may even experience kratom side effects.
But that all can be easily avoided if you measure your kratom dose accurately.
To do that, invest in a digital scale with a 0.01-gram sensitivity scale. A regular kitchen scale won’t be as sensitive. You can easily get one at a local store or online (like the one below) for less than 20$.
Knowing exactly how much kratom you take will also allow you to accurately track your kratom intake. If you start experiencing kratom side effects, this can help you pinpoint exactly what is causing it.
4. Stay Hydrated
Some kratom users may experience constipation after taking kratom regularly for an extended period of time. To avoid that, make sure you drink plenty of water.
Reduce or cut out sugary and caffeinated drinks as these may further dehydrate you. Also, include plenty of fiber-rich food into your diet such as fresh fruit, vegetables, wholemeal bread, brown rice, and similar. Magnesium supplements may help too.
Don’t rely on taking laxatives as they also can seriously dehydrate you if you don’t drink enough water. If you absolutely need a laxative effect, include foods into your diet that have a laxative effect. Some examples include prunes, oat bran, flax seeds, chia seeds, kiwi, and kefir.
Coffee also has a laxative effect. Yet, you may not want to resort to it or reduce your dose if you are taking the stimulant strains of kratom.
5. Keep Your Kratom Tolerance Low
It is possible to develop kratom tolerance, especially if you take the same strain for prolonged periods of time. However, there are ways to make sure that does not happen to you.
First of all, do not take kratom every day. Take a few days a week off. Preferably if they are in a row. That will allow your body to reset and get the alkaloids out of your system.
Rotate kratom strains instead of always taking the same one. Normally, you’d want to mix greens or whites with reds. Take a different train a few times a week, but avoid taking more than two strains on a single day.
6. Start Taking Kratom on Your Days Off
From personal experience, we know that each individual body can react differently to different strains and amounts of kratom. Therefore, if you’re completely new to kratom or you are starting with a new strain you have never tried before, it’s best to do so on a day that you’re off or don’t have any important business to tend to.
If you don’t know how your body will respond to kratom or a specific vein or strain type, don’t take kratom before you drive.
The reason for that is that you likely will go through some trial and error until you discover what works best for you. And until you do, this may help you avoid any unpleasant situations.
How to Take Kratom: What You Shouldn’t Do
1. Take Substances that May Interfere with Kratom
While kratom is safe, mixing it with other substances may not be. As a matter of fact, the deaths that the FDA or CDC attributes to kratom are actually caused by other substances. Not kratom itself.
Sadly though, because of their activities against kratom, there are limited studies on it and the use of other substances with it.
Therefore, there are a few that we advise you to stay away from while you take kratom. These include drugs and alcohol.
If you take prescription medicine, ask your physician if it is safe to take it together with kratom or mitragynine, one of the kratom’s most potent alkaloids.
2. Take the Same Strain Every Day
Some users discover a strain that they really like and take it on a daily basis as they would any other supplement. However, it’s not the best approach to how to take kratom as it’s easy to develop tolerance in the same way you would develop tolerance to coffee.
Kratom tolerance manifests in the need to take a larger dose of kratom to experience the same results you had at the beginning. That will require you to use more kratom and spend more money.
Taking the same strain every day is the fastest way to developing tolerance. Though, it can be avoided by simply making small changes in how you take kratom.
As described above, taking days off and rotating strains are some ways in which you can do so.
3. Buy a Large Bulk without Trying a Sample First
Knowing how to take kratom properly is one thing, how it interacts with your body is another. As a natural substance, taking the same dose of the same kratom strain can produce slightly different effects in different people.
For example, some take green vein to gain extra energy while others feel more relaxed after it.
The only way to know how exactly your body will respond is by actually trying it.
So, instead of buying in bulk right away, try samples and smaller packages first. Don’t be afraid to experiment with a few different strains to see which one gives you the results that you want.
4. Drive
Even if you are taking the stimulating strains, it’s best to avoid driving after taking kratom. At least until you have established your dose, know how your body reacts to kratom and how long its effects last.
If you’re taking the slow strains, we advise you to not drive altogether. Kratom may relax you so much that you may become sleepy thus risking falling asleep when driving.
And even if you take the fast strains, you may become sleepy when kratom effects begin fading.
5. Take Cheap Kratom
How to take kratom isn’t the only thing that matters. It’s also the quality of the kratom you take.
While cheaper prices are often viewed s bargains, don’t treat kratom the same way. Instead of a bargain, go for quality.
The reason for that due to the FDA’s moves against kratom. Despite being legal, kratom isn’t regulated.
That means that there are no standards that vendors need to adhere to in order to be allowed to sell kratom. Eventually, it all comes down to what each vendor values and cares about.
And some vendors care about their profits more than they do about the users’ health. That results in importing low quality, fake, or contaminated kratom.
To avoid purchasing bad or fake kratom, carefully choose whom you buy it from. Read through reviews and customer testimonials. Check their website and what content they have on it. What do they care about?
Is their kratom fresh? Is it tested for contaminants? Does it seem like they know what they are talking about? Can you trust them?
If anything feels off, it may be best to move on and look for another vendor.
If you’re looking to save some money, instead of choosing cheaper kratom look for vendors that source their kratom directly from vendors. Their kratom will be cheaper, but not because of lower quality. They will not deal with a middleman who would be charging extra thus making the kratom retail price go up.
6. Take Kratom on an Empty Stomach
From personal experience, we advise you to take kratom after having some food in your stomach. At least until your body gets used to it or you know that it does not bother you. Otherwise, kratom may upset your stomach and you may not feel your best.
Taking kratom on a full stomach may also not be the best idea. Your body will take much longer to digest the food and your dose, resulting in slower and less pronounced effects. So, wait until 30 min or an hour have passed after a meal before you take kratom.
Alternatively, you can take kratom with a small snack, yogurt, or mix it into a smoothie.
Do you have any useful tips on how to take kratom? Is there something else that should be avoided? Feel free to share them in the comment section below.
