Posted on March 11, 2021 in Other

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Recently, it’s been hard to avoid seeing a discussion about a Kratom product or one on Kratom in general out in the throes of the internet. But before you even get close to Kratom products and their possible benefits, you should know what it is? A herb, a tree, algae, or something else entirely?

Well, you can learn that, as well as where this plant predominantly grows, why would anybody cultivate it in the first place, and are different kinds of it growing out there. 

Hopefully, this will be enough information for you to base an opinion on, but you can always follow this link if you want to learn more.

What Is a Kratom Tree?

Kratom or Mitragyna Speciosa, as it’s referred to in the books, is an evergreen tree akin to tropical regions. It belongs to the coffee family of plants and can grow to be pretty big, over 50 feet tall, actually. 

The branches are adorned with glossy and meaty leaves, which is the part of the tree important for its supposed healing effects.

On the more scientific side of things, the reason this tree’s leaves have been gaining so much popularity is that they are chock full of alkaloids, the kind that has been known to interact with your brain. 

The main alkaloid contained is promptly named after the plant itself – mitragynine. While its properties are yet to be discovered and proved, the user reviews seem to be working in this little plants’ favor, but more on that in a moment.

Where Does It Grow?

As we already mentioned, the Kratom tree is a tropical plant, but it also has a very limited area where it grows naturally – to be more specific, Southeast Asia. It is indigenous to countries like Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.

In the history of these countries is where we might find the first mentions of this plant’s significance to the people who used it. 

As far as written history goes, we know that Kratom was being used in these parts back in the 19th century, but all accounts show that it’s been around much longer. The rice farmers over there used to drink Kratom tea or simply chew on the raw leaves to help them get through long and hard days in the field, and that’s where Kratom begins to get interesting.

Are There More Types of It?

Indeed, there are more types. The Kratom tree has many different strains, which are similar, but just distinct enough in properties and looks, so you can see it is not the absolutely same plant. The strains are split up two ways – based on the country of origin and the color of the veins on the leaf.

The country of origin part is pretty self-explanatory, but what is all this talk about veins? There are three primary colors of the vein that you could run into – green, red, and white. Depending on what strain it is, the supposed properties change, and certain strains are tied to certain possible benefits. As an example, it is said that a Red Thai strain of Kratom is exceptional at pain relief.

Why Is It So Important?

Let us get into the real meat of the issue at hand, or in this case, into the leaves. The leaves are said to have many properties that could act as stimulants or sedatives, depending on the dosage. However, there is still a lot of research needed before claiming something with 100% certainty.

For now, the FDA has not approved Kratom as a herb that has any health benefits, but user reviews seem to differ from that widely.

According to the people who have been using Kratom to deal with their chronic pain or anxiety, it’s a fantastic alternative for dealing with issues such as those. That’s led to many Kratom products getting on the market, like Kratom powder made of dried and ground Kratom leaves, which is the most common out there. 

For now, we have to wait for more research to be conducted, but until then, you can read up on the experiences of the people who sing the Kratom trees’ praises and see if that sounds like something that might help you.

In Conclusion

There you have it, all the necessary information about the Kratom tree you could need. Now, if you’re intrigued and want to learn more about the Kratom products themselves, there’s a ton of both research and user reviews online. 

You can browse to form your own opinion. You can now do that with a basic understanding of what Kratom is, its various strains, and the contested stances that people online could take.