I looked up some information about Kudzu on several websites:
1) WebMD: An extract from the Chinese herb kudzu may help drinkers cut down on drinking, according to a new pilot study. "It didn't stop the drinking," says researcher David M. Penetar, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "They still drank, but they drank less."Penetar's team studied 10 men and women, average age 26. On average, the men and women drank 3.5 beers after placebo and 2.4 after puerarin. When they had the herbal treatment, people also took more sips to finish a beer, took longer to down it, and reduced their sip size. During the week of puerarin treatment, they drank slightly less than during the placebo week -- three drinks a day compared to 3.4. No serious side effects were reported. For drinkers who want to cut down, this may help.
2) Altmedicine.about.com: Postmenopausal women in a kudzu study showed improvements in cognitive function and attention span. Kudzu may also decrease the frequency, duration, and intensity of cluster headaches. Extracts from Kudzu added to the diets of obese mice resulted in a reversal in weight gain and fat accumulation.
3) Women who are taking birth control pills that contain estrogen might be adversely affected by the phytoestrogens from the Kudzu root that might make their birth control pill less effective. You should not take kudzu if you have the following • Medications that slow blood clotting (Anticoagulant / Antiplatelet drugs) • Estrogen sensitive cancers and medications such as Tamoxifen and Methotrexate • Medications used for treating diabetes
