What Are the Best Kratom Potentiators?
You’ve been using kratom for a while now, and it’s become part of your routine. White kratom in the morning to help start your day, green to push through those long afternoons, and red at the end of the day when you just want to take it easy.
But one day, after your usual dose leaves you feeling underwhelmed, you consider taking more. Then a thought enters your mind.
“What if there’s a way to make it stronger without increasing the amount?” Wondering if there’s something safe and cost effective to take with your kratom to enhance your experience, you begin researching.
Luckily, there are several cheap and natural products you may already have at home that can potentiate kratom.
What’s the science behind bioavailability and potentiators?
In general, lots of medicine, drugs and other psychoactive substances temporarily change the way we feel or how our body functions: That’s the point! However, there is a natural limit to how much of the active ingredients in a substance can be processed and used by our bodies. This is called bioavailability: In technical terms, it is the percentage of an ingredient that is absorbed by the body and reaches the circulatory system.
Now, just because some substances have a set bioavailability level, this doesn’t mean that we are helpless to increase these absorption rates and get more out of it without taking more of it.
That’s where potentiators come in. Technically, potentiators are reagents, which are substances that cause a chemical reaction when added to other substances or introduced into a system. In effect, a potentiator ups the potency or efficacy of other substances.
To put it in a simple formula: potentiators increase bioavailability.
What Are The Benefits to Potentiate Kratom?
- Smaller doses
- Stronger effects
- Faster onset times
- Longer-lasting effects
- Fewer side effects
- Less expensive
- Slower tolerance buildup
- More balanced experience
The 10 Best Kratom Potentiators
1. Citrus
Citrus is one of the main potentiators for kratom, especially the more sour citrus fruits like lemons and grapefruits. Grapefruit juice in particular enhances kratom’s natural alkaloids. The results are faster onset times and stronger effects. Citrus juice also adds antioxidants, and this will improve digestion and help kratom kick in faster.
One of the fastest and easiest ways to do this is to mix kratom powder with grapefruit juice, which will also help mask some of kratom’s more bitter flavors.
2. Curcumin
Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric, which is a flowering plant related to ginger and popular in many world cuisines. Turmeric has a strong flavor and a bright yellow-orange color. Curcumin is a natural antioxidant and an immune booster, but it also acts as a potentiator for kratom.
The only thing is, curcumin needs its own potentiator, and that comes in the form of the chemical piperine, found in black pepper. So, to potentiate your kratom, you can make a spicy milkshake by mixing kratom with milk turmeric and black pepper. You can also find them in capsule form.
3. Magnesium
Magnesium is one of our body’s essential minerals and it also works as a kratom potentiator by blocking certain brain receptors, which in turn allow kratom’s effects to come on quicker and feel stronger. Using magnesium to give your kratom an extra kick is more common with red vein kratom, especially to relieve discomfort, as magnesium deficiencies have been linked to muscle soreness.
Magnesium comes in different forms, but the best ones to take for bioavailability are magnesium citrate or magnesium glycinate.
4. Medicinal herbs
Many natural herbs are already taken as mild sedatives. So when you combine these with red leaf kratom for pain and discomfort relief or to help with sleep, you are potentiating the bioavailability of your kratom. Many medicinal herbs not only make the effects stronger, but can also make them last longer.
Two of the best medicinal herbs to make kratom hit harder are chamomile and valerian root. Both of these make great teas, so mixing in your kratom is easy and won’t taste too strong.
5. Capsaicin
Like curcumin and piperine, capsaicin is another active chemical that can boost the effects of kratom. It is found in cayenne pepper. Capsaicin is good for digestion and therefore helps increase bioavailability by boosting absorption rates. The results are a fast onset time and a more intense experience.
One thing to note about using cayenne pepper or pure capsaicin is that it can be among the stronger potentiators of kratom, and you should start using this in moderation and slowly work your way up if needed.
6. Apple cider vinegar
ACV has been getting popular on its own for its many health benefits, including gut health which is good for digestion. This is due to its high levels of acetic acid. Like most things that help digestion, ACV makes kratom’s alkaloids easier and faster to absorb into your system.
What’s more, since ACV has such a strong taste, you can use it as a chaser after drinking or tossing your kratom to mask the bitterness, so long as you don’t mind the sourness.
7. Caffeine
So far, a lot of potentiators we’ve discussed pair well with red leaf kratom for added discomfort relief and relaxation. But caffeine, mostly in the form of coffee and black tea, are ideal for increasing the bioavailability of white kratom, if getting an added kick of energy or focus is what you are after.
Of course, the combination could be overwhelming for some, so start off in smaller doses or wait longer periods between consuming kratom and coffee. And if the kratom flavor just makes your coffee or tea too bitter, then sugar or natural sweetener can help with the taste.
8. Cat’s claw
Cat’s claw refers to a variety of plants found mostly in southern North America, Central America and South America. This plant contains the alkaloids mitraphylline and rhynchophylline, and these are somewhat similar to those found in kratom, and therefore enhance one another.
Cat’s claw happens to also have a bitter taste similar to kratom. So for those considering using it as a potentiator, it’s recommended to take it in juice or other flavor-masking teas or beverages.
9. Watercress
Watercress is a species of aquatic plant popular for both medicinal and culinary purposes. It’s jam packed with healthy minerals and enzymes which help your body’s metabolism function smoothly in breaking down kratom’s alkaloids so you feel it faster and stronger.
On top of that, watercress is high in antioxidants, which slow down the liver’s function of breaking down kratom. This means that watercress as a potentiator can make your kratom effects last longer.
10. Freezing kratom
Our tenth tip is not an ingredient to mix into your kratom, but rmethod: Stick your kratom in the freezer. Freezing helps break down plant-cell walls, and this process means that kratom’s alkaloids can be absorbed more quickly and efficiently for a better and longer-lasting kratom experience.
Another benefit to freezing is that it can subdue some of kratom’s harsher bitter notes. Finally, as opposed to most of the other options to boost kratom’s bioavailability on this list, you are not required to buy anything, so it’s the most cost-efficient option.