Kratom for immune system support.

[ThatOneDude!]

I read that Kratom is very beneficial for the immune system. then i read everywhere that they say its green strains are the best.
I have Red Maeng Da and White Maeng Da.
I also read the following immune-stimulant alkaloids that help in boosting the immune system are:

• Mitraphylline
• Isopteropodine
• Isomitraphylline
• Isorhynchophylline

My question to anyone who knows, would taking the Red, or White Maeng Da be better in this regard? As those are the only two i have.
It was also my understanding that opiates can suppress the immune system, and kratom being an opioid agonist or whatever.... I am mixed. I have already taken some white maeng da and maybe its placebo or it really is helping. but yeah. if someone could advise me on weather the red or white would be more beneficial.

 

[Pickledlemons]

I have never heard anything about kratom having a positive effect on the immune system. I just did a quick google search and it seems to be more of a hypothesis than anything absolute. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a marketing gimmick.

Unfortunately there is not a lot of research on kratom.

 

[Hodor]

Kratom is, at the end of the day, an opioid with a significant potential for addiction - yeah, its addiction potential is low compared to most other opioids, but still significantly higher than something like cannabis. Definitely higher than caffeine, in spite of what the shills claim.

Taking it to get high - eh, you do you. Taking it for chronic pain relief - possibly a safer option than harder opioids. But for "boosting your immune system"? If you're taking something to get high, atleast be honest with yourself.

And yeah, you can take any claim about kratom's effects on the immune system with a huge chunk of salt. At the very least, it's recently been proven not to protect against salmonella:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kratom-salmonella-herbal-supplement-mandatory-fda-recall/

(on a less humorous note: can you imagine what would happen if some shill actually convinced people with a real immune system deficiency to eat salmonella-tainted kratom ? )

 

[Patrickforsterter]

Just out of curiosity how do opiates(and opioids) effect the immune system?

 

[spacejunk]

When i had a serious opiate habit my immune system was quite obviously compromised, but that could have been related to lifestyle factors that went along with it, rather than the drugs themselves.
But when i quit, i suddenly stopped getting sick so often.

Everyone's different, but i found opiate addiction noticeably reduced my immunity, because it improved a lot when i stopped using.

I agree with the above posts - i would treat any claims about kratom having immune system benefits with extreme scepticism. Sounds like snake oil to me...

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

I?ve actually been getting sick about once a month after i quit my kratom habit back in early january. It could be coincidence, could be i just didn?t notice myself getting sick because i was taking enough kratom to alleviate all my symptoms, i can?t say for sure.

I never felt my opiate use impaired my immune system but my heaviest use was in my late teens early twenties and i?ve always been pretty healthy so i?m sure that was a factor.

Whatever the case may be i wouldn?t bank on kratom having significant immune boosting properties until studies are done on such a thing. If you are gonna use kratom anyway then i guess it?s not really harmful to think it has immune boosting properties but don?t kid yourself into continuing or starting a habit because you think you?re boosting immunity.

 

[Patrickforsterter]

It's an interesting subject none the less I wouldn't be surprised if it did have some benefits maybe it's hardly the greatest scientific breakthrough.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Apparently i seem to be onto something that many of you dare acknowledge. I could provide like 12 sources. but its not worth my time or effort. thanks for all your not helpful responses. i
altho i dont give a rats ass what anyone thinks. I'll educate myself.

Healthy debate is encouraged here and just because we don't fall in lockstep and espouse Kratom as a glorious panacea of health, doesn't mean that you have to get abusive and leave. People took the time to give you at least some replies and Hodor provided an article about K & salmonela. If you really wanted to sway people then maybe you could share some of those "like 12 sources".

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

I?m sorry you feel frustrated with the forums but honestly you are much better off doing your own research on specific stuff like this. Going to any forum and expecting a specialist to answer is kind of a long shot.

I?m not saying you shouldn?t ask or put these things out there but i just don?t think it?s a realistic expectation to get instant and qualified responses. I couldn?t speak on this subject without doing my own research but i put my 2 cents into this situation anyway. I meant no offense and i don?t judge, i hope you get the response you?re looking for.

 

[Pickledlemons]

well i just found like 10+ websites that do not sell kratom, I found TONS of anecdotal reports. I've found my answer. I'm not trying to get fukin high and boost my immune system. Apparently i seem to be onto something that many of you dare acknowledge. I could provide like 12 sources. but its not worth my time or effort. thanks for all your not helpful responses. its the ALKALOIDS found in kratom, also found in such things as cats claw etc. that have immune stimulant properties.

And after taking kratom with this comon cold. i cant preach about it, but from my subject experience, i'd say there definitely is something. altho i dont give a rats ass what anyone thinks. I'll educate myself.

Well you started the thread... and this is a forum... where people tell you what they think.

Its not like anyone was rude or proclaimed they knew the answer, it was more just skepticism. Which, I think its fair given the lack of research on the topic. Maybe you're right, infact I hope you're right because I am a daily user of kratom... I am just not convinced, as of yet.

 

[spacejunk]

Why start a thread if you're going to respond like this to peopes' honest responses?

We're a community that takes harm reduction seriously - and that means favouring evidence-based knowledge over unvarified claims made on the internet. Online information has a reputation for being unreliable, because people can post false information with virtual impunity - especially if they are shills for a particular vendor or product.

When it comes to treatments and medicines, most developed countries have strict laws about falsely advertising health benefits, because therepeutic goods have the potential to cause a lot of harm if used inappropriately or for the wrong condition.

Without thorough medical studies, any claim that kratom is beneficial to the immune system is suspect - because there is absolutely no credible data (studies published and subject to peer review) to back it up.
What you want to believe is up to you, but if you're going to ask a question, it's wise to be open to answers you don't want to hear - otherwise, what point does it serve?

The term "snake oil salesman" refers to somebody who makes bogus claims about health benefits of dubious products in the days of unregulated patent medicine - and it is still used today to describe somebody peddling bullshit.
This is the perfect example of that sort of shady marketing.

But you know - it's your body, your health, and your money. Buyer beware is all i can say...

 

[cdin]

kratom was worse kick than conventional opioids. There are lots of ways to boost immune system that don't result in opioid habituation. Exercise is a good one.

 

[sekio]

Without thorough medical studies, any claim that kratom is beneficial to the immune system is suspect - because there is absolutely no credible data (studies published and subject to peer review) to back it up.

^ This.

There's no reliable evidence that mitragynine or its related kratom alkaloids are immunomodulatory at all. The kratom alkaloids also don't resemble any known antibiotic or antiviral. All published peer reviewed studies I've seen suggest kratom is mostly adrenergic/opioid in nature.

As someone else pointed out there have been cases of Salmonella in some users of kratom (not many) but enough to indicate that the leaves don't have any antibacterial properties in their dry powdered form.

If anyone can dredge up a source on Pubmed to prove me wrong I'd give them an e-coookie. Keep in mind that the plural of "anecdote" is not "data". Some people say they never get the common cold while using heroin. Doesn't make it good for your immune system!

 

[ThatOneDude!]

lol I rarely do kratom, apparently my cousin doesn't know how to switch accounts. sorry about this awkward thread. It's an interesting topic however, should have been conducted better on my end of things haha.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

No worries as it's easy to get a little bit "passionate" about things we feel strongly about. Though a non anecdotal link or two would go a long way to reinforcing your claims and generate more discussion. Plus Sekio would give you an E Cookie as icing on the cake.

 

[Patrickforsterter]

",it's a conspiracy mann!