„CBD“🌱 – a term that gained a lot of popularity during the last years. A substance found in an ancient plant setting the foundation for a new perspective on hemp and its benefits – or drawbacks? What exactly is so fascinating about it & does it really stand up to what it promises? 🤔
After this episode you will find out more!
CBD – what is it?
Cannabidiol, knows as “CBD”, is one of plenty non-psychoactive fatty acids or simply oil of a hemp plant – it is part of the big group of endocannabinoids. During the last couple of years, it got a lot popularity in a lot of aspects – from a lifestyle food supplement for enthusiasts to a medicament 💊 taken in consideration of treating more and more diseases.
The hemp plant as such and its ingredients have been used for centuries in natural medicine 👩⚕️🍃, but just during the last decades more and more studies popped up to investigate on its effects and utility in medical context – with interesting results.
Efffects of CBD
There are a lot of described effects of CBD on the human organism. It is important to mention here that our body itself produces endocannabinoids, which activate CB1 & CB2 receptors in our body to e.g., reduce pain, anxiety & relax the central nerval system. Since those receptors are found in different places in the human body it is not exactly known how every single effect is achieved on a biochemical level – there are still a lot of studies coming.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of clinical studies showing following effects:
• Reduce pain & anxiety ⚡️
• Calm the central nerval system 🧠
• Anti-inflammatory effects 🔥
• Spasmolytic
• Anti-oxidative
The use to reduce pain & anxiety is self-explanatory – people suffering from chronic diseases and a lot of athletes rely a lot on CBD. It is also popular for the treatment of arthrosis.
It was also shown that CBD can reduce the amount of migraine attacks by a significant amount.
The anti-inflammatory effects are more and more used for e.g. autoimmune diseases of the skin [e.g. psoriasis & neurodermatitis], the gastrointestinal tract [e.g. Crohn’s Diseases or Ulcerative Colitis].
The spasmolytic effect made use of in modern drugs treating special forms of epilepsy as a symptom of a lot of neuronal diseases [e.g. Nabiximols used for treating Multiple Sclerosis] – it is yet not the first choice but definitely a well-established option.
Finally, the anti-oxidative effect of unsaturated fatty acids is something that no one would doubt – especially if you consume your CBD in form of a full spectrum oil, you will benefit from all the other anti-oxidative.
Hemp seeds also contain a lot of other helpful minerals and nutrients besides of CBD:
- Vitamin C 🍋
- Calcium 🍼
- Iron 🍳
- Gamma liolenic acid
- Omega-3 fatty acids 🐟
- Arginine
- Magnesium 🥜
- B vitamins
It is important to mention that there are of course possible side effects – e.g. skin irritation, diarrhea, dizziness, changes in appetite & mood and so on.
The problem is that the side effects are not as well researched as the main effects – there are more and more studies coming, but it is still not possible to say e.g., from which dose on side effects are likely to appear or not. Even though those side effects are not dramatic, you should keep in mind that your CBD could be the cause.
How to consume CBD?
There are plenty of ways you can buy and consume your CBD by now. The following are some examples:
• You can smoke CBD
• You can use it as CBD Oil
• You can use a CBD mouth spray
• You can consume CBD-gummies or -mints
• You can use CBD-infused creams
Smoking CBD & consuming CBD-Oil are the most known consumable forms. CBD mouth sprays or gummies/mints are a relatively new convenient way too. Especially the CBD-infused creams are nice if you want to treat local pain or inflammations. There are a lot of options – depending on your residential country you may have a harder or easier time to get your hands on the different kind of products. Just keep in mind that if you put your creme or oil locally on your skin – it will function locally. If you consume CBD oil [e.g. putting drops under your tongue] you will have a systemic distribution and effect on your body. Therefore, you also must take your needs in account.
CBD: a profitable market hype
Due to the gain of popularity, there are lot of companies, who want to take their slice of the cake – in an adequate or less adequate way. In the few past years there have been accusation of companies promising effects of CBD or its relatives that are not even remotely been scientifically described or proven – e.g. curing cancer, rejuvenation and so on. This of course casts a bad light on the rest of the industry. As a consumer it is sometimes hard to distinguish right from wrong until frauds get punished, therefore it is important to educate yourself and not be a victim of scammy advertising or promises.
It is also important to mention that not every CBD product has its origin in a biological, natural plant – some CBD is even produced synthetical. I am not saying that its particular bad – I just want to clarify that if you are interested in a more or less natural and sustainable product, you should double check where your CBD is from.
The last important aspect is that you should also make sure that the amount of THC in your product is as low enough – different countries have different limitations and laws. Of course this is more an issue for the producer, but nevertheless you should take this in account and consider if you want to support that particular company selling an illegal product according to the law of your country.
Last Word
In the end I just want to emphasize the fact that there is still not a lot of scientific evidence concerning the dosage of CBD consumption - eventhough there is more to come, I would strongly suggest to not get hyped up my aggressive marketised products. Give it a try with a clear conscience but responsible and make your own opinion!
### Checklist By now ...
✅ you know what CBD stands for.
✅ you are familiar with some of the effects & side effects of CBD
✅ you know about different ways to consume CBD
✅ you are aware of the potential frauds & scams concerning the CBD market
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See you soon!
Noogie 👨⚕
Disclaimer
The content shown here is no alternative to consulting a doctor – if you have any kind of health issues bothering you, firstly consider visiting a health-expert. This is just meant to feed your personal interests. All the information given are related to the German standards </em