CBD’s health benefits and why you should be using it!

Surely you’ve heard of CBD’s health benefits, right? It’s the current rage, the toast of the town and the word of the day / month / year (take your pick!).

Celebs are all over it, athletes are using it, and your next-door neighbor won’t stop talking about it!

But wait, isn’t CBD made from cannabis? Doesn’t that stuff get you high? Isn’t it illegal in lots of places?

First, yes, CBD (known by its scientific name of cannabidiol) is one of over 500 compounds found in cannabis, such as omega fatty acids, flavonoids and terpenoids. Cannabis has over 100 unique compounds only found in the plant, called cannabinoids, with the most well-known being THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD. The latter is most definitely non-psychoactive and preliminary studies have shown that it has several health benefits that we’ll get into a bit later on.

When it comes to legality, there are lots of issues regarding cannabis on both a state and federal level. The good news is that thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, it’s legal to both purchase and consume hemp-derived CBD in all 50 states. One distinction to note is the source of your CBD product. If it’s derived from hemp, which tends to have low levels of THC, there should be no problems. If it’s made from cannabis with high levels of THC, it is only legal in states that have legalized marijuana use. In any case, it’s always best to check your state’s laws regarding this issue.

Health benefits

Now that we’ve got the legal aspects out of the way, it’s time to dive into what CBD can actually do for your health. The strongest case to be made for CBD’s health benefits is via successful treatment of child epilepsy syndromes which usually don’t respond well to anti-seizure medicine. Many studies have shown that CBD was successful in lowering the number of seizures or even stopping them outright. There’s even an FDA-approved cannabis-based medication for these symptoms called Epidiolex, which is based on CBD. However, it must be noted that follow-up research found that the effectiveness of the CBD declined as time went on, unless the dosage was increased.

In addition, a study from the European Journal of Pain indicated that CBD applied to the skin could help to reduce pain and inflammation due to arthritis, while a different study showed that CBD can inhibit both inflammatory and neuropathic pain. However, these studies were based on animals and not humans.

Additional studies have shown that CBD’s health benefits can aid in reducing anxiety, and help insomniacs fall asleep and stay asleep. Furthermore, a recent article from the National Center for Biotechnology Information has shown a connection between CBD and treating post-traumatic stress disorder by preventing adverse memories and blocking their re-consolidation.

There is also a lot of anecdotal information, based on millions of users, that CBD helps them with the aforementioned issues, as well as with post-workout recovery, depression, schizophrenia and more. Science is quickly catching up to mainstream tales, however, with National Institutes for Health funding of CBD studies going from zero in 2014 to $16m in 2018.

Alright, now we know all about the legality of CBD and what it can do for us, we’ll dive into what we call CBD delivery mechanisms – or in other words, how do I use CBD?

Methods of application

By far, the most common way to use CBD is via oral ingestion, and of these methods, the most common are oils and tinctures. These liquids are infused with CBD and can be placed under the tongue with a dropper, where they’ll be absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream.

In addition, some people prefer to use capsules and pills (they don’t like the taste or sensation of oils, for example), and then you take it just like you’d take any normal pill. With this method, the effects aren’t felt so rapidly. Another method of oral ingestion is via edible products like cookies, cakes, candy and the like.

Next up, we have inhaling vaporized CBD oils, or vaping. No doubt, this is the fastest way to feel the effects of CBD, as it goes directly from the lungs to the bloodstream. However, be aware that there still isn’t a lot of research on the effects of vaping on one’s health.

Finally, we have the category of CBD-infused lotions and creams. Because around 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed into the bloodstream, this is a great way to treat localized joint and muscle pain, as well as some skin conditions.

While it’s still in early stages, CBD’s health benefits are starting to be noticed by more and more people and organizations – including scientific research, governments and consumers. It’s estimated that the CBD market will go from hundreds of millions of dollars in 2018 to nearly $20 billion by 2022. We can only wait and see what new and exciting benefits CBD research will be discovering in the years to come!