CBD is the word going through the grapevine of alternative medicine. People are talking about the various health benefits you can get from ingesting it and the various conditions that it can treat, including depression, addiction, and even cancer.
Although the researches regarding its effects are still preliminary, many are clamoring to jump on the wagon even though there are some potential risks and there are issues about the legality surrounding the use. Most people have little knowledge about the effects and side effects it can cause to the human body while some do not have a complete understanding of what it is and where it comes from.
What is CBD?
CBD is short for cannabidiol and it is one of the compounds naturally occurring in cannabis sativa plants. Alongside, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, it is the second most widely known extract. People use both CBD and THC primarily medicinal purposes. However, some use THC for recreational reasons, generally for the high or the buzz it produces.
When talking about THC and CBD, people often associate it with the medical weed or the female plant of cannabis sativa. CBD extracts from marijuana often also include concentrations of THC because the growers had genetically modified them to produce strains with high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol through selective breeding.
ON the other hand, CBD compounds from hemp plants have little not virtually THC content since farmers grow the male plants for their industrial grade fiber and leave them rarely modified.
However, when it comes to richness and potency, CBD from hemp usually have lower cannabidiol concentrations than extracts derived from the marijuana plants.
Although THC and CBD can virtually come from the same plants, these compounds have different effects on the body. Cannabidiol is the yang to the tetrahydrocannabinol yin. While THC produces mind-altering or psychoactive effects to the system, CBD is not addictive and it does not cause any unfavorable changes when a person ingests the right therapeutic dosage.
THC interacting with the various receptors of the human body produces intoxication and euphoria. Cannabidiol interacts with the same receptors as THC but it produces very weak effects. Moreover, CBD interacting with the various receptors does not cause the same mind-altering effects as THC. As a matter of fact, the World Health Organization has recently concluded that cannabidiol is not addictive, not intoxicating, and not toxic.
Cannabidiol contains anti-inflammatory properties. CBD also interacts with the many receptors of the system and produces changes in the person’s perception of pain, inflammation, and anxiety. The compound also increases the activity of opioid receptors, the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin, as well as certain enzymes and ion channels.
Unlike most medicinal drugs that only focus on 1 target or receptor, cannabidiol produces various changes in the different parts of the body. Some of the interactions with targets and receptors may not cause any significant effects, but the changes that cause effects represent new avenues that can treat various disorders. The many destinations that CBD interacts with successfully can treat various ailments, including autism, liver diseases, multiple sclerosis, even cancer, and more.
Although various CBD products are available online and in nearby shops, cannabidiol is an illegal drug in some countries so you need to be careful where you purchase your supply. Stores and shops that offer CBD rich products from countries that consider any cannabis sativa product a controlled substance is not trustworthy. Furthermore, hemp-extracted products from these countries will not have enough concentration of CBD for any effective therapeutic purpose.
Watch out for hemp-seed oils marketed as CBD-rich products as well. They do not contain any THC or CBD since these CBD-rich products from hemp can be technically still illegal. Also, they will not contain the amount of CBD on the label as indicated since regulations dictate that legal CBD derived from hemp must come from the seed and fiber, and they must not contain any CBD with not more than 10 parts per million of THC.
Should you take CBD to treat pain?
The most notable use for CBD is to manage pain. At some point in life, people will suffer from the discomforts of pain. It is comforting to know that there is a natural remedy to help ease the symptoms of the condition without causing addiction and significant risk to the body.
More than 3 million people in the United States alone suffer from chronic pain, neuropathic pain, and other conditions causing painful symptoms. Whether a person is suffering from one form or the other, there is no cure for this condition. Most medical treatments include narcotics or opioids, steroids, and nerve blockers, which poses dangerous effects to the body. Even non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and aspirin are risky when taken regularly. In fact, these drugs hospitalize more than 100, 000 people yearly and approximately 15,000 die from them.
Cannabidiol is a safer alternative. You can incorporate CBD into the treatment regimen for a natural, plant-based remedy. Relieve the pain whether it is a symptom in the feet, hands, neck, back, or elsewhere. It has very minimal side effects and is non-toxic, non-addictive, and non-intoxicating.
Should you take CBD to treat anxiety?
Many people suffer from anxiety disorders. It is the most common mental illness in the United States alone, affecting around 40 million adults or more than 18 percent of the population. The most common medical treatments for this condition are pharmaceutical drugs, including beta-blockers, antidepressants, buspirone, and benzodiazepines, which have severe side effects.
Together with therapy and self-care, incorporate CBD into the treatment for Agoraphobia, Phobias (Irrational Fears), Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). CBD interacts well with the -HT1A neuro-receptor, serotonin receptors subtype that is often the target of many pharmaceutical drugs used to treat anxiety.
How to take CBD to treat pain
For pain management, recommendations include taking the full spectrum of CBD oil every day in gel capsules or tinctures starting from 5 to 10 mg daily and increasing the dosage by 5 to 10 mg until the desired effects begin to take off.
Generally, gel capsules often contain 25 mg of CBD per pill. Anyone can start at this dosage since there are no serious side effects and there is no overdose when taking pure CBD. Sublingual tinctures and pills will provide pain relief for a couple of hours and many people find that they do not feel any symptoms for a day. However, it will usually take up to 90 minutes before the full effect of pain relief.
For pain located in the myofascial tissue, tendons, ligaments, muscle, bones, or skin, the best way to take CBD is via topical salve. The compound will penetrate deep beneath the skin layer to reduce pain and inflammation. The relief occurs within 15 minutes and the effects will last for a couple of hours. Simple re-apply the salve as needed.
To manage acute flare-ups causes by general aggravation, cold weather, and recent injury, use vaporizing CBD isolate or 99 percent pure CBD. Dabbing or vaporizing relieves the symptoms almost immediately and the effects will affect the whole body. Alternatively, one can increase the dosage of tinctures or pills. However, keep in mind that the onset time will take longer than vaporizing. CBD topical sleeves are also available for flare-ups.
How to take CBD to treat anxiety
For daily maintenance, you can take the same form and amount recommended for pain management above. For managing acute flare-ups, you can use the same suggestions for pain management as well.
Are there any risks of taking CBD to treat pain and anxiety?
There are various side effects when using cannabidiol. Even therapeutic dosage can cause fatigue, diarrhea, weight loss and more. CBD alone is generally safe to use.
However, cannabidiol extracts contain more than just CBD compounds. Some extracts can contain a mixture of the compound and other components, which the product may or may not indicate on its label. Moreover, CBD products can contain THC compounds as well. Many of the side effects a person experiences are from the other components and the tetrahydrocannabinol content.
CBD extracts with THC amounts is where using CBD gets complicated, particularly if it contains significantly high concentrations. Thus, any product with THC needs caution when using. Ingest CBD with little or no THC levels and with a high concentration of cannabidiol.
Likewise, not all strains will have the same CBD-THC ratio. If trying getting a product using extracts from a different plant of marijuana, always take note of the strain name, write the dosage, THC-CBD percentages, and the effects it produces to help distinguish the most suitable one for the ailment or the condition.
There is also no need to worry about a build-up of CBD compound in the body. How long CBD stays in the system will vary individual to individual. Although the usage frequency, ingestion method, CBD concentration, and dosage will affect how fast it dissipates, as well as the person’s age, weight, gender, lifestyle, metabolism, and water consumption, any significant trace of cannabidiol is gone in less than 7 days.
Although using CBD for therapeutic and medicinal purposes is just a recent remedy that needs more time and studies to fully understand its effects and side effects, several studies reveal that the compound only stays in the body for 3 to 4 days.
Patients of a study who ingested 700 mg of CBD every day for 6 weeks were free of any traces of CBD after 7 days of not taking any supplement. Thus, experts believe that cannabidiol has a half-life of only 2 to 5 days in the body.