The Benefits of Using CBD
Have you been wondering about CBD? With its increased prevalence and appearance in the media and on the news, more and more people are turning to CBD products for treatment of pain and inflammation. Read more about CBD and its benefits below.
What is CBD oil?
Cannabidiol (CBD) has recently garnered attention in the media because of the compound’s various health benefits and medicinal properties. CBD and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the two most researched active ingredients in cannabis. Derived from the cannabis or hemp plant, CBD is one of the essential chemical compounds found in medicinal marijuana. While CBD is responsible for benefits including anti-inflammation, pain relief, and reduced anxiety and depression, it has no psychoactive properties and does not cause a “high.” In fact, CBD is naturally produced by your body and works to support several essential bodily functions, including motor, reproductive, immune functions. Additionally, it exhibits no addictive properties, and is currently being researched as a viable treatment for addiction, insomnia, Alzheimer’s, and other conditions. Additionally, according to the World Health Organization, there is no research indicating any medical concerns connected to the supplementation of pure CBD, accounting for its recent and growing popularity.
What does CBD do?
CBD interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), which regulates several body processes including mood, pain receptors, and the immune system. While your body naturally produces endogenous cannabinoids to help govern essential bodily processes, phytocannabinoids like CBD, can be extracted from plants and serve as natural aids for supplementing the ECS. CBD helps to preserve and support healthy and pain-free joints, optimize sleep, and reduce muscle tension and stress. And the number of benefits of CBD continue to grow as more research and studies are completed.
One of the most practical uses of CBD is its support of pain relief and reduced inflammation in joints and muscles. One study from the European Journal of Pain demonstrated that CBD could treat chronic pain connected to inflammation resulting from arthritis. Currently, CBD is also used to ease anxiety and depression. Unlike pharmaceutical drugs that treat these conditions, CBD does not produce the side effects common in antidepressants and SSRIs like headaches, insomnia, and general agitation.
Several studies have also demonstrated that CBD is a viable option for reducing the frequency of seizures in certain health problems, including Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastraut syndrome, unique childhood epilepsy conditions that traditional antiseizure medications cannot treat. CBD was able to stop seizures in some diagnosed children, which led to the FDA approving the medication Epidiolex, which uses CBD.
Is CBD safe?
The largest safety study on CBD conducted so far was the FDA approved seizure medication, Epidiolex, but other published smaller scale safety studies have continued to come out as the research community concludes more tests. From the smaller- scale safety studies, no major adverse outcomes have been discovered.
Many people considering CBD have questions about whether or not CBD use will register a positive THC product on a drug test. If this is a concern, consider using broad spectrum CBD or CBD isolate, as opposed to full spectrum CBD—the reason being that broad spectrum has no THC. There are three different types of CBD: full spectrum, broad spectrum, and isolate. Full spectrum uses the whole hemp plant, including terpenes, fatty acids, CBD and minuscule amount of THC (<.3%). Broad spectrum CBD uses the whole plant as well, except it has 0% THC, and CBD isolate is pure CBD with 0% THC as well. The terpenes, fatty acids, and vitamins that come along with full and broad spectrum CBD have benefits of their own that may improve the desirable outcomes of CBD use. In sum, while some CBD users may prefer full spectrum CBD, if you are expecting to take a drug screen, using broad spectrum CBD or CBD isolate will guarantee having no THC in your system.
Choosing a CBD product
There are several factors to consider when determining which CBD brand or product would benefit you most, including making sure that your CBD product does not contain any impurities and having a trustworthy third party verification on dosage percentages. Reputable companies send their CBD products to a third party laboratories in order to test their products for heavy metals, microbials, chemical residue, and other harmful substances. These third party laboratories also test the CBD and THC percentage to guarantee that the company accurately labels these levels in each product. Make sure that when purchasing CBD, you are buying a product tested by a third party lab to ensure accurate dosages.
Melita Fitness and Rehab is proud to be sponsored by Ikanik. Ikanik’s mission is to bring the highest quality CBD products in the industry, while providing reliable and effective care. Their team of professionals have created the purest and most bioavailable broad spectrum hemp oil on the market. Their products are independently lab tested by a third party to ensure the highest quality standards for each product every time.
Written by Adam Lynn