19 Health Benefits Of CBD That May Encourage You To Give It A Try
CBD isn't just a gummy people take to sleep better — it has so many possible benefits.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabis-derived substance that is FDA-regulated.
In December of 2018, the 2018 Farm Bill was signed into law. It removed hemp, defined as cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) and derivatives of cannabis with extremely low concentrations of the psychoactive compound delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis), from the definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). - FDA
The reason for this health initiative is for the plant's incredible healing properties that have been known throughout history that date as far back as 6000 BC in Ancient China. On the other hand, CBD has been researched since the 1940s and found that it acts as an antipsychotic, an anticonvulsant, and an anti-inflammatory as well as an anxiety-reducing anxiolytic.
In India, cannabis is considered a sacred plant that gods bestowed upon humankind for healing. The Atharvaveda manuscripts discuss how CBD-rich cannabis seeds and flowers can be used to concoct tinctures and balms. These methods are also well-researched in Ayurvedic medicine, which is still taught at universities to this day.
1. Epilepsy memory treatment
The study "Effects of highly purified cannabidiol (CBD) on fMRI of working memory in treatment-resistant epilepsy" had results that found the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed more activation in areas important for working memory after treatment with CBD.
2. Alleviates schizophrenic episodes
Patients in a controlled study have shown a better treatment response from CBD by more than 20% by the PANSS score and more than 75% by their psychiatrists.
3. Alleviates pain
Sativex® is a cannabis-derived oromucosal spray that was used during a study to understand CBD's pain management properties.
"Numerous randomized clinical trials have demonstrated safety and efficacy for Sativex in central and peripheral neuropathic pain, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer pain." - Journal of Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management
4. Alleviates cancer treatment side effects
Alopecia is a harmful complication of chemotherapy where there is currently no effective therapy. Clinical studies show that CBD serves as a collagen-targeted parathyroid hormone analog that helps treat alopecia.
5. Alleviates sleep disorders
Preliminary research on therapeutic treatment for sleep disorders found CBD to hold promising benefits for sleep disorder treatment through its REM regulation.
6. Helps prevent diabetes
There have been studies that have looked at clinical trials with mice and humans. Needless to say, both studies serve to show promising results that participants had lower blood sugar levels in association with CBD treatment.
7. Substance abuse treatment
Opioid substance abuse treatment involves pain management.
"A safe and natural alternative to opioids is needed, and accumulating evidence indicates that alternative is cannabidiol (CBD) oil." - Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
8. Healthy skin
The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of CBD naturally help keep our skin healthy. The topical treatment of CBD skincare served to show improvement in those with skin disorders from their clinical trails.
9. Reduces epileptic episodes
Nearly 50% of the children from the study involving CBD treatment on epileptic children showed results reporting between 50 and 100% reduction in seizure frequency. Nearly 70% of the children from this same study showed results reporting at least 25% reduction in seizure frequency.
10. Reduces depression
A mouse model experiment found cannabidiol exerts fast antidepressant-like actions in bulbectomized mice because it significantly increased serotonin levels in the pre-frontal cortex.
11. Reduces anxiety
Both human and animal models suggest that CBD performs as an anxiolytic to treat anxiety. CBD was shown to reduce anxiety in patients with a social anxiety disorder.
12. Autoimmune disorder treatment
A clinical study of at least five years has been testing the use of CBD treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) management and the results prove CBD treatment to be effective. Regardless, the THC/CBD oromucosal spray has been used all over the world to help treat MS for years.
13. Reduces inflammation
An animal model study on rodents showed that CBD reduced inflammation behaving as an anti-inflammatory.
14. Healthy bones
Data from a clinical study shows that CBD leads to improvement in fracture healing and demonstrates the critical mechanical role of collagen crosslinking enzymes.
15. Helps Prevent Cancer
An experiment studied the production of tumor cells very closely and found that their proliferation is prevented by CBD treatment. Therefore, CBD treatment has a chemopreventative effect.
16. Healthy brain
In preclinical models of neurodegenerative disorders, CBD treatment shows beneficial effects.
"Accumulation of damaged macromolecules, organelle deficits lead to impairment in neuronal functions and neuroinflammation. These mutually interacting processes are the major driving forces of brain ageing. Activity of cannabinoid system antagonizes these changes and thus decreases the progression of brain aging." - Institute of Molecular Psychiatry, University of Bonn
17. Increases good cholesterol
The administration of CBD among rodents in a study had a direct increase in HDL and a decrease in LDL.
18. Healthy heart
Oral CBD supplements served to show a reduction in the production of atherosclerosis in mice. The data from this study had results with significance to state that CBD treatment inhibits the progression of atherosclerosis. Another study found that CBD treatment increased coronary blood flow, which helps keep your heart healthy.
"Cannabinoid drugs exert their effects primarily through activation of cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors. Both CB1 and CB2 receptors have been implicated in a number of cardiovascular processes, including vasodilation, cardiac protection, modulation of the baroreceptor reflex in the control of systolic blood pressure, and inhibition of endothelial inflammation and the progress of atherosclerosis in a murine model." - Current Vascular Pharmacology, Vol. 5
19. Helps prevent obesity
A survey study called "Obesity and Cannabis Use: Results From 2 Representative National Surveys" found that obesity was less prevalent in cannabis users than non-cannabis users.
