CBD - What is all the fuss about?
What is CBD?
CBD, short for Cannabidiol, is a chemical compound naturally occurring in the hemp plant, Cannabis Sativa.
How can CBD benefit us?
A 2018 report by the World Health Organisation suggested that CBD may help treat symptoms relating to conditions such as cancer, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), anxiety, depression, insomnia and Alzheimer's disease. There is moderate evidence that CBD can improve sleep disorders, fibromyalgia pain, muscle spasticity related to multiple sclerosis, and anxiety. People report that oral CBD helps relieve anxiety and pain and also leads to better sleep.
Why does cannabis work so efficiently for our bodies?
The human body contains a complex network of neurotransmitters and cannabinoid receptors known as the endocannabinoid receptor system (ECS). Research suggests that cannabinoids and the ECS may play a role in many bodily processes including anxiety, stress and mood. The endocannabinoid system is a group of neuromodulatory lipids and their receptors, which are widely distributed in mammalian tissues. The endocannabinoid system regulates various cardiovascular, nervous, and immune system functions inside cells. The ECS regulates and controls many of our most critical bodily functions such as learning and memory, emotional processing, sleep, temperature control, pain control, inflammatory and immune responses, and eating which is why CBD has such an effect on these areas.
How does CBD interact with the endocannabinoid system?
The other major cannabinoid found in cannabis is cannabidiol (CBD). Unlike THC, CBD doesn’t make you “high” and typically doesn’t cause any negative effects.
Experts aren’t completely sure how CBD interacts with the ECS. But they do know that it doesn’t bind to CB1 or CB2 receptors the way THC does.
Instead, many believe it works by preventing endocannabinoids from being broken down. This allows them to have more of an effect on your body. Others believe that CBD binds to a receptor that hasn’t been discovered yet.
While the details of how it works are still under debate, research suggests that CBD can help with pain, nausea, and other symptoms associated with multiple conditions.
Will CBD make me high?
No… Unlike THC, CBD doesn't make you “high” and typically doesn't cause any negative effects. Experts aren't completely sure how CBD interacts with the ECS. But they do know that it doesn't bind to CB1 or CB2 receptors the way THC does. Instead, many believe it works by preventing endocannabinoids from being broken down.
What are the differences between the forms of CBD available?
CBD isolate is a pure form of CBD. It contains no other cannabis plant compounds. It usually comes from hemp plants, which typically contain very low to zero amounts of THC. CBD isolate is a crystal form of CBD and it is often used in tinctures, topicals, skincare and edible.
Broad-spectrum CBD products contain various compounds and cannabinoids from the cannabis plant. These include cannabichromene, cannabinol, and terpenes, such as myrcene, limonene, or pinene. Broad-spectrum CBD typically contains no THC. However, some products will contain trace quantities.
Full-spectrum CBD contains CBD and all other cannabinoids, including trace amounts of THC (0.3% or less). Isolate CBD contains just CBD. Broad-spectrum CBD contains CBD and multiple other cannabinoids, but no THC.
What is best for me?
Everybody’s bodies are unique and CBD users will find that they may need to try various products and strengths to determined what is best for them. There are many different products available including tinctures, moisturising creams, muscle balms and edibles.
A brief history of Cannabis
The history of cannabis and its usage by humans dates back to at least the third millennium BC in written history, and possibly as far back as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8800–6500 BCE) based on archaeological evidence. For millennia, the plant has been valued for its use for fiber and rope, as food and medicine, and for its psychoactive properties for religious and recreational use. Records of its use have been found worldwide and it has been heavily documented throughout history for a multitude of medicinal uses.
The first alleged recorded use of Cannabis as a medicine was way, way back, between 2696 – 2737 BC in China by legendary Emperor Shen Nung. Nung was fabled as a philosopher, farmer and hemp enthusiast, whose documentation of the plant’s ‘yin energy’ for malaria, dysentery, constipation and rheumatic pains is considered the first pharmacopoeia entry (an encyclopaedia of medicines detailing their effects and uses).
Given that the plant is not indigenous to Europe, there is very little recorded use in the West until the 17th century, when international trade began to increase. In 1621, English Clergyman Robert Burton suggested cannabis as a treatment for depression in his book The Anatomy of Melancholy. However, it was Irish physician William Brooke O’Shaughnessy that really made the first leap into medical testing in Western medicine. Working in India from 1833, O’Shaughnessy experimented with the indigenous Cannabis Indica – aka Hindu Kush – which had a historical use in India dating back thousands of years. O’Shaughnessy explored the varying effects of different parts of the plant, noting how its forms and potencies were more useful for medicinal effects than those that created more acute and severe intoxication. This, as we know now, is likely to be due to varying amounts of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the psychoactive component of the plant that gets you high. The Cannabidiol (CBD) is the non-psychoactive form of the plant, which will be a major component of the recently legalised medicinal products in today’s world.
Disclaimer: The Food Standards Agency in the UK recommends the maximum daily CBD dosage of 70mg. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose. Please consult a health professional before use if pregnant, breastfeeding or taking other medication. This food supplement should be taken as part of a varied diet and healthy lifestyle. This product is a food supplement and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
