Using CBD for Your Well-being
The need to have a healthy body and mind is on top of everyone’s wish list. But how to achieve the same has always been a riddle.
While a healthy diet and disciplined life are the ones to top the “Ways to live healthy” list, there are numerous lifestyle diseases that might be interfering with your efforts following either.
About one in 13 people in the world suffer from anxiety; one in five suffer from chronic pain. The figure for the latter comes up to a whopping 1.5 billion people. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle does not seem enough when your body and mind have been battered beyond recognition.
CBD, with its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, has been helping people fight various lifestyle diseases, including stress, insomnia, obesity, anxiety, and even failing immunity. This alternative medicine has finally found acceptance in the eyes of various state governments in the US, although at different levels. No longer is it considered a psychoactive, recreational drug, but as a potent medicine to treat otherwise difficult lifestyle ailments that significantly affect the overall well-being.
In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about CBD, its effect on your body, why CBD is not addictive, and, most importantly, how using CBD can help ensure holistic well-being.
What is CBD
One of the hundreds of chemical compounds, CBD, is found in the plant Cannabis sativa. It’s the short form of cannabidiol. Over the past few years, CBD has gained immense popularity and traction as a holistic wellness supplement worldwide, especially in the US.
Given the fact that CBD is derived from both hemp (mostly) and marijuana, the latter gives people the idea that CBD might be psychoactive in nature. That is, it might cause hallucinations upon consumption and could also be addictive. However, this couldn’t be further from true. CBD is only one of the many cannabinoid compounds that are extracted from hemp and marijuana. And this particular compound is free from psychoactive properties. This means consuming CBD will not lead you to hallucinate. However, if you ingest CBD with a certain percentage of THC in it, the added THC compound could lead to hallucination.
But what makes CBD so effective is not the compound itself, but the way it interacts with the receptors in the body. CBD works closely with the endocannabinoid system in the body- a critical system that is required to maintain the body in homeostasis. Homeostasis refers to the state of balance that is maintained by all the body’s physiological processes functioning together. Therefore, CBD has a key role to play in ensuring the body functions normally, especially when it has been thrown out of sync.
Therefore, to understand how important CBD is for the regular functioning of the body, it would help to understand what the endocannabinoid system is and how it helps the body stay in balance.
What is the endocannabinoid system?
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is present in every human body. The presence of the endocannabinoid system and its role was identified during the early 1990s when researchers were exploring the function of THC (another cannabinoid compound). It was found that the ECS plays a major role in regulating five important functions of the body:
- Sleep
- Appetite
- Memory
- Mood
- Reproduction
The ECS comprises three components:
- Endocannabinoids
- Receptors
- Enzymes
Of the many endocannabinoids that might be playing a crucial role in helping the ECS perform its natural functions, there are two that researchers have identified as critical:
- Anandamide (AEA)
- 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG)
These endocannabinoid compounds are created by the body to ensure internal organs function properly.
These compounds bind themselves with receptors and signal the ECS to take certain actions. Once they have done their work of signaling the ECS, two types of enzymes break down these cannabinoids to make way for more.
The cannabinoids signal the ECS to regulate or monitor the following processes/conditions:
- Appetite
- Digestion
- Sleep
- Motor control
- Liver function
- Stress
- Reproduction
- Fertility
- Skin function
- Nerve function
- Mood
- Chronic pain
- Inflammation
- Immune system response
- Cardiovascular system
- Bone growth
- Muscle formation
- Learning and memory
This list establishes the crucial role the endocannabinoid system plays in maintaining the holistic health and development of the human body.
Unlike anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidinooylglyrol (2-AG), endocannabinoids that are produced by the body itself, CBD is a plant-produced cannabinoid. The difference between the two lies in the name itself. While “endo-(inside)-cannabinoid” is made by the body, cannabinoids are derived from outside sources (namely the cannabis sativa plant).
However, irrespective of how they have been manufactured, both compounds have a similar effect on the endocannabinoid system. Both of them attach themselves to nerve receptors in the body to signal to the ECS to perform functions, without which the body would move out of homeostasis.
By consuming CBD, people nowadays are ensuring there is enough cannabinoid in the body to ensure the ECS is functioning properly, and the body is in homeostasis.
Anything could throw your body out of homeostasis, any time. Common examples would be pain or a fever, or even the continuous use of tobacco that increases the toxin levels in the body. As the body keeps going off homeostasis, frequent illnesses occur, which, in the long run, can lead to diseases and chronic ailments.
Therefore, by maintaining homeostasis, the ECS ensures holistic and continuous good health in the human body.
How CBD works with the endocannabinoid system?
Although there are not many conclusive studies that can establish the role CBD plays in the functioning of ECS, there are quite a few theories that have been presented by researchers on how the two interact.
Unlike THC, CBD does not bind itself to the receptors in the ECS. Also, due to the lack of psychoactive properties, it does not cause high in individuals who use CBD. However, it has been suggested that CBD prevents the endocannabinoids from breaking down from enzyme actions, thereby allowing them to extend their positive effects on the body for a longer period.
CBD has been shown to provide relief from nausea and chronic pain. For the same reasons, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments often turn to CBD usage to calm the severe after-effects of such treatments.
How can CBD affect holistic wellness?
Now you know that CBD is more than a wellness drug. It can work closely with one of the most important (although less-known) systems of your body to ensure continued good health and balance in the body.
Here’s a look at some of the core issues that CBD can address in your body to ensure you live a healthy life. There are several conditions that can prevent us from living our best life, right from sleepless nights to acne-prone skin, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. CBD can help address all of the above and more.
Skin issues
CBD oil has proven helpful in treating skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis. Moisturizers using CBD oils can help balance oil levels in the skin, thereby keeping acne issues at bay. Further research will help clarify how exactly and what kind of skin conditions can CBD help treat. Acnes are not only painful but affect the confidence of people suffering from them.
By using CBD, you can not only keep acne at bay but also ensure healthy, bright skin- a basic need for almost everyone. Facial serum, face cream, anti-aging facial serum, CBD glow oil, CBD-infused sleeping mask are some of the many products available to help you experience the remarkable effects of CBD on your skin.
Stress, anxiety, and depression
While homeostasis helps keep stress levels at bay, stress itself can lead homeostasis to go off the balance in the body. Studies have found that almost 77% of Americans feel stress that affects their physical well-being, and 73% of Americans suffer stress that affects their mental well-being. About 33% of people mentioned they suffer from extreme stress that impedes them from living a normal life.
These numbers are a clear indication of how stress can stop you from living your best life. Stress could be of any kind- work, financial, personal, social, and so on. Many a time, continuous stress can also lead to conditions such as insomnia, anxiety, and even panic attacks.
A good night’s sleep and calm relaxation can help you break out of the stress cycle. This is a benefit offered by CBD products. CBD can help you get some good rest and a good night’s sleep, thereby putting your body and you back on track. Studies have pointed out that CBD might interact with serotonin in the body and thus help regulate mood and anxiety. Given its anti-anxiety properties, CBD is the perfect drug to promote relaxation.
Also, the anti-depressant properties of CBD make it a great medicine to treat cases of PTSD.
Chronic pain
CBD contains both analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. This makes it a good supplement to use for people suffering from chronic pain. Pain can be caused by momentary hurt, injury, or illness. However, when the pain continues for three months or more, then it can be classified as chronic pain.
Chronic pain sharply affects the quality of living in people. Approximately 20 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, which affects their ability to live a normal life. Small actions like lifting, stirring, or even writing can become painful for people suffering from chronic pain for a long time.
Research states that CBD can have a significant, positive impact on chronic pain, as well as treating momentary pains due to injury and workout. CBD has been shown to treat pain in arthritis patients effectively, along with a significant drop in inflammation in them, thereby extending the period of painless moments.
By using CBD-infused Pain Relief Spray, Pain Relief Roll-On, Pain Relief Cream, patients of chronic pain can see improvement in their condition gradually.
Over a longer period, CBD can also interact with ECS to strengthen bodily functions and immunity, thereby reducing inflammations and pain resulting from it.
Heart health
Approximately one out of every three deaths in America is caused due to some sort of cardiovascular disease. The current-day lifestyle and stress are not helping lower this probability. In the face of such critical statistics, it makes sense to take a proactive approach towards heart health. CBD has been established as a good supplement to include in your diet.
It can help reduce inflammation and prevent arteries from getting blocked, which usually leads to heart failure. The use of CBD can also help keep blood pressure in check. However, CBD alone cannot help improve heart health as it needs to be complemented with a healthy diet and an exercise routine.
Obesity
Obesity is rampant across the world. CBD can help bring obesity under control by turning unhealthy fat to healthy fats and also by improving your ability to burn calories. This helps CBD keep a check on blood sugar levels as well. A fit lifestyle can help you live a more efficient and fulfilling life.
Conclusion
CBD is available in a host of different forms, right from oils and serums to eatables, chewable gummies, and injectables. The more concentrated the product, the more potent its effects are. Care must be taken to find out the quantity required to treat any condition. In case you are planning to use CBD to treat any of the above-mentioned conditions, it is recommended that you consult a doctor first. A healthcare practitioner can help you find out what dosage will be perfect for your particular requirement. This becomes even more necessary if the CBD supplement contains THC, which is psychoactive and could be addictive.
On its own, CBD is not addictive, and it does not cause a high. CBD supplements also do not cause any side-effects as such. People who have shown reactions to OTC medicines, such as Tylenol, could also show a reaction to CBD usage. Otherwise, CBD is safe to use and is available over-the-counter.
CBD has become popular in the US ever since the law made it legal (at varied propensities) across various states. At a time when people are struggling with lifestyle diseases and general well-being, CBD has brought in a much-needed breather, helping people live normal lives and endorsing holistic well-being.
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