CBD Effects
Cannabidiol or CBD oil is one of the 100 chemical compounds found in cannabis or marijuana plant. These compounds are generally known as cannabinoids. While it is true that it has had some vague reputation among people in the past, CBD has gained some recognition over the last couple of years for its uniqueness and ability to deal with anxiety, seizures, chronic pain, and a host of other diseases.
When you decide to take CBD, remember that it is just like using other natural supplements, it might have one kind of effect on you and a totally different effect on someone else. It is, therefore, crucial that you learn about all CBD effects before you decide to go into using it. As it is with any other supplement, try to get your doctor’s approval before you decide to use CBD.
How CBD Works in the Body?
In your body, there is a system called the endocannabinoid system, or ECS. This system works as a homeostatic regulator, meaning it works to keep the balance or equilibrium in your body, even with changes in the external environment. The endocannabinoid system plays a significant role in almost all the physiological systems found in the body.
The ECS was first discovered in the body by Dr. Lumir Hanus, who was researching how the(tetraydrocannabinol) THC compound reacts with the internal system of our bodies. It was an exciting discovery of the early 1990s as it showed that the effect the body provides is similar to that of the hundreds of compounds found in the marijuana plant.
This discovery moved the scientists to call it the endocannabinoid system, as it can create the cannabinoids that the body needs, all by itself. There are two receptors in the ECS. The CB1 and CB2 receptors: the CB1 receptors reside in the brain and the Central Nervous System, while the CB2 receptors reside in the body’s immune system.
When someone takes CBD oil into the body, it interacts with the endocannabinoid system. When this happens, the cannabinoid receptors work to line the outer layers of cells, which are widely distributed all over your body. CBD oils then react with the CB2 reactors found in your immune system in the body, outside of the Central Nervous System.
After this interaction takes place, the body has to produce cannabinoids by itself. These cannabinoids then start to restore equilibrium in the body and a good feeling of well-being. That is the most basic understanding of the endocannabinoid system we have now, and it is enough to give us an insight into the inner workings of the body. However, there has been more research in this field, and in no time, we will have enough information to understand how the body does this.
How do You Feel after taking CBD?
Many people have their reservations about taking CBD oil because of its ties with the marijuana plant. The main concern is that it will make you “high” and unable to perform correctly. Fortunately, that is not true. The compound in marijuana that brings that “high” or intoxication is not CBD but another of the cannabinoid compounds called Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
CBD is not psychoactive nor produce psychoactive effects, so you can drop all of your worries about the feelings of euphoria or intoxication you get after taking it. CBD does bring about a feeling of balance and general well-being, so it is desirable to a lot of people for different reasons. Fortunately, it’s not as intoxicating as many would think.
What are the Benefits of taking CBD?
Taking CBD comes with a ton of benefits. Some of them include:
Anxiety
Thanks to research, we now understand a little more about how CBD can help with managing anxiety. Scientists have postulated that CBD oil can help change the way your brain receptors respond with serotonin. Serotonin is the happy chemical in the body, and it helps with the regulation of mental function in the body. Receptors in your brain cells are there to receive signals and help your brain cells respond accordingly to them. These receptors, after interacting with CBD oil, then move on to react with serotonin differently, helping your body attain that feeling of wellness.
Studies after studies have shown that taking CBD oil has dramatically improved people’s level of confidence and helped them deal with anxiety. For others, it helped them relieve stress, reduce their heart rate, induce sleep, and help them deal with PTSD.
Sleep
The ability of CBD to interact with GABA and serotonin receptors have been shown to improve the quality of sleep in users. Apart from the testimonies received from research works, and clinical trials, CBD users are quite vocal on its activity to promote sleep. It should be noted that the interaction between CBD and the endocannabinoid system plays an alternative role on the sleep-wake cycle and its activity is determined by the period of administration.
Pain
Humans experience pain for many reasons. Many people experience arthritic pain, and others have to deal with soreness in other parts of their bodies. Luckily, CBD may promote excellent relief for the pain including those relating to medical conditions like PMS, menopause, endometriosis, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. Other kinds of pain, like muscle pain and spinal cord injuries, will drastically reduce in effect after taking CBD oils.
In some parts of Europe, there are approved drugs like Sativex (for neuropathic pain) and epidiolex (for dravet sybdrome and chronic epilepsy) that contain some percentage of CBD and THC and help with relieving severe pain. However, authorities believe it’s too soon to determine if CBD is all good for dealing with pain and inflammation.
Dealing with Seizure
Even though many scientists claim it’s still too early to decide, CBD oil has been very effective in dealing with epilepsy. CBD oil has helped many people deal with epilepsy, and for this reason, has been very popular before. We can now reference a lot of researches on how well it works on removing seizures from people, and whether it is safe for the people.
Thankfully, many scientists, even those from prestigious organizations like the American Epilepsy Society, have stated that doing in-depth research of Cannabidiol is necessary for epileptic people and has given their endorsement to all scientists who wish to carry on this research of hope.
Various studies have shown that adding oral doses of about 2 to 5mg of CBD per day to the diet of epileptic people, in addition to their already existing anti-epileptic medications, can help them reduce the frequency of occurrence of these seizures.
Cancer
In the early stages of cancer, some studies have confirmed that CBD can prevent cancer cell growth. This research is still in its infancy, so it’s too quick to state if it works totally or not. However, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institute of Health has noted that the use of CBD may be instrumental in the alleviation of cancer symptoms and the treatment of cancer side effects. The NCI does not, however, tout this drug as a form of cancer treatment. Studies show that people who struggle with pain after chemo feel much better after taking CBD.
CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties make it powerful in moderating inflammation and changing the cell reproduction cycle of cancerous cells in the body. Also, as stated above, its pain-relieving property makes it good for dealing with pain after chemotherapy.
Addiction
There are reports on how CBD can assist drug addicts in their fight against addiction. Information gathered from human studies showed how CBD can be a better replacement for smoking and also assist people who are addicted to other drugs.
Side Effects of CBD
CBD also has some side effects when not taken properly. In most cases, these side effects arise from taking the wrong CBD products (high THC concentration), interactions between CBD and receptors and our level of CBD tolerance. Some of these possible side effects include but are not limited to the following:
- Depression: This does not affect a lot of people who take CBD, but not appropriately consuming CBD can lead to depression.
- A feeling of dizziness or drowsiness
- Low blood pressure
- Irregular eating habits
- Negative interaction with drugs
Conclusion
Understanding the effects of CBD oil is essential in deciding whether you wish to take it or not. Most of the research around CBD is sketchy, but scientists know this: CBD is not dangerous to your health. Information from the WHO (World Health Organization) shows that CBD is well tolerated with a good safety profile. Majority of the reported adverse effects arise from drug-drug interactions between CBD and the patient’s existing medications. Please note that the long term effect of CBD is still under study.
CBD is Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) by the FDA (Food and Drug administration). It will not make your life or health worse, and the potential for better well-being and relaxation is much higher than any side effect you can get from taking this chemical compound.
CBD oil is also not intoxicating, so you don’t have to worry about that as well. CBD possess some good therapeutic potentials that may also help you deal with everyday problems like acne and pain you may feel in your muscle, leg, and other parts of your body.
If you wish to know more about CBD oil or if you are not sure if this is for you, then contact us. We have done the background work on cannabidiol, and we are willing to help you in whichever way possible.
