Thanks to the current popularity of CBD, many people have at least a vague idea of this natural compound’s ability to treat all kinds of pain.
However, few people really understand CBD’s unique effects on pain throughout the body.
One of the most exciting discoveries regarding CBD is its powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is the way in which your immune system responds to what it perceives to be harmful to your overall health.
Inflammation can be caused by everything from chronic stress to a physical injury. For instance, when you injure your shoulder, that area will become red, swollen and painful due to inflammation.
Chronic inflammation can be caused by a wide variety of factors. Poor diet choices, lifestyle habits and intense stress can all cause your body to become inflamed.
There are many inflammatory conditions that can cause your life to be full of pain and other unwanted symptoms.
Often, people who are suffering from some form of inflammation are given prescription anti-inflammatory drugs.
While many of these drugs calm inflammation, they can also cause various side effects such as deterioration of the stomach lining and damage to the liver.
Even over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs can result in kidney and liver damage when taken too frequently or in extremely high doses.
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil, on the other hand, is completely safe to take in large doses over long periods of time.
Its anti-inflammatory properties are still being studied by the medical industry. However, research regarding the anti-inflammatory properties of CBD looks extremely promising.
What Exactly Is CBD?
People often associate CBD with marijuana. However, the two substances have extremely different effects on your body.
Marijuana comes from the marijuana plant that belongs to the cannabis family. It’s known for its psychoactive properties that allow a user to experience a high due to it being psychoactive.
CBD, on the other hand, comes from another member of the cannabis family known as the hemp plant. It doesn’t contain THC, the psychoactive compound found in marijuana. Therefore, CBD will not get you high.
CBD is currently being researched for its various therapeutic properties.
For decades, many people have been taking CBD in various forms to treat ailments such as anxiety, insomnia, arthritis and migraines.
Now that CBD has become extremely popular, the medical industry is beginning to take this compound seriously as a potential treatment for a wide range of common conditions.
CBD can be taken in many forms.
Many people who experience localized pain prefer topical CBD creams that reach the affected area quickly by absorbing through the skin’s endocannabinoid receptors.
Other people prefer edible CBD products such as candies and beverages.
These edible products take longer to deliver CBD’s effects because they must first process through your digestive tract.
There are also tinctures and vape oils that allow for you to experience CBD’s effects quickly.
Is CBD Safe to Take for My Pain?
Various studies have shown that CBD is non-addictive and does not put you at risk of overdose. The most common side effect is mild drowsiness.
There’s also a misconception that CBD is an illicit substance that can interfere with a drug test.
However, CBD that comes from the hemp plant is perfectly legal since it does not contain any THC. In fact, CBD is easily available online since it’s perfectly legal to buy and sell.
The only time there will be trace amounts of THC in a hemp derived CBD product is with the use of full spectrum CBD. However, according to the Farm Bill, the full spectrum CBD hemp oil cannot contain more than 0.3% THC per volume.
With this small amount of THC, you will not experience any psychoactive effects, and at the most this could result in a false positive on a drug test but not an outright fail.
Don’t eliminate full spectrum CBD hemp oil from your list, as there are a ton of benefits such as the entourage effect that you can help enhance the overall benefits.
How Does CBD Affect Inflammation?
CBD affects inflammation in a unique way. Recent studies have found that every mammal possesses an endocannabinoid system within the body.
This system consists of endocannabinoids that act as neurotransmitters. They communicate with your nervous system and the immune system to help your body maintain homeostasis.
When the endocannabinoid system is running properly, various bodily processes are regulated. This system controls bodily temperature, immune response, sleep patterns, mood patterns, pain levels and more.
The problem is that many of us do not produce enough endocannabinoids naturally. For this reason, many of us can end up being prone to sickness.
We may also have a low tolerance for pain, experience mood swings throughout the day and experience an inability to maintain a healthy sleeping pattern.
Fascinatingly, CBD is a naturally-derived cannabinoid that can replenish the endocannabinoid system within your body.
In other words, CBD is more of a supplement than a drug. By restoring your endocannabinoid system to its natural state, it can help your body achieve homeostasis once again.
Inflammation, as we have stated, is an immune response. A person who is experiencing inflammation has an excessive level of lymphocytes running throughout the bloodstream.
Therefore, certain areas of the body may become swollen and painful.
Because of CBD’s unique effects on the endocannabinoid system, it can regulate the number of lymphocytes that exist within your body.
This process reduces inflammation by allowing your immune system to function properly.
CBD’s ability to replenish the endocannabinoid system also allow you to feel the effects of pain. CBD’s endocannabinoids communicate with the nervous system to reduce the level of pain signals that are sent to the brain.
You would be surprised to learn just how many ailments are caused by inflammation.
For example, seasonal allergy symptoms are caused by inflammation of the airways. The immune system mistakenly believes that certain allergens are threats to the body and responds accordingly.
Fibromyalgia is another chronic condition that many doctors believe is caused by chronic inflammation. Similarly, arthritis is the result of high inflammation levels.
New research suggests that inflammation may play a role in chronic depression as well.
Another benefit of CBD is that it can regulate both mood and sleep patterns.
If you are suffering from inflammation, your mood and sleep patterns may be negatively affected. CBD can calm the nervous system, boost serotonin levels and reduce sleep onset time.
How Do I Find CBD?
Now that you know that CBD is a safe, natural and highly effective as an anti-inflammatory product, you’re probably wondering where you can get your hands on high-quality CBD.
It’s important to know that the current CBD market isn’t very regulated. Therefore, it’s easy to buy cheap, low-quality CBD products from questionable brands.
The result of buying low-quality CBD is that you won’t be able to reap the benefits that this compound has to offer!
If you’re interested in becoming a CBD user to treat inflammation, some research is required.
When you browse through different CBD brands’ products, it’s always good to look for third party lab results on the companies’ websites.
These unbiased lab results will tell you whether a brand is using pure, high-quality CBD.
It’s also important to note that high-quality CBD isn’t going to be cheap.
Today, you can find CBD products next to the cash registers at gas stations and convenience stores.
Often, these products are surprisingly inexpensive because they contain lots of filler ingredients. Therefore, they won’t necessarily provide you with the results that you’re looking for.
High-quality CBD may be pricier than what you’d find at the gas station. However, it’s essential to realize that the higher the quality of CBD, the more effective it will be.
Plus, high-quality CBD products are extremely potent and pure, meaning that you won’t need to take a lot to enjoy its results.
It’s also wise to look for full spectrum CBD. When a CBD product claims to contain full spectrum CBD, it means that it contains all the cannabinoids that naturally exist within the hemp plant.
That’s because researchers have determined that the hemp plant contains a wide variety of healing properties within its chemical composition. Therefore, you’ll be getting a wider range of nutrients and other beneficial compounds.
Another good idea is to go with CBD that has been grown in an organic hemp farm.
Organically grown hemp retains more of its healing properties.
Therefore, organic CBD will have a higher level of essential fatty acids, crucial vitamins and other nutrients that boost your overall health while improving the state of your endocannabinoid system.
The Choice for Treatment is Yours
CBD’s effects on inflammation are absolutely astounding.
After years of anecdotal evidence from CBD users, science can now confirm that CBD is a promising anti-inflammatory agent that may have a bright future in the medical industry.
CBD enthusiasts are hopeful that it will become even easier than ever to obtain high-quality CBD for medicinal purposes.
Have you used hemp derived CBD oil to treat your inflammation? Let me know in the comments section below about your experience and if it helped to reduce your overall levels of inflammation!
