Cannabidiol, or CBD for short, has been slowly growing in popularity over the past two decades, but seems to have really taken off in the past few years — ever since the Farm Bill in 2018 legalized hemp and hemp-based products. Since CBD is extracted from hemp, it is now fully legal.
Now, you can find products that use CBD as an active ingredient in many dispensaries, pharmacies, and even pet stores. You can most commonly find it in CBD oil dropper bottles, but also as edibles such as delta 8 gummies from sites like pharmacbd.com, baked goods, drinks, and more.
The main reason for this surge in popularity is that people have gained a better understanding of the benefits that this supplement can provide. Here are 10 of the more common health issues for which you can use CBD to help manage the condition.
1. Pain
One of the main ways that CBD has an impact on our health is by interacting with the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is part of our nervous system. The CBD binds to the receptors within the ECS, and those receptors are responsible for receiving and transmitting signals from neurotransmitters.
Those neurotransmitters help manage the regulation of a number of very important bodily functions, including pain signals. When you take CBD, it reduces the intensity of the pain signals, so you do not experience it as severely as you would otherwise.
2. Inflammation
CBD also comes loaded with antioxidants, which is one of the better natural anti-inflammatory agents you can have. This is why so many skin or beauty products use antioxidants, to help reduce skin inflammation which can cause issues for your skin’s overall health.
They are also commonly used in any health-related product that are meant to reduce inflammation in your muscles, organs, and so on, where being inflamed can cause or exacerbate the condition.
3. Sleep
One of the other bodily functions that your ECS manages is your sleep-wake cycle, specifically through your circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is essentially your body’s internal clock, and it is what makes you feel hungry around your usual meal times.
It also makes you feel tired at the end of your usual 24-hour day, so it’s easier for you to fall asleep. However, CBD also helps reduce pain, inflammation, and other interrupting factors for sleep. This is why it is now used to help treat people with insomnia and other sleep disorders.
4. Nausea
Nausea is a very common issue that everyone will experience several times in their lives. It could be from something you ate that doesn’t agree with your system, it could be caused by another health condition such as the flu or drinking too much alcohol.
Ingesting CBD helps increase the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates your appetite, among other things, and is produced almost entirely in your stomach.
5. Digestion
Another bodily function that serotonin regulates is your digestion, because it is also found in your intestines. That’s why CBD is increasingly being used by people with chronic digestive issues, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s Disease, and more.
CBD also helps by reducing the production of cortisol which can harm your digestive organs, and by reducing inflammation that is a common symptom of many digestive issues.
6. Mental Health
One of the other many things that serotonin regulates is our mood and mental health. When you have a normal range of serotonin in your system, you are much more likely to have a good overall mood. You feel happy or content, more focused, and less stressed, anxious or depressed.
Many people with diagnosed mental health issues happen to have a low level of serotonin, and they’re often prescribed an SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor), which helps increase the amount of serotonin produced in your body. For people who don’t have severe mental health issues, CBD can therefore help better regulate the production of serotonin you produce without the more serious side effects common to SSRIs.
7. Skin Health
Inflammation is a major issue for skin health, and is a major symptom or cause in a few common skin conditions: acne, rosacea, rashes, eczema, and so on. Being able to reduce inflammation can prevent a flare up of these conditions, or treat one if you experience a breakout.
However, CBD also comes loaded with omega fatty acids, which are building blocks for new and healthy skin cells. Even if you don’t have a skin condition, you can take CBD to promote better health for your skin. For additional information, you can visit Browns CBD.
8. Diabetes
For people who are at risk for developing diabetes, or if they already have it, inflammation is a major concern. The production of insulin is controlled by hormones and neurotransmitters.
The lack of insulin or insulin resistance which characterizes diabetes leads to increased levels of inflammation throughout your body and especially in your organs. Some studies have found that taking CBD can help lower the chances of developing it, and others can help reduce swelling and pain from nerve damage in people who already have it.
9. Seizures
There is actually a prescription-level drug using CBD, called Epidolex, that has been approved for by the FDA as a treatment method for people who have two rare and severe variations of epilepsy — Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes — as well as a treatment for seizures caused by tuberous sclerosis complex.
CBD does not necessarily help everyone with a seizure disorder, but that is true of all forms of treatment used for epilepsy. Not all treatments work the same on everyone, many don’t work at all for some people.
10. Addiction Recovery
People who have an addiction to some kind of substance, from nicotine and pain killers to cocaine and heroin, can use CBD to help their recovery in two ways. First, it can help reduce the worst of your withdrawal symptoms, which depending on the substance and how long you were using it can be life-threatening.
Second, CBD may also help reduce the dependence you have on a substance to lower your cravings. While CBD can help manage these issues, they are by no means able to cure them. Only Epidolex for seizures, out of the whole list above, is actually used as a formal medical treatment for a health condition, and that has a much higher concentration of CBD than is recommended for regular use.
It carries more side effects than a typical dose of CBD would. If you are going to use it as a supplement for less serious conditions, always stay within the recommended dose range, and don’t expect it to perform miracles.
