As none of our team are medically trained we have to be careful about how we approach this topic. We cannot say ‘CBD will cure your depression overnight’ or ‘CBD is proven to aid your cardiovascular system’ for instance.
But what we are more than happy to do is signpost readers towards the many positive studies that do suggest CBD can be extremely beneficial for overall health in most people.
Despite having been used medicinally for millennia, research into the exact benefits of this most benign compound is going to take many more years.
But before we get properly started just also consider the following two points.
Firstly, not a single study has found that there are any negative effects from taking a CBD health supplement. It is totally non-toxic and even impossible to overdose on. There are no physically addictive quantities, side effects or withdrawals.
Combine the examples that follow with the masses of anecdotal experiences that suggest many people have been aided greatly by using CBD, and it doesn’t take much to conclude that this can be a fantastic aid to overall health.
1) Psychological Wellbeing
One of the most common reasons why people take CBD is to help alleviate symptoms of both depression and anxiety.
Anecdotally speaking, this is one of the most prominent positives with millions of people claiming it does not necessarily remove the disorder but can significantly lessen the symptoms.
It could be down to the huge boost that using such extracts adds to the body’s natural endocrine system, part of which produces cannabinoids. This helps to regulate hormones throughout the body including serotonin and neurotransmitters that regulate sleep and mood.
It may even aid people with schizophrenia and psychosis although studies are still awaited.
Only small-scale studies have been carried out on humans and usually related to specific occasions. These find that while there are clear advantages to using CBD in for example a public speaking context, but also that people do need to find their personal ‘sweet spot’ dosage.
However, one major Brazilian study was more clear-cut, claiming that it clearly boosts the activity in limbic and paralimbic brain areas promoting steady mood. Such studies can take years but expect in the future to see a much more conclusive proof for the psychological benefits that CBD can carry.
2) Pain Relief
We’re happy to report that the evidence for pain relief is far more clear-cut and far less anecdotally based. After all, there is a reason why ‘medical marijuana’ has been around in some more enlightened parts of the world for years already.
Most medical experts concur that CBD effectively interacts with the aforementioned receptors in the brain to both alleviate pain and reduce inflammation.
There have been plenty of studies carried out across a number of subgroups whose sample patients have returned very positive feedback. These include people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and many other serious ailments.
A well-published 2012 study confirmed that overall CBD certainly does have considerable analgesic powers that ought to be considered for use in general medicine.
Even those with just aches and pains (CBD is increasingly popular among athletes for instance) are finding that it helps aid recovery and hence reduce the likelihood of injury.
3) A Cure For Cancer?
Sadly – not quite.
However once again some big-name organizations such as the American Cancer Society, have been proactively promoting the stacks of research concurring that it can inhibit the growth and spread of tumours.
Of course, there is no such thing as straightforward ‘cancer’ but indications are positive for its use in assisting with breast, colon, and prostate in particular. Combine this with the other properties that extracts contain – for example, anti-nausea – and it is clear to see why high strength CBD oils are highly regarded in this instance.
It must be qualified that the studies mentioned are all ‘pre-clinical’ – meaning that what they have found is outside of formal laboratory testing and based primarily on anecdote and informal observation. Yet it is a very positive sign indeed, and most certainly is not going to do any harm.
4) Can Help Treat Diabetes
This is a very interesting development and while again – formal research is still unpublished to date – the signs are good that CBD may help with considerably slowing down fasting insulin resistance.
A highly published study on diabetes-prone female mice found that 100% of the sample naturally developed the ailment, while only 32% of those given a CBD compound did so.
Another study of American diabetics found that current and former marijuana users were around 16% healthier in terms of their fasting insulin levels.
What can we take from this? Once again – there’s no indication that CBD is going to worsen the condition and it may in fact actually help the body regulate insulin levels within the body. We await more trials.
5) Helps Manage Seizures
A study by Stanford University looked into how a high dose of CBD could potentially lower the incidence of seizures amongst epileptic patients.
Of their study sample, the evidence overwhelmingly pointed towards a considerable reduction following three months of use. Just under half of the study group reported at least a 50% reduction. The positive effects have been supported by numerous other studies that found particularly good results with children.
This has been good enough for the US FDA to recently regulate the use of CBD compound to be used to help those with specific forms of epilepsy under the brand name Epidiolex.
Conclusion
These are just five examples of where CBD has been showing either clear-cut or certainly very positive signs of being able to assist with a wide spectrum of health conditions.
Sure, there’s still plenty to be officially confirmed, but the more studies that are undertaken the greater the chance that medical science will unlock as yet more undiscovered qualities of CBD extract.
The future looks very bright indeed.