Most people have heard of CBD, which is extracted from the Cannabis plant. Some people are afraid of using this substance due to the fear of getting high. Other people can’t speak highly enough of CBD. I would like to explain a little about what CBD is, and why it helps us, and how. But first of all – what are its benefits? As far as we know so far, CBD is helpful for conditions such as chronic pain, insomnia, possibly auto immune conditions, possibly some cancers, and for weight loss.
In short, it affects the central nervous system and the immune system. My book (Nature’s Remedies for Stress and Fatigue), explains in greater depth why this product can be so helpful for those with pain, anxiety and fatigue, but here is a short explanation.
Throughout our body, we have (probably trillions) of endocannabinoid receptors on all the cells – so much so, that the endocannabinoid network is considered a whole-body system in itself. As such, we produce endocannabinoids which dock into these receptors and modulate our homeostatic balance. Stress can reduce our endocannabinoids, but Nature provides us with extremely similar molecules from plants (called phytocannabinoids). Currently, they think there are 113 phytocannabinoids, but that figure keeps changing, so don’t worry too much about that. The more important point is that CBD is only one of the many phytocannabinoids.
Scientists have coined the term “the entourage effect” to describe how the phytocannabinoids work best when you use whole plant extract (as we, herbalists use for all our herbal tinctures), rather than a high dose of a single isolate of CBD. The idea is to start with a very low dose of full spectrum CBD oil.
The hemp plant is very low in the THC (the compound that makes you high), and the legal level of THC in a CBD product is 0.2%; but many products only contain 0.05%. When you buy CBD products, you can buy full spectrum (includes the THC), broad spectrum (excludes THC, but includes all the other cannabinoids), or CBD isolate – which is quite often a synthetic molecule which gives the exact amount of CBD, usually in a high dose.
CBD is relatively new to the market, even though it has been used for thousands of years; but due to the war on drugs movement, it was awkward to research, and thus only recently is there a resurgence in interest.
I like to prescribe full spectrum CBD oil in a highly bio available form (most CBD oil is very poorly absorbed) for conditions such as chronic nerve pain, fibromyalgia, anxiety, insomnia and migraines, and some people find it useful to help with the nausea associated with chemotherapy. It can even help to control appetites in those who struggle to lose weight.
I now stock bio-available CBD drops and also CBD patches for pain relief such as sciatica and neuralgia, and have found it to be very helpful; but I only prescribe them following a consultation, because these are new to us all, and we need to exercise care.