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Health Benefits of CBD Cannot Be Ignored
With the explosion of cannabidiol (CBD) products in the current marketplace, questions arise about CBD, how it affects/assists the human body and what to look for in high-quality products.
CBD is a component of the cannabis Sativa plant. The cannabis family includes both hemp and marijuana plants. Hemp is high in CBD and low in THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the component that gets you "buzzed”). Marijuana is high in THC but has little to no CBD.
In the late 1990s, Israeli doctors discovered the Human Endocannabinoid System (ECS), which produces enzymes that bind to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in your nerves. Those receptors carry pain and inflammation signals across your nerves. The endocannabinoids your body produces block those pain and inflammation signals. They also mirror the Phytocannabinoids (CBD) that both the hemp and marijuana plants have. Ingesting CBD provides an entourage effect and binds with the CB1 and CB2 receptors. This flood of CBD prevents the pain and inflammation signals from attaching to them, allowing the rest of your body's systems to regulate and follow suit, enhancing homeostasis and well-being.
Cannabis doctor Rachel Knox explains the system very well in her TedX Talk about the Human Endocannabinoid System. She says, "If you imagine your body is a college dorm and your neighbor is being loud, you just walk across the hallway and ask them to turn it off."
There is a flood of products in the marketplace, so how can you find the "right" CBD?
Local CBD producers Lauren and Napoleon (Nap) deCiutiis with Emerald Kush Farms have solved that problem. Lauren, a registered nurse, Coast Guard veteran, and CEO of the company says, "There are a lot of large companies that are focused on the money instead of doing the right thing for people. We focus on high-quality CBD at an affordable price. People need at least a 25-30mg
dose to feel the entourage effect. Other companies will test their CBD and water down their products. People then try them and feel nothing, so they abandon CBD. We want to ensure our Bay County community understands hemp-derived CBD's importance on our well-being." Nap echoes her passion.
"We solved the problem of not knowing what is in the bottle by doing an extra-third party testing,” he said. “Once we produce our products, each line gets sent back for a second round of testing. When you scan the QR code on your item, you see the testing report and know exactly what you are putting in your body because we care."
Their dedication to quality shows. Both Lauren and Nap are members of the Florida Hemp Advisory Board and lead the CBD production industry in Bay County.
"We are working to ensure quality CBD is at the forefront in Florida, to insist on third-party post-production testing and packaging is clear to the customer," Lauren said. "It’s deceiving, with 250500mg per bottle, one serving is not enough for your body. We sell 250mg bottles as pet oil."
Our dogs and cats also have the same system as humans and rely on CBD to help with anxiety and separation issues.
"After Hurricane Michael, there are so many pets with PTSD/anxiety issues," Lauren notes. "We saw the need to help our residents and their furry companions."
A retired EOD Master Chief, Nap took over their family-run extraction business with Lauren after he left the Navy. As of print, 12 pharmacies from Pensacola to Jacksonville carry Emerald Kush products and the company is quickly expanding across the Panhandle. "We are quickly becoming Florida's number one choice for high-quality CBD, and our reviews are 100 percent positive,” Lauren said. “We have had an amazing show of support from our Bay County Family.”
Another potential use for CBD is starting to gain attention. Recent studies have found that CBD could help reduce symptoms people experience as a result of opioid use disorder (OUD). Research shows anxiety, depression, insomnia, pain, muscle spasms, nausea and vomiting, as well as blood pressure issues could possibly be reduced after implementing CBD.
2018 research shows that CBD effects, either as an alternative or add-on treatment, on pain and opioid withdrawal symptoms may be beneficial. According to research conducted by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, CBD “tended to reduce physiological measures of stress reactivity…” suggesting that CBD could potentially be used as an opioid substitution therapy.
“To address the critical need for new treatment options for the millions of people and families who are being devastated by this epidemic, we initiated a study to assess the potential of a non-intoxicating cannabinoid on craving and anxiety in heroin-addicted individuals,” Yasmin Hurd, PhD, the Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai and first author of the study said in an article posted to Mount Sinai’s website. “The specific effects of CBD on cue-induced drug craving and anxiety are particularly important in the development of addiction therapeutics because environmental cues are one of the strongest triggers for relapse and continued drug use.”
The article goes on to state that the study found that “CBD, in contrast to placebo, significantly reduced both the craving and anxiety induced by drug cues compared with neutral cues in the acute term.”
So whether you suffer from pain and inflammation or something else, CBD might be an option for you to include in your regular supplement regimen.
You should speak with your doctor before introducing a new supplem
