An Introduction to CBD

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound that we derive from the cannabis plant. Its derivatives proclaim a rich history of use for medicinal purposes dating back to hundreds of years.

Today, more efficient methods of testing and experiments are slowly revealing its benefits and healing properties. Because of this healing and therapeutic effect, people are increasingly looking for products with CBD. 

• • Why should you be interested in CBD?
  • What to look for in a CBD product?
  • Conclusion

Why Should You Be Interested In CBD?

• Enjoy the benefits of Cannabis without any side effects.

What’s best about the CBD is that even though it owes its origin to the addictive cannabis plant, significant companies use this incredibly safe and non-addictive ingredient in medicines, healing oils, etc.

Scientists test cannabis for compounds called Phytocannabinoids. These are medicinally active constituents. They possess the healing properties that are present in cannabis and, by extension, CBD.

One of these phytocannabinoids called tetrahydrocannabinol (or abbreviated as THC) causes the ‘high’ that we famously associate with cannabis. However, this phytocannabinoid is absent from CBD products, and thus, you do not feel stoned, high, or otherwise. This is primarily because CBD and THC’s actions on different organs and receptors of your body are very different from one other. 

According to Project CBD, it counteracts the effects of THC. While THC influences and increases the brain’s psychoactive effects, CBD works to minimize these effects and effectively neutralize them. 

Is this not what most of us want anyway? We all want to enjoy the benefits that cannabis possesses without getting high. 

• Accessibility and Ease of Use 

Another noteworthy fact about CBD is that it’s available in various forms such as oil, capsules, chewing gums, creams, etc. The easiest way by which you can take it is the CBD oil. It will neither intoxicate you nor make you feel high. Also, you will experience the therapeutic goodness of the CBD.

• It’s an effective alternative to conventional medicines. 

Furthermore, CBD is quickly emerging as an alternative to the medicines we use today. 

Project CBD’s studies reveal that CBD provides relief from a wide range of conditions and diseases like:

1. 1. Chronic Pain
   2. Anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions
   3. Inflammation
   4. Autoimmune diseases, including certain kinds of arthritis
   5. Neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, brain injury, stroke, brain tumor, etc.
   6. Various types of cancer
   7. Diseases affecting the gut
   8. Skin ailments like acne, psoriasis, etc.

• A Knight in shining armor against cancer

Many pharmaceutical companies and research centers are investigating CBD for its additional anti-cancerous properties.

Moreover, the National Library of Medicine, National Centre of Biotechnology Information’s study reveals that CBD influences and improves “the inhibitory effects of THC on human glioblastoma cell proliferation and survival.”

In simpler words, this implies that CBD improves upon the effects that THC has on cancerous cells, which makes the two cannabis derivatives good agents to combat and defeat cancer.

The National Library of Medicine, National Centre of Biotechnology Information, conducted another study that reveals CBD can influence new brain cells and, thus, lead to neurogenesis. The study’s test subjects were adult mammals.

What to look for in a CBD product?

• Check the THC concentration levels.

Before you go about buying CBD, look for the THC concentration in the product. It is essential to look at the THC concentration so that you don’t break any law inadvertently. Make sure that the concentration levels conform to the regulations and norms in your state.

Usually, states that have legalized the consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes allow a THC concentration of 0.3% and higher.

• Carefully verify the ingredients list.

You should read and check the ingredients that make up your CBD products before you decide to purchase them. This is because you may find beneficial ingredients like melatonin, MCT oils, etc. that may further benefit you. On the other hand, you may even come across some harmful substances, added flavors, artificial coloring that would not necessarily be great for your health.

• Sourcing 

It is essential to know the source of ingredients that make up your CBD product. It might seem to you that where they come from does not matter. But it does since it shares a direct correlation to quality.

You can buy a CBD product with ingredients that are organically farmed in the US or picked away in china. However, the former is higher placed on the quality index.

This is because of many factors. Consider the following factors:

1. Regulation of hemp in the United States
2. Soil pH balance
3. Climate
4. Precipitation, etc.

Then, look into where the company you are buying from sources the ingredients that make up your CBD product. 

• Third-party testing

Third-party testing is essential in the case of CBD products. This guarantees that an independent laboratory has tested the CBD product you are buying. It implies that you can check its lab reports if you are in doubt about its effects.

Conclusion

Moving forth, look for the following things when you go through the lab report:

1. Who has performed the analysis? Is it an accredited laboratory or an unknown one?
2. Is the laboratory work according to the norms of the International Organization for Standardization?
3. When was the analysis done?
4. Is the CBD product possess harmful constituents like metals and microbes beyond the acceptable limit?
5. What are the various types of ingredients used, and what is their concentration?