The Fact And Fiction Of CBD Benefits For Your Health
CBD is a buzzword for marketers and influencers. It’s important to take a step back from the fashion trends and really assess what the product is and if its supposed benefits are legitimate. Are there truly CBD benefits to your health?
What is CBD?
Before we get started, we should lay out exactly what CBD is. CBD is short for cannabidiol, which is a compound from the Sativa marijuana plant. This compound though, unlike the marijuana plant in its entirety, cannot get you high – meaning it isn’t psychoactive because it has no THC.
So, it’s very important to clear up any worries about schizophrenia, paranoia, or being high, because these aren’t the case with CBD. The consensus among doctors and scientists is that it is safe.
Secondly, any worry over legality should be unnecessary if you’re living in the UK, Ireland, Australia, most of the US, and most of Europe (there are a few exceptions like Belgium which are easy to find). So, CBD Ireland, for example, is as legal to buy online as a few apples from the supermarket.
What are the health benefit claims?
So, there are a lot of health benefit claims. Here are the main ones:
- Treats Acne
- Treats Arthritis
- Helps with anxiety and depression
- Takes away some chronic pain
- Helps seizures (i.e. epilepsy)
- Helps sleep
- Helps cancer patients, in particular with nausea caused by cancer treatment
- Improves biological functions such as heart, pancreas, bone, and stomach health
- Reduces fungal infections
- Treats diarrhea
- Faster wound healing
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antioxidant
- Neuro-proactive
Believe it or not, this isn’t even all of the health benefit claims, but they certainly are the main ones.
Are the wellness claims true?
CBD is still in its infancy—not just the market size but also the research into it. This is why when you go to a pharmacy, they will not make any of these outright claims about it—science must be evidence-based. However, this does not deny the vast anecdotal evidence that supports CBD, and certainly, the early stages of scientific research are extremely positive for CBD.
It would be difficult to unpack every CBD health claim, but there are countless examples of it helping chronic pain, nausea, and epilepsy. As for the anxiety and sleeping claims, these are a little more difficult to quantify and can be a placebo effect – though that doesn’t deny them of power and there are plenty of people who claim they have helped them drastically.
It’s best to conduct your own research if you’re looking at a specific health benefit claim, but generally, you can be assured that there is some evidence for these claims and a very low risk in trying it out yourself. After all, your own experience is all that matters.
How to ensure the benefits of CBD
First of all, the benefits of using CBD oil aren’t a myth. The oil certainly has helped some people in many different ways. If you’re looking to try it for yourself, it’s important that you make sure you’re buying proper CBD oil. This means buying from a reputable seller to ensure the strength is accurate. Additionally, if you have used it for several months to no avail, then perhaps it’s best to save your money and try alternative methods. After all, trying it is very low-risk, but can be an expensive habit to stick with.
And there you have it! An intro to the fact and fiction of CBD benefits for your health. Hope you learned something helpful!
