The cannabis plant is loaded with a variety of healing compounds, including cannabinoids (the psychoactive chemicals that get you high). Of all the compounds contained in a cannabis plant, there’s one in particular, CBD, that has been getting a lot of attention. If you intend to use cannabis for medical purposes, it’s crucial that you’re getting recommendations from a cannabis physician. The Ohio Green Team – Medical Marijuana Doctors & Recommendations will be a good place to start.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive or conclusive list, but rather a starting point for those interested in marijuana or hemp oil and its potential health benefits. There are also a few other cannabinoids, such as tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), that are showing promise in helping to fight some of the conditions like Parkinson’s disease; these other cannabinoids should not be confused with CBD.
It Treats Epilepsy
CBD has been found to be effective in treating epilepsy. Preliminary research suggests it may also be an effective treatment for schizophrenia and depression. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, CBD may help with seizures.
There’s still more research to be done, but a spokesman for the foundation told Vice that “CBD is used most often for children who have drug-resistant forms of epilepsy because there are few options that have been proven effective.” A study published in Epilepsia found that people who took low-dose CBD fared better than those who didn’t take any at all.
It Relieves Anxiety
CBD may provide some anxiety relief. Many users have reported that it alleviated their anxiety. According to a study published in Neurotherapeutics Reviews, CBD shows particular promise for people suffering from social anxiety who self-report experiencing negative effects related to public speaking or extreme shyness on the part of the person receiving CBD treatment.
It helps with Depression
Research suggests that CBD may be as effective for depression as some antidepressant medications. A study published in the journal Neurotherapeutics examined the anxiolytic effects of CBD in people with depression. Researchers concluded that topical application of CBD oil increases neuronal activity in regions of the brain that are responsible for processing fear and anxiety.
It Relieves Nausea
There’s some evidence to suggest that CBD may reduce nausea, which would be good news for cancer patients. A study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology found that CBD significantly reduces nausea in chemotherapy patients, and some of the subjects who used it regularly are now enjoying a better quality of life.
Helps in Cancer Treatment
CBD oil is believed to have the power to kill cancer cells and stave off tumor growth, according to a report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some studies have found that CBD acts as an antimicrobial, and can attack and kill cancer cells. When used for the treatment of depression or other mood disorders, CBD can inhibit tumors’ growth, according to research from Egypt’s Az Zubayyih Center for Radiation & Chemical Safety.
Some research has found that people who use CBD to fight cancer experience fewer and less intense cancer-related symptoms and side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, and pain.
It Helps With Severe Pain and Nerve Damage
Due to the way CBD interacts with different receptors in the nervous system, it may help with pain and other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, that are related to overactive nerve cells. CBD has also shown promise in treating neuropathic pain (often caused by diabetes), according to a report published in Neurotherapeutics in 2014. The authors found that placing mice near CBD significantly reduced their levels of chronic pain but warned against using it before more research was done.
It is good for your Heart
As of now, researchers have found no indications that CBD is unsafe when taken at low doses over a long time period, and therefore there is little evidence to suggest that doses higher than 300 mg per day, used chronically, are unsafe. However, because little research has been done on CBD’s interactions with blood levels of other prescription medications it’s not always simple to determine whether this supplement is safe for you. CBD should not be used if you have any serious medical conditions, such as a severe form of heart disease or a history of stroke.
It Reduces Pain
At least one study found that CBD oil is effective for the treatment of chronic pain in rats. The researchers found that administration of these compounds may relieve pain by influencing endogenous opioid pathways, which are responsible for modulating pain perception in the brain. The findings of this study have not yet been tested in humans but some people have reported reduced pain when using cannabis and CBD products.
