Every day, CBD gains more traction in the public eye. As a result, you may hear varied claims about the properties CBD could possess. These can range from helping with ongoing medical issues to new weight-loss trends cropping up online. Unsurprisingly, these claims have led to some of the top reasons to use CBD in this modern age.
The public is finally giving the friendly hemp compound the attention it rightly deserves. But what the public is providing attention to may not always translate to you. So, what are the reasons to use CBD that do resonate with you?
Today, we want to touch on the better-known benefits researchers observe about CBD. It’ll allow you to know what to expect from using CBD yourself. Likewise, it’ll also clear up some fog on the topic.
The Top Reasons to Use CBD
Before we get started, it’s vital to remember CBD is still a budding topic for in-depth research. Knowledge of CBD and its existence is relatively well-known by now. However, it was only relatively recently in history that scientists could see what CBD can do more freely.
On that note, let’s get into some of the benefits CBD can provide. First, we’ll look at the top reasons to use CBD, so you can decide if you want to try it yourself. Then, you can feel confident about which CBD products resonate with you when you browse through our line.
CBD is Federally Legal
Federal legality is one of the biggest reasons to use CBD. Of course, each state can vary if they allow it to be bought and sold. But you can rest easy knowing that you aren’t breaking any federal laws by giving it a try!
There are 100+ cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. Unsurprisingly, many of these compounds will remain off the shelves. Some don’t have the therapeutic or beneficial potential necessary to invest. However, CBD has been proven safe and effective in more than one situation.
The added benefit that plays in its favor is that it’s non-psychoactive. So, while it still provides many benefits, it doesn’t cause the user to get high like its cousin compound, THC.
Non-psychoactive, there’s virtually zero way to abuse or become addicted to CBD. It’s one of the reasons it became legal as a hemp derivative. Likewise, it proves a natural, practical addition or substitution for certain other substances that come with adverse side effects.
Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp is a protected and legal crop and is the source of CBD. With each plant producing less than .03% delta-9 THC, nothing is intoxicating or criminal left to be worried.
Multiple Reasons to Use CBD: Chronic Symptom Relief
Relief is one of the most searched points online for CBD. It’s a compelling reason to use CBD. The number of people dealing with a debilitating illness or chronic pain is at an all-time high. Unfortunately, most chronic conditions are unwieldy in day-to-day life. So for some people, there’s never relief.
For many ailments, treatments can be less effective over time or even not effective in the first place. Accordingly, with little respite on the immediate horizon, people have turned to a new hope: CBD.
Users who find relief have health issues ranging from epilepsy to certain types of chronic nerve pain and much more. As it stands, CBD’s potential to help remains untapped. Each person responds differently to medications and treatments. Some get no relief and only more fear that their life will never see improvement.
Fortunately, CBD comes in as another option to try. And studies on the hemp compound continue to roll in with positive outcomes. As a result, the future looks brighter for countless people who deal with various health issues daily.
Now, let’s look over some of the known medical issues CBD may help. Through published studies and clinical trials broken down into simpler terms, you’ll have a better understanding of the quiet cannabinoid. Furthermore, you’ll see some of the many reasons people incorporate CBD into their daily routines.
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is one of the most common long-term conditions that affect the human brain. Roughly 5.1 million people in the United States alone have a history involving epilepsy.
A chronic disorder, epilepsy’s calling card is the randomized and recurring unprovoked onset of seizures. These attacks can result from a past brain injury or some genetic tendency behind them. Often the overall cause is not entirely known.
Although seizures can affect multiple parts of the body, the electric events that cause symptoms to originate within the brain, all treatment options help manage the origin site and minimize the chances of a flare-up.
Living in constant fear of a seizure is an exhausting, harrowing experience for many. Patients who find themselves at the whim of such a condition look for the best course of action for respite.
Patients may respond poorly to conventional treatment options in some cases. Fortunately, CBD proves to be a powerhouse capable of providing much-needed relief to those users.
An FDA-Approved Reason to Use CBD
After years of research funding and testing, the FDA approved a purified form of CBD for use in some of the most treatment-resistant types of epilepsy.
In 2018 the FDA approved a purified form of CBD, Epidiolex, to treat two major types of epilepsy. These two specific forms are treatable with Epidiolex for those ages three and up:
- Lennox-Gastaut syndrome
- Dravet syndrome
These are rarer forms of epilepsy and have proven extremely difficult to control with traditional approaches. In addition, no synthetic medication can target the endocannabinoid system the way CBD does, leaving it as the best option.
CBD helps control these devastating forms of epilepsy. Even better, it does so without the sedative effects associated with other pharmaceuticals.
While undoubtedly one of the best reasons to use CBD, the cannabinoid certainly doesn’t stop there.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s is a debilitating illness that affects nearly 6 million US citizens as of 2020. To characterize the disease, it’s a series of mental struggles that progressively worsen with time.
With early stages causing mild symptoms related to memory and other hard to notice functions, the disease slowly snowballs in those afflicted and is the leading cause of dementia.
While not much is known about the exact reason Alzheimer’s starts, we understand how devastating it is in the long term. Unfortunately, most treatments only slow progression since preventing or stopping it is still under research.
Naturally, finding better methods to slow down this notorious disease is high up on the list for medical researchers. But unfortunately, the main problem with most pharmaceutical medications for Alzheimer’s is the list of side effects that come with them.
Most medications produce various possible side effects that range from constipation to more severe concerns like raised blood pressure and vomiting. Sadly, the trade-off is painful for many who rely on these medications to slow this disease’s progression.
CBD is a prevalent minor cannabinoid showing fantastic progress in research surrounding the treatment of Alzheimer’s. A 2019 study implied CBD holds potential in preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease. They link this potential treatment option through treating the behavior disorders associated with the condition, as well as memory loss.
More human studies are needed before we can claim anything concrete, but it is promising according to results so far. So, Alzheimer’s and preventative health for Alzheimer’s may soon be some of the top reasons to use CBD.
Arthritis
Arthritis is a disease where the immune system attacks the joints and lining of the joints. It manifests as chronic pain and inflammation that can severely impact a person’s ability to do everyday tasks.
The degeneration of the joints gets worse with time if left untreated. Likewise, it can leave those afflicted with minimal mobility and permanently damaged joints.
1 in 4 American adults has to contend with the effects of arthritis. That’s around 58 million people.
Arthritis is so prevalent it even impacts the economy, costing the country an estimated $303.5 million annually. In particular, it’s the number one leading cause of work disability.
So, we’ve got a widespread issue that affects about a quarter of the adult population. Hence, finding ways to prevent arthritis from forming or worsening is paramount.
After all, the pain associated with the condition worsens over time until it’s downright debilitating. Across the country, patients suffer from a loss in their quality of life because of arthritis. The ability to even recover negatively impacts countless users.
Getting this under control and freeing people from the shackles of chronic pain has proven to be a challenging issue, even as well funded as it is. With over-the-counter therapeutics and pain management options only slightly helping, researchers seek new, effective alternatives.
An Alternative Paving the Way: CBD
The pharmaceutical approach so far has helped, but the number of side effects can be just as daunting and can range from things on the more mild side, such as nausea and dizziness, too much more severe such as low blood pressure and breathing problems.
Living with debilitating pain is an easier option for those who respond poorly to these approaches, even though it leaves them at a massive disadvantage. Thankfully the research surrounding CBD has been fruitful in regards to arthritis.
A study performed in 2016 found that a minimum dose of CBD consisting of 6.2mg gel helped decrease joint pain in rats with arthritis. More significant amounts, all the way up to 62.3mg, produced the same results but didn’t increase effectiveness. However, it’s important to note that increasing the dose by that magnitude didn’t have more side effects.
Hopefully, as funding increases further and the stigma around cannabis compounds gets weaker with time, CBD can prove itself to be an efficient alternative to the current regiment that leaves a section of patients without relief.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a health condition that causes the body to fail in using insulin the right way. The human body turns most food into a sugar base form. Unsurprisingly, the transition drives up blood sugar. When your blood sugar levels rise, a signal is sent to the pancreas to release insulin into the bloodstream.
With diabetes, your body can fail to produce the much-needed insulin. Or, if your body does produce insulin, diabetes can cause your blood cells to fail to respond to it. Ultimately, either path leads to an over-concentration of sugar in the blood.
Over time, this can cause massive irreversible damage internally. Some impacts include heart disease, kidney disease, and vision loss. Unfortunately, there are no known cures currently for diabetes.
Tests on human cells are finding a relationship between CBD and how cells are affected by high glucose levels. Researching the potential relationship could help scientists see how the impact dampens how diabetes forms. Ultimately, the process might help slow the overall degradation process from diabetes.
Positive results from such a study would be a massive move forward in diabetes treatment, especially for those suffering from type 2. With more testing, researchers hope to find definitive proof that CBD has the potential to serve as a natural treatment by helping the body regulate insulin-related hormones.
These shortlists over disease and CBD are not all-encompassing by any measure but serve as insight into how many applications CBD is a candidate for. As more research is allowed on the federal level, more quality of life benefits may yet be uncovered and serve as a natural, low side effect platform to help innumerable people suffering in the face of less potent treatment.
Anxiety Relief
This is possibly the most quoted reason people stick with CBD based on anecdotal reviews. As many as 40 million Americans have to deal with anxiety at one point or another in their life. That doesn’t mean it’s limited to anecdotal, though. We already know that CBD interacts with receptors within the endocannabinoid system. This system isn’t just related to things like pain and sleep.
The endocannabinoid system helps control and maintain a wide variety of signals and pathways that regulate all sorts of processes in the body. One of those is how anxiety manifests and affects us. This makes CBD’s purported ability to calm people’s jitters one of its most famous effects.
Research has suggested that CBD and its effects on the CB1 and CB2 receptors may help alter serotonin signals. As a neurotransmitter, serotonin plays a vital role in your mental health. Low levels of this transmitter are associated with depression and increased anxiety levels.
More research is necessary, of course, to know without a doubt the relationship between lowered anxiety and CBD. Still, testing thus far on rats has shown a reduction in stress responses. In addition, their physiological symptoms associated with anxiety, such as increased heart rate, were likewise improved.
Numerous testimonials of those suffering from anxiety attest to the benefits of using CBD in a regulated regiment. These are not scientifically applicable but help paint a broad picture of how the public is already forming a relationship with this isolated cannabinoid compound.
Another Major Reason to Use CBD: Better Skin Health
This one may not be the most talked-about benefit of CBD, but it is still to consider. The range of applications and benefits this single, natural compound offers is astonishing and only becomes more so as research continues.
This is also a version of CBD that doesn’t need to be ingested to be helpful. Combining the distilled cannabinoid with an oil such as hemp or coconut oil increases the number of ways you can use it without losing potency.
Due to the natural anti-inflammatory properties of CBD, there may be uses for it when treating many different skin conditions. Some examples of this include eczema, psoriasis, and acne. Below will be a few examples and how CBD oil may be beneficial in clearing up symptoms related to some prevalent skin conditions.
Acne
The most common issue people face when skin issues are brought up is acne. This skin condition happens when hair follicles become clogged due to oil and dead skin cells accumulating. Visible manifestations usually consist of whiteheads, blackheads, or pimples.
In 2014, a study was conducted on CBD’s effects on sebocytes. These cells create sebum, the waxy, oily substance produced through the skin. This substance helps protect our skin, but when too much accumulates, it can result in acne.
The previously mentioned study showed reductions in sebum levels and kept the skin from making enough excess to become a problem.
A second study in 2019 was centered around a separate issue involving acne. It was less focused on the causation of acne and more focused on the treatment of acne scarring. Results suggested it effectively treats the visible scarring left behind by acne.
Dryness/Itchiness 
This is another major issue in skin problems that most people don’t associate with CBD or any potential benefits it could provide. With so many options on the market, it would be easy to assume that itchy, dry skin products featuring CBD are some fad gimmick.
A study over its ability to help with this issue, also known as psoriasis, was started in 2019. Researchers studied the properties of CBD involving its anti-inflammatory uses for their potential benefit in relieving this dry itchiness. The research showed that CBD might be particularly effective at helping reduce the triggers of eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis.
This may be useful for those with sensitive skin seeking new options. CBD oil can help soothe skin and reduce the appearance of irritation, making it a pretty great alternative to products that aren’t quite meeting the mark for people contending with that particular issue.
Aging and Wrinkles
Wrinkles from aging are inevitable, and every person will have to contend with them. But unfortunately, this is also a rife market with claims for an uncountable amount of ingredients that supposedly help fend off.
It’s well within reason to initially brush off claims about how CBD is the next big thing and will work where others have failed. However, while some claims about CBD and its properties are outright outlandish, this particular subject is not without merit.
CBD will not prevent wrinkles in perpetuity but contributes to delaying them. A 2017 study drew attention to the antioxidant properties found within CBD. This combination with anti-inflammatory components gives credence to the compounds.
Various Other Skin Infections/Conditions
Bacteria, viruses, and parasites are significant risks to our bodies’ soft and vulnerable parts. Unfortunately, these outside risks manage to get a foothold and cause an infection in the skin.
We already have a laundry list to help combat this, but there is a caveat. Many bacteria-based infections have begun to develop resistance to traditional antibiotics. This has been an increasing trend in hospitals, and even though medical science is always looking for new forms of medication, the threat has been picking up speed.
In the long search for new ways to combat these super strains, CBD research managed to uncover a fantastic property. A study conducted by the University of Queensland and Botanix Pharmaceuticals could be leading to the first new class of antibiotics specifically harvested to combat resistant bacteria.
This type of bacteria includes a growing list of some well-known and new strains that we may now have a way to combat. A few commonly known varieties include MRSA, tuberculosis, and gonorrhea.
Better Sleep (Better Rest!)
Last but not least, one of the best reasons to use CBD is for that better night’s sleep it may grant. This one is a bit of a mixed bag, but the benefits are proving to be undeniable. Disrupted sleep and chronic sleep problems, in general, affect around 70 million Americans annually. This impacts the rest of the day for every one of them.
There isn’t a singular cause of sleep disturbance. A new underlying condition may be causing all sorts of rest repercussions. CBD doesn’t cause drowsiness or cause an individual to feel fatigued. However, it alleviates symptoms that interfere with someone’s ability to fall asleep or stay asleep.
What are Your Favorite Reasons to Use CBD?
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to use CBD. Some reasons may be better known than others. Everyone is different, though, so everyone has their own motive for the natural hemp product.
Now that you’ve seen some of the best reasons to use CBD, what are your favorite reasons? We want to hear why our community uses such a handy, hemp-derived product. Plus, we’re always seeking new reasons someone might want to try out cannabidiol!
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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4151231/
https://www.clinicaterapeutica.it/2019/170/2/05_PALMIERI-VADALA.pdf