5 Benefits Of Adding CBD To Your Supplement Routine

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CBD is everywhere, and for good reason. It is a natural tool that I regularly recommend to my patients in my telehealth functional medicine clinic due to its wide ranging health benefits with little (if any) side effects.

Even though it might seem like another wellness trend, the more that research looks at CBD the more we see just how beneficial it is for so many aspects of your health due to its interaction with various pathways in your body, including your endocannabinoid system.

Your ECS is a network of receptors, enzymes, and compounds, called endocannabinoids that all work together to maintain homeostasis. CBD works by binding to these receptors to influence everything from your mood, stress levels, inflammation, pain response, and so much more.

And while the research surrounding CBD is continually expanding, we have collected enough scientific and anecdotal data to speak for its effectiveness on quite a few health problems. So if you’ve been intrigued by CBD but have been hesitant to try it yourself, here are the top 5 benefits of adding CBD to your supplement routine.

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1. It can help soothe inflammation

When inflammation has gone haywire, your body’s T-reg cells - the immune cells responsible for finding and eliminating bacteria, viruses, and other outside invaders - lose their ability to distinguish between these invaders and your body. This can cause your body to attack its own tissues and lead to a cascade of chronic inflammation. CBD lowers inflammation by inducing these T-reg cells so that they do their job of attacking only what is necessary. 

2. It can help lower anxiety

If you’re struggling with anxiety but want a natural alternative to anti-anxiety medications, look no further than CBD. Since it is a natural anxiety calmer, CBD packs all the benefits of anti-anxiety medication without any of the side effects.

In order to lower anxiety, CBD increases prefrontal cortex activation and lowers activity in the amygdala - two areas of the brain involved in anxiety. It also helps your brain generate new neurons through hippocampus neurogenesis to restore balance to GABA and glutamate levels that contribute to anxiety.

3. It can help relieve pain

One of the main reasons people use CBD is because of how amazing it is at relieving both short-term and chronic pain. In fact, studies have shown that CBD is just as powerful as ibuprofen or other NSAID drugs at relieving pain, because it lowers COX-2 - an enzyme responsible for inflammation and pain - just as effectively as these other over-the-counter drugs.

CBD also works to relieve pain by encouraging endocannabinoid receptor activity and interaction with neurotransmitters to reduce inflammation with research showing it can help alleviate pain in a variety of conditions including fibromyalgia, migraines, and irritable bowel syndrome.

4. It can help you sleep better

While sleep problems can be caused by external factors such as caffeine intake or screen time, insomnia is frequently impacted by adrenal fatigue due to hormone imbalances or runaway anxiety. CBD really shines at alleviating any ongoing anxiety and racing thoughts to facilitate a restful night's sleep. In fact, CBD was shown in one study to help improve sleep quality in 2 out of 3 people diagnosed with anxiety and sleep disorders.

5. It can help improve skin health and appearance

While more research needs to be done, recent studies have shown promise for using CBD to treat acne. Due to its powerful anti-inflammatory capabilities, CBD can work at treating acne from the inside out through taking it orally, as well as using CBD oil topically, to reduce sebum production that contributes to the formation of acne and soothe surface inflammation involved in acne and other skin problems like psoriasis, rashes, and eczema.

If these benefits have convinced you to try CBD for yourself, just note that the quality of your CBD supplement is just as important (if not more) as being consistent with taking it. If a brand uses low quality ingredients, it can actually inhibit CBD’s bioavailability and its overall effectiveness. That could be why CBD didn’t work for you in the past if you have tried it before without experiencing any of these amazing health benefits.

That is why I always recommend Eaton Hemp to all of my patients. Not only are they transparent about their high-quality ingredients (you can follow their whole process from seed to shelf on their website) they are one of the first USDA certified organic CBD oil products on the market. This means, none of their products were ever contaminated with toxins or pesticides.

Eaton Hemp also understands the power and importance of whole plant synergy. Instead of using a cheap alternative, they use their own organic hempseed oil to infuse with their CBD to create full-spectrum products that ensure maximum health benefits with each use.

So if you’re ready to hop on board the CBD train, take advantage of one of the best brands on the market and get 30% off your first order of Eaton Hemp with the code DWC30 at checkout.

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe. 

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References:

  1. Bergamaschi, Mateus M et al. “Cannabidiol reduces the anxiety induced by simulated public speaking in treatment-naïve social phobia patients.” Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology vol. 36,6 (2011): 1219-26. doi:10.1038/npp.2011.6
  2. Campos AC, Ortega Z, Palazuelos J, Fogaça MV, Aguiar DC, Díaz-Alonso J, Ortega-Gutiérrez S, Vázquez-Villa H, Moreira FA, Guzmán M, Galve-Roperh I, Guimarães FS. The anxiolytic effect of cannabidiol on chronically stressed mice depends on hippocampal neurogenesis: involvement of the endocannabinoid system. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2013 Jul;16(6):1407-19. doi: 10.1017/S1461145712001502. Epub 2013 Jan 9. PMID: 23298518.
  3. Darkovska-Serafimovska, Marija et al. “Pharmacotherapeutic considerations for use of cannabinoids to relieve pain in patients with malignant diseases.” Journal of pain research vol. 11 837-842. 23 Apr. 2018, doi:10.2147/JPR.S160556
  4. Dhital, Saphala et al. “Cannabidiol (CBD) induces functional Tregs in response to low-level T cell activation.” Cellular immunology vol. 312 (2017): 25-34. doi:10.1016/j.cellimm.2016.11.006
  5. Hill, Matthew N, and Sachin Patel. “Translational evidence for the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in stress-related psychiatric illnesses.” Biology of mood & anxiety disorders vol. 3,1 19. 22 Oct. 2013, doi:10.1186/2045-5380-3-19
  6. Oláh A, Markovics A, Szabó-Papp J, Szabó PT, Stott C, Zouboulis CC, Bíró T. Differential effectiveness of selected non-psychotropic phytocannabinoids on human sebocyte functions implicates their introduction in dry/seborrhoeic skin and acne treatment. Exp Dermatol. 2016 Sep;25(9):701-7. doi: 10.1111/exd.13042. Epub 2016 Jun 15. PMID: 27094344.
  7. Russo, Ethan B. “Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency Reconsidered: Current Research Supports the Theory in Migraine, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel, and Other Treatment-Resistant Syndromes.” Cannabis and cannabinoid research vol. 1,1 154-165. 1 Jul. 2016, doi:10.1089/can.2016.0009
  8. Shannon, Scott et al. “Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series.” The Permanente journal vol. 23 (2019): 18-041. doi:10.7812/TPP/18-041
  9. Takeda S, Misawa K, Yamamoto I, Watanabe K. Cannabidiolic acid as a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitory component in cannabis. Drug Metab Dispos. 2008 Sep;36(9):1917-21. doi: 10.1124/dmd.108.020909. Epub 2008 Jun 12. PMID: 18556441.

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BY DR. WILL COLE

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Dr. Will Cole, DNM, IFMCP, DC is a leading functional medicine expert who consults people around the globe, starting one of the first functional medicine telehealth centers in the world. Named one of the top 50 functional and integrative doctors in the nation, Dr. Will Cole provides a functional medicine approach for thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, and brain problems. He is also the host of the popular The Art of Being Well podcast and the New York Times bestselling author of Intuitive Fasting, Ketotarian, Gut Feelings, and The Inflammation Spectrum.

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