CBD oil is becoming well known for its lengthy list of health benefits. Did you know that there are ways to make CBD even better? By infusing CBD with certain foods and boosting your endocannabinoid system, you can enhance your CBD oil experience.
What Is CBD?
Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is a cannabinoid that comes from the cannabis plant. Unlike THC, this particular cannabinoid doesn’t make you intoxicated. Instead, it indirectly interacts with your brain to elevate and inhibit chemicals and processes that are already happening.
How Does CBD Work?
Everyone with a spine has an endocannabinoid system. You, your family members, and even your dog. This system is in charge of the body’s regulation, also known as homeostasis. The two primary receptors that we know of today, the CB1 and CB2 receptor, help mediate both the immune system and neurological system with the help of endocannabinoids synthesized in your brain. In a perfect world, everything would go off without a hitch. In reality, we have CBD to help with malfunctions.
When you consume THC, the cannabinoid directly binds to the CB1 receptor, which is why it gets you high. When CBD is in your bloodstream, it doesn’t directly bind to the receptors. Instead, CBD will elevate the endocannabinoids and other chemicals needed in the body, inhibit production of chemicals that are being inappropriately distributed, and opens channels and pathways in the brain for more access and movement.
How Does CBD Help With So Many Illnesses?
It may seem like CBD is a cure-all. Unfortunately, we don’t even have enough research to know if that is true or not. What we do know is that it helps treat many symptoms that are common to multiple illnesses. CBD has access to our neurological system, immune system, skeletal system, and cardiovascular system which is what makes it such a diverse medication.
What Can CBD Help Treat?
Inflammation
Because CBD elevated the endocannabinoid 2-AG which binds with the CB2 receptor, it can reduce inflammation. The CB2 receptor is found all over the body and is mainly in control of how our immune system functions. When taking CBD, it controls the number of immune cells sent out to the affected area, preventing swelling and unneeded pain. CBD even works for autoimmune diseases like Arthritis and Lupus, helping the immune system stop attacking the healthy body.
Pain
Some people are unfortunate enough to feel pain that isn’t there because their brain told them to. Other experience chronic pain because of an illness or disorder. Cannabis has proven in a double-blind study that it can reduce neuropathic pain, as well as difficult to treat pain. Because cannabidiol elevates the anandamide endocannabinoid which binds to the CB1 receptor, it can reduce your sensitivity to pain. The CB1 receptors are more densely located in the brain and run the functions of the neurological system. Anandamide, which is almost identical to the cannabinoid THC, helps calm the neurons down that are sending abrasive signals across the synapse to give you relief.
Bone Fractures
Cannabis doesn’t make your bones heal instantly, but they do help the process along. While CBD is reducing your sensitivity to pain and controlling the inflammation in the injury to ensure proper healing, it is also encouraging the bone to heal faster. At the end of the bone fracture, callus is formed to bridge the gap between both ends of the bone. CBD encourages this process and has shown in the lab to heal injured rodents more quickly than their untreated counterparts.
Alzheimer’s
Cannabidiol cannot cure Alzheimer’s, that we know of, but it has shown that it can help the process slow down and helps prevent damage before it begins. Scientists believe that Alzheimer’s may come from oxidative stress in the brain. Cannabis is a powerful antioxidant that helps clear your brain and body from free radicals and any debris. Many people with Alzheimer’s or dementia show symptoms of irritability and aggression, which CBD can also help with.
Anxiety Disorders
Social anxiety, general anxiety, PTSD, and OCD are just several of the anxiety disorders that CBD has helped treat. Stress is our fear response becoming overactive, and cannabidiol can help regulate our brain’s response to the world around us. By elevating the endocannabinoid anandamide, CBD can help calm down the overactive neurons that are sending panic signals across the synapse.
Depressive Disorders
Scientists now believe that depression is more than just a chemical imbalance but is also contributed to inflammation in the brain brought on by stress. While CBD is reducing your stress, it is also reducing the inflammation that may be causing you mental health issues in your brain. The endocannabinoid anandamide that CBD elevates also gives the user a boost in their mood that is comparable to the runner’s high. The reason they feel so similar is that anandamide is raised when you exercise as well.
Skin Health
When you step out your front door, you are exposing your skin to the world and all of the chemicals that come with it. The sun, smoke, and pollution all take a toll on your skin over time. Because CBD is an antioxidant, it searches for these free radicals that damage your skin and terminates them. CBD also regulates the oil glands to treat oily or dry skin and elevates the collagen levels to help you achieve a more youthful look.
Seizures
Cannabidiol has shown to help with some of the most treatment-resistant cases of epilepsy. CBD protects the brain from the damage when the seizures do occur, but also help the seizures occur less frequently if at all. Many people have also used CBD oil products mid-seizure to make them stop.
Energy
We live in a bustling world that it hard to keep up with and the majority of us can’t start our day without a coffee. CBD elevates the number of mitochondria in your body, helping it use more natural energy. CBD also promotes the fat browning process, which turns your stored fat into burnable energy giving you that healthy boost.
Enhancing Your CBD
When taking your CBD, you might be trying to find the most efficient way to do it. There are so many different ways to take CBD, each one with their own pros and cons. There are ways that you can add ingredients to your CBD to make it even more efficient in helping you reach a heightened state of health.
Adding CBD To Coffee
Researchers believe that caffeine can actually reduce the effects of stress. They found that caffeine consumption in moderation decreased the downregulation of CB1 receptors after social defeat stress. By adding CBD to your coffee, you can prevent the jitters you may get from having too much caffeine, and you can help reduce your stress levels from two sources.
Adding CBD To Honey
Honey is an incredible food that has been used for centuries to help with skin health, inflammation, cleaning wounds, and so much more. By infusing your honey with CBD, you get extreme benefits that can help your health improve exponentially.
Adding CBD To Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties that pair perfectly with CBD. Since cannabis needs fat to bind to, extra virgin olive oil infused with CBD is perfect for making tinctures, pain rubs, and cooking into food.
Adding Peppermint Oil To Your CBD Oil
Peppermint isn’t just delicious and smells fantastic; it has a long list of health benefits that could compete with CBD. Both CBD and peppermint oil help with pain, stress, energy, concentration, and help soothe digestive issues. Using peppermint has the added benefit of raspatory health, helping to clear the raspatory tract.
Boosting Your Endocannabinoid System
There are more ways to enhance CBD than by infusing it with foods and oils. You can also boost your endocannabinoid system in natural ways. The two simplest ways are by exposing yourself to the cold and increasing your sex hormones.
Cold Exposure and the Endocannabinoid System
By taking cold showers or going out into the cold, you’re improving your mental health by stimulating your endocannabinoid system. Cold exposure increases the density of CB1 receptors, elevates the level of endocannabinoids synthesized, and stimulates the vagus nerve. Stimulating your vagus nerve can help with many mental health disorders such as depression, addiction, and brain trauma.
Sex Hormones and the Endocannabinoid System
Testosterone and estradiol both stimulate the endocannabinoid system by upregulating the CB1 receptors. There are plenty of ways to naturally raise your sex hormone levels without having to result with steroids. Regular sexual activity is the most fun way to increase your sex hormones, taking naps coming in at a close second. You can also do things like exercise, stop smoking cigarettes, and change your diet to foods that raise your estrogen or testosterone levels.
Where To Start
If you are thinking about making your own infused CBD products, CBD isolate is the product that would be the easiest for you to use. You can cook it in oil or butter to make food with it, and you can even infuse it with oil to create your own tinctures. We have an excellent guide that can walk you through the steps on how to cook with CBD.
