What Can CBD Do for You?

It’s only natural to be curious about CBD products, as they’re so popular and widespread. When you see them on the shelf in your local health food shop or pharmacy, or online with a specialist retailer like Dayzed, it’s easy to be tempted to splash out.

As with any health supplement, though, it’s important to be informed and to make sure you’re choosing supplements that can really help you. Today we’re turning our attention to CBD and asking what it can do for you so you can decide if it’s the right option.

What is CBD?

CBD is a shortening of Cannabidiol: the scientific name of a specific compound derived from the cannabis or hemp plant. There are some important things to note about CBD. Firstly, it’s not an intoxicant: it doesn’t get you high, impair your judgement or your motor functions. You can safely take CBD and not worry about its impact on your performance at work.

The key is that the cannabis plant contains many different compounds – called cannabinoids, and CBD isn’t the one that has the psychoactive effects we associate with the drug. That’s THC and CBD products can only be sold if they contain .2% of THC or less.

What does CBD Do?

When you take CBD it interacts with many different systems in your body via the Endo-Cannabinoid system. This is a network of receptors that cannabinoids bind to, stimulating different actions in the body depending on which cannabinoids, and when and where they bind.

It’s been called a ‘promiscuous molecule’ for the number of different ways it interacts with the body, and it has multiple health effects that are well worth examining.

The Effects of CBD

It’s important to maintain a sceptical mind when it comes to the claims around CBD: it can be very effective for certain people in certain circumstances, but that doesn’t mean every claim is true!

There is some evidence that CBD can be helpful as a painkiller. Studies have shown CBD appears to be effective as an anti-inflammatory agent, which could point to a use helping to treat the symptoms of chronic conditions like arthritis. There’s also some promising indications that CBD may also function as a neuropathic painkiller, meaning it could be useful to quell general pain symptoms.

CBD is also used increasingly to help manage mental health conditions: it can mimic the effects of some antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, leading to feelings of calm and well-being, with fewer side effects. This also means people are increasingly favouring CBD as a solution for insomnia. Rather than directly causing drowsiness, like clinical sleeping pills, it removes barriers to sleep like worry and discomfort!

With all of these benefits, it’s not hard to see why CBD is becoming so popular.