By: Andrew Newby

What is CBD?

Where does it come from?

How can one benefit from taking it?

These are all common questions that people ask about CBD. If you have ever asked yourself any of these questions this post should shed some light on the topic! CBD or cannabidiol is one of the many compounds produced by the cannabis plant. Cannabis often called marijuana is an annual herb that has roots on 6 of the 7 continents. Its widespread placement has allowed this plant to be used by many native cultures. This has allowed cannabis to be a staple of the human diet for thousands of years. This has allowed our body to learn to produce endogenous(produced inside your body) cannabinoids. This means Cannabis is a wonderful therapeutic aid.

Moreover, it has become invaluable as a textile in many areas of the world. It was even used for hundreds of years in America prior to prohibition in the '30s. Luckily in recent years cannabis, and it’s amazing host of compounds, are back in the limelight. Hemp is being cultivated on an industrial scale for the first time in almost 100 years! This renaissance is an amazing opportunity to partake in the internal benefits. However, it can also replace many harmful textiles. Now back to CBD what are some other benefits of this wonderful compound?

CBD Health Benefits: How and Why?

CBD boasts a large list of bodily benefits. A few of my favorite side-effects of consuming CBD are stress relief, immune modulation, and pain regulation. This is just a small window into the potential benefits. Now a bit of background, your body as previously stated actually produces cannabinoids. These endogenous cannabinoids are basically chemical doppelganger of plant-based or "phytocannabinoids". Because of this, our entire body is lined with cannabinoid receptors. [1] CB1 And CB2 receptors line your entire central and peripheral nervous systems (brain and body). They don't stop there, these receptors actually line your whole lymphatic system also (immune system). This causes cannabinoids to be powerful therapeutic aids stimulating both pain regulation and increased immune function.

Another fun aspect I like to talk about is its ability to antagonize THC. [3] THC has a few negative side effects when consumed in large quantities. Including anxiety, increased heart rate, hunger, and mild sedation. The most noticeable is mild memory loss. This happens because it slows short to long term memory transfer. In a nutshell, It makes you less likely to remember simple things. This happens because THC reduces the conversion of memories from short to long term when consumed. However, CBD stops this and allows your short-term memory to transfer to the long-term much more easily. This fact remains true even with no THC, CBD can help improve memory. High THC cannabis is often quite intoxicating. This is not as noticeable in cannabis that has balanced THC to CBD ratios. Many people prefer the more "manageable" or "stable" high this brings.

THC-associated adverse events such as anxiety, tachycardia, hunger and sedation in rats and humans

Let's Talk About Full and Broad Spectrum Extract.

So there are three types of CBD. These consist of isolate, full-spectrum, and broad-spectrum. Isolated CBD is pure CBD with everything else being removed during extraction. This form of CBD is great for people seeking therapeutic value who cannot consume any THC. The upsides being, safety from drug testing, and avoidance of undesirable psychoactive effects. Moreover, isolated CBD can be up to 60 percent less effective than a full spectrum extract. This is due in part to the entourage effect. (See my blog post about entourage effect here.) The entourage effect can be used when speaking of any plant medicine and its extracted parts. Essentially plants are powerhouses full of beneficial compounds. The more of these compounds you have in an extract the more therapeutic potential they have.

This brings us to full and broad-spectrum extracts. The main difference here is full-spectrum is a whole plant extract. While broad-spectrum means it has CBD with some other compounds added back but not all. For instance, sometimes CBD isolate will be added to extracted terpenes. This is done to gain the benefits of both the CBD and the specific terpenes at the same time.

Let’s review!

CBD is one of the many cannabis-specific compounds. Consuming CBD has a huge list of benefits. These include but are not limited to pain regulation, immune functioning, and stress relief. These benefits are increased by up to 60% when taking full spectrum vs isolated extract. This increase can be attributed to the Entourage Effect. [2] The effectiveness also stems from the fact that our body produces cannabinoids! This means they are easily used by our bodies. In short, CBD can be very beneficial. Make sure to look for a full-spectrum extract for prime benefits!!!