You probably have a friend who has recommended CBD to you for a number of reasons. Maybe someone you know takes it for anxiety, another for better nights’ sleep, and another for inflammation. You don’t deal with these particular issues, though—your predicament is pain, and can CBD help with that?
Yes, absolutely. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is especially famous for treating pain. A significant number of people use medical marijuana to alleviate chronic pain (whether due to injuries, cancer, arthritis, surgeries, or a range of other reasons), but you may have been hesitant to try it because you aren’t keen on getting high. CBD does indeed come from cannabis, but the molecular agent responsible for making you high is THC, which is often not present or only present in small amounts in CBD products.
Lots of people ingest cannabidiol to reduce the pain they endure without negatively altering their states of mind. What also varies between them is how they get it into their bodies: oils, tinctures, vapes, creams, lotions, patches, sprays, pills, and edible are all available options. Oils are especially popular, as are gummies: like multivitamins, they are delicious candy-like supplements packed with CBD.
Many people struggling with chronic pain learn to hate the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs. Even worse, their symptoms’ persistence may drive them to become addicted to dangerous painkillers. CBD, however, is a nonaddictive substance that countless people are using to find sufficient relief. It’s delicious when you eat it in gummy form, so it is a potential choice for you?
How CBD works
You still might be wondering, though, what is CBD? Let’s give you a bit of an overview.
Cannabidiol is one of over a hundred compounds called “cannabinoids” found in cannabis, as is THC. When speaking of these compounds, we can call them phytocannabinoids because they come from a plant.
Your body, as it turns out, generates its own cannabinoids (called endocannabinoids because they are “inside”). These molecules are part of your endocannabinoid system, or ECS, along with a network of receptors and enzymes. Wait, your body produces cannabinoids? Yes, they are named as such because the ECS was discovered rather recently, while people have known about the plant for centuries.
Anyway, your ECS is a remarkably important system because it helps your body maintain homeostasis, or stay in balance. As such, it is involved in functions such as mood, sleep, digestion, appetite, inflammation, temperature control, pleasure/reward, motor control, and of course, pain. For example, if you are exercising and your body begins to overheat, your ECS signals to your sweat glands to start producing sweat in order to cool you down.
Consuming phytocannabinoids gives your ECS a boost. It’s possible to run low on endocannabinoids, so having that extra source helps your ECS perform its duties. That’s why people take CBD for maladies like pain and anxiety: it assists your body’s internal communication, working toward balance again.
Why gummies are great
Vaping or smoking CBD can irritate your lungs and throat. You also need to use a higher dose in order to find the level of relief you seek because of how much is wasted into the air. Topicals and creams are legitimate choices for treating localized pain, but many people prefer edibles and oils because doses are far easier to measure. CBD gummies from Verma Farms, for instance, can have as much as 21mg per candy, which is a mid-level dose to achieve moderate effects for people in a middle-weight category.
Gummies are also advantageous because you can take them anytime, anywhere. Your pain doesn’t care about your schedule and can strike at inconvenient moments, so smoking and vaping are out of the question. You might also attract weird looks from people if you drop oil under your tongue in public (unfortunately, not everyone is on board with cannabis products yet). CBD gummies, like those Forbes and Entrepreneur recommend, are discreet, so you can keep them in a bag nearby, and no one will second guess you for eating a piece of candy.
On another note, gummies are simply delicious. CBD is not a wonder drug and will not make the underlying cause of your pain disappear, so why not make ingesting it a little fun? Other hemp products (hemp is the kind of cannabis CBD is sourced from in the United States) can taste earthy, so you’ll appreciate fruity flavors and exciting shapes.
Talk with your doctor to find the right dosage for you. Pain is challenging to live with, but many people are finding significant relief with CBD gummies.
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