Author: Christopher Walker

CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound that can be found in both hemp – often as one of the components of a good full spectrum hemp extract – or medical marijuana.

CBD oil has a ton of therapeutic benefits, many of which we will get into here today.

With the rise in popularity of CBD oil in the mainstream awareness, I think it’s important to educate my readers on the true research-backed benefits of CBD oil. This is especially important because there are very few reputable websites out there right now that are taking the time to educate people on the subject.

Most people don’t have the wherewithal to dig into the research around CBD, which I think can potentially be dangerous as it creates an environment where wives’ tales and urban myths can spread easily, masquerading as “truth.”

CBD Research Is Evolving Quickly

One of the coolest things about CBD is the fact that there is already a wide breadth of research around it, ranging from clinical trials evaluating therapeutic applications in humans, to in vitro studies, which are basically test tube experiments. There have also been a fair amount of animal studies, which can teach us a bit more about mammalian applications, and typically animal studies can correlate, with a fair degree of accuracy, to human effects. Researchers tend to use certain types of animals in research settings that have biological systems very similar to humans for this reason.

While CBD oil and cannabis in general has been widely marginalized in the United States for nearly 100 years, there is actually a surprising amount of positive research around the subject already, due to the rise in popularity and nearly unstoppable momentum behind the federal legalization of cannabis. It’s only a matter of time before the flood gates open on federal funding into the amazing therapeutic healing plant.

CBD Activates Endocannabinoid Receptors

You may be wondering about the physiological basis for the wide-reaching effectiveness of CBD in helping people with things like epilepsy,¹ pain management,² sleep,³ anxiety,⁴ depression,⁵ inflammation,⁶ cancer,⁷ addiction,⁸ and neuropathy.⁹

All throughout your brain and body are receptor sites.

These receptor sites are typically bound by endogenous (from within your body) neurotransmitters. Your cells communicate with one another using neurotransmitters, hormones, and second messengers. Certain messenger molecules fit into specific receptor sites. Many of these lie within the brain itself, but they’re also spread throughout the body in things like soft tissue, muscles, organs, and even bone.

CBD molecules can specifically bind to certain receptor sites within the endocannabinoid system (ECS), as well as other neurotransmitter systems. The ECS, however, when activated by CBD, indirectly through CB1 and CB2 receptor sites,¹⁰ (which is why it does not get you “high” like THC) has been linked to the myriad health benefits typically associated with CBD Oil. These CB1 and CB2 receptor sites can be found all throughout the brain and the body, but CBD also works outside of the ECS in other neurotransmitter systems, hence the wide ranging health benefits¹¹ and applications of consuming a high quality CBD oil.

So what are some of these key benefits?

Let’s take a quick look at some of the current applications researchers are exploring for CBD benefits in humans and animals.

3 Major Benefits Of CBD Oil (Research and Therapeutic Applications)

1. CBD and Inflammation: The Anti-Inflammatory Benefits Of CBD Oil

Inflammation is caused chiefly by free radical stress on the body, which activates an immune response. The best way to fight it is to consume natural compounds that fight this free radical stress, such as potent anti-oxidants. I’ve discussed here on the blog about how Hemp Extract is rich in the potent antioxidant Vitamin E, but you’ll be happy to know that CBD itself can also act as an antioxidant in the fight against stress.

One of the ways CBD helps fight inflammation is through activation of glycine receptors,¹² which has been shown to be a major target in chronic pain and inflammation treatments.

The anti-inflammatory effects of CBD are so potent, that they’ve even been shown to help alleviate neuropathy pain in MS patients.¹³

Even inflammation present in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease has been suppressed via CBD application in clinical research, due to the cannabidiol’s activation of PPARγ, which triggers the suppression of pro-inflammatory signaling.¹⁴

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients have also seen improvements in colon inflammation in research with use of CBD oil.¹⁵

2. CBD and Sleep: The Sleep Benefits Of CBD Oil

CBD oil has been studied quite a bit in reducing anxiety, as well as improving certain sleep biomarkers in humans. CBD oil may help increase overall amount of sleep time, ¹⁶ reduce insomnia, ¹⁷ and may even help with sleep onset and staying asleep in patients with chronic pain.¹⁸

3. CBD May Help Anxiety and Depression

Like I mentioned above, CBD oil has been demonstrated in research to help patients with anxiety issues. Most antioxidants, or stress-fighting natural compounds, act as anti-depressant agents in the body. I also mentioned earlier how CBD molecules can bind to glycine receptors, where glycine expression and glycine ratios in relation to other amino acids is considered a prime indicator of anti-depressant effects during major depression.¹⁹

Where To Buy CBD Oil

I personally think that it’s very important to get a high quality CBD oil, preferably organic, and extracted from hemp that is grown outdoors without pesticides or herbicides. If you search around on the internet right now, there are quite a few shady “companies” selling CBD oil, but most of it is CBD isolate, which has almost no benefits when compared to full spectrum extract.

I put together a helpful page called Where To Buy CBD Oil to hopefully point you in the right direction on getting some CBD from a high quality source.

Hemp has been known widely for its industrial, environmental, and healing usages throughout history. One of the main distinguishing factors between hemp and marijuana, is the fact that hemp itself is non-psychoactive, meaning it will not get you “high” like marijuana will. This is chiefly due to the fact that while marijuana can contain between 5% to over 20% THC (tetrahydracannabinol) content, hemp typically only contains a measly 0.3% – 1.5%.¹

Don’t worry though, the THC is not what makes hemp, and hemp extract so special.

In this article, we will cover the basics about the plant healing power behind hemp extract and why you may want to consider using hemp extract as a staple part of your daily health regimen, especially if you’re currently dealing with autoimmune issues, anxiety, depression, pain, or inflammation.

Industrial and Environmental Uses Of Hemp

While in this article we will be discussing the many health benefits of hemp extract, I also wanted to quickly give you a background of the other things hemp can be used for, since most people who are reading this blog article are likely exploring the subject and may be new to hemp.

Hemp is one of the strongest and most durable soft fibers grown on earth. It was outlawed in the US back in 1937 with the signing of the Marijuana Tax Act  – which was essentially an act of collusion between newspaper and timber magnate William Randolph Hearst and Federal Bureau of Narcotics chairman Harry Anslinger. If you’re interested in reading about the subject, I highly recommend the book The Marijuana Conviction, which outlines the entire ordeal in great detail. If you’ve ever wondered why cannabis has been illegal for our entire lifetime, despite so many amazing health benefits of both cannabis and hemp extract, then you’ll be absolutely surprised when you realize that its marginalization and demonization was entirely based on the threat hemp posed as a cash crop to timber in the US.

Hemp is a very useful alternative to not just traditional timber for paper products, but also to cotton as well. Just one acre of hemp can yield the same amount of fiber as 3 acres of cotton. This makes growing hemp very environmentally friendly, and useful for many things from clothing, to paper, to rope, and more.

Growing industrial hemp doesn’t require the use of any pesticides, or herbicides, and requires a fraction of the fertilizer needed for other cash crops. The ability to grow it without pesticides and herbicides obviously also translates to amazing health advantages for humans as well, especially since most of the produce and plant material we consume in the United States is grown on commercial farms and is doused in pesticides and other endocrine disrupting chemicals many times before it reaches our local grocery store shelves.

It makes a lot of sense, from the business perspective, why such an easy-to-grow, sustainable crop was seen as a massive threat to the big businessmen of the 1930’s namely William Randolph Hearst and Andrew Mellon, and why they worked so hard to defeat it and demonize it in the public eye. They were successful, but now the public is beginning to wake up.

The FARM Bill Of 2014 federally legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp in the US. According to the USDA:

“The term “industrial hemp” includes the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part or derivative of such plant, including seeds of such plant, whether growing or not, that is used exclusively for industrial purposes (fiber and seed) with a tetrahydrocannabinols concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. The term “tetrahydrocannabinols” includes all isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers of tetrahydrocannabinols.”

This is taken from the Statement of Principles On Industrial Hemp provided by the Agriculture Department, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Food and Drug Administration on 08/12/2016.

And such, after that passed, there was an opportunity for farmers in the US to begin growing hemp on a large, and legal, scale. And also the opportunity to make an extract oil from the hemp seeds for health purposes.

What Is Hemp Oil Extract, CBD Oil?

Hemp extract is the oil that is extracted from the seeds of industrial hemp plants. Hemp oil extract typically contains high amounts of a compound known as CBD, or cannabidiol.²

CBD oil and full spectrum hemp oil extract have been widely clinically studied for use of pain management ³, epilepsy ⁴, stroke prevention ⁵, and joint health, ⁶ and even schizophrenia. ⁷

5 Health Benefits Of Hemp Extract

Hemp oil extract has a ton of health benefits for humans. I will have more articles on this website about all of the awesome benefits of this plant extract, but here are five benefits of hemp extract that may appeal to you.

If you would like to watch this in video format, I recommend viewing this video 5 Amazing Health Benefits Of Hemp Oil

1. Hemp Extract and Joint Pain:

One of the most widely known and appreciated benefits of hemp oil is how much it helps to alleviate joint pain, not just in men and women, but also in animals. Many people love to give it to their dogs and cats, especially since dogs and cats can develop arthritic joint pain as they age, which affects their mobility in the same way as aging humans.

One of the major reasons for the ability of cannabidiol and other phytocannabinoids in general to help regulate joint pain is the fact that CB1 and CB2 receptors (cannabinoid receptors) are expressed in joint tissues, neurons, chrondocytes, and bone. ⁸

Researchers have found alleviation of joint pain in both humans and animals via these CB1 and CB2 receptors, for example in osteoarthritis knee surgery patients. ⁹

2. Hemp Extract and Eczema:

Researchers have found a positive correlation between supplementation with hemp oil extract and improvements in a condition known as atopic dermatitis, otherwise known as eczema. ¹⁰ You can typically see benefits when using the extract topically, for example as a key ingredient in balms, creams, or lotions, as well as when you consume it orally.

3. Hemp Extract Helps Lower Blood Pressure:

Hemp extract has been shown in research to improve cardiovascular health in humans. ¹¹ In a large study of 4680 individuals, promising results were shown in regulating blood pressure. ¹² Other research has shown that the compounds in hemp extract can help decrease blood pressure in as little as 4 weeks of use. ¹³¹⁴

4. Hemp Oil Extract and Immunity:

The compounds in hemp oil have been positively correlated with an improvement in immune function in humans. ¹⁵

The presence of more endocannabinoids available for binding to your CB1 and CB2 receptors will decrease inflammation, strengthen the immune system, and keep the body healthy and strong.

5. Hemp Extract is Rich In Vitamin E:

Hemp is high in vitamin E.  Vitamin E is an extremely potent and helpful antioxidant, which also helps in the regulation of estrogen and the increase in the natural production of testosterone.

The different types of vitamin E include:

• Tocopherols Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta (α, β, γ, δ).
• Tocotrienols Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta (α, β, γ, δ).
• d-alpha-tocopheryl succinate, designed to be water-soluble.

One of the main issues with consuming polyunsaturated fats, like the omega 3’s and omega 6s found in hemp oil, is that diets high in PUFAs can be hormonally damaging. However, hemp extract is amazing because it naturally negates the bad effects of its PUFA content because it is also rich in Vitamin E, which has been show to protect your body from the oxidative damage that you’d otherwise get from consuming the oil. ¹⁶

Both vitamin E and vitamin C have been shown in human research to slow the rate of free radical damage to the body.

Diets high in PUFAs requires increasingly higher amounts of Vitamin E if you want to regulate the free radical damage the PUFAs can do to your thyroid and pituitary, ¹⁷ however hemp oil extract is great because it naturally contains the right amount of Vitamin E to protect you from any amount of oil you consume.

Where To Buy Organic Hemp Extract

Hopefully this article was helpful in educating you about some of the awesome benefits of hemp oil and a bit of the background behind why it was initially banned in the United States but is now legal to grow again.

Hemp is an exciting new field of scientific study, agriculture, and health.

You may be curious at this point about where you can buy a good solid Hemp Extract from a reputable retailer. I put together a page with some details for you here: Where To Buy Hemp Extract