A CBD Benefits Chart That Will Change the Way You Look at CBD

person Larry Ostrovsky
calendar_today Sep 28, 2020

We’ve all heard about the incredible potential for the use of CBD in our daily lives. But you may be wondering: how many of these benefits are supported by science? In the following exploration of CBD benefits, you’ll get all the answers you need.

You’ll discover what the research says about the health benefits of CBD for your body and mind. Furthermore, we’ll review the ways CBD produces these benefits by explaining the action that occurs inside of us. By the end, you’ll have a complete understanding of the current evidence on the benefits of CBD.

Before we take a dive into the health benefits of CBD, here’s a sneak-peek CBD benefits chart to whet your appetite. Keep reading to discover the full spectrum of potential CBD benefits.

Before we take a dive into the health benefits of CBD, here’s a sneak-peek CBD benefits chart to whet your appetite.

1. What Are the Health Benefits of CBD?
2. What Are CBD’s Effects on Your Mind and Body?
2.1 Clinical Findings
2.2 Anxiety and Sleep Study
2.3 What Do People Use CBD to Treat?
2.4 Evidence for the Use of CBD in Treatments
2.4.1 Movement Disorders
2.4.2 Chronic Pain and Opioid Addiction
2.4.3 Substance Use Disorders
3. How Does CBD Work in Your Body?
4. What Does Science Say about CBD Health Benefits?
4.1 CBD is NOT THC
4.2 Preclinical Findings
4.2.1 Acute Nausea and Vomiting
4.2.2 Epilepsy and Convulsions
4.2.3 Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis
4.2.4 Inflammation and Oxidative Stress
4.2.5 Anxiety and Pain
4.3 Observational Studies
5. Final Thoughts on CBD Benefits

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1. What Are the Health Benefits of CBD?

While there is much more research needed, it does appear that CBD holds many health benefits. We do not have many clinical studies on humans, but the body of information around the general effects of CBD is growing.

On that note, CBD has been shown to have numerous characteristics, but we cannot say for sure these effects will occur in humans. For example, CBD has been shown to have the following properties: [1]

Anxiety-reducing
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-nausea
Antipsychotic

CBD Benefits Chart 1: CBD has been shown to have numerous characteristics.

You might be wondering:

What else does CBD help with? In regard to the treatment of certain conditions, we have limited evidence to use to determine benefits. That said, when taken at high doses, CBD has been used as a treatment for conditions including: [1]

Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and dementia
Diabetes
Nausea

CBD Benefits Chart 2: CBD has been used as a treatment for certain conditions.

Overall, CBD has serious promise to become recognized as producing the following effects in humans: [2]

Pain reduction
Anti-seizure
Muscle relaxant
Anti-cancer effects
Cancer prevention

CBD Benefits Chart 3: CBD has serious promise.

We want to highlight the word promise, as these effects have not been shown yet in humans. As you can see, this amazing list of benefits could potentially have a large impact on the lives of people.

And we haven’t even gotten through the whole list! There are many diverse benefits of CBD that relate to the underlying physiology and the functioning of our cells. For example, CBD may also promote the following activity: [2]

Protection within our nervous system
Antioxidant
Reduces cell multiplication
Reduces the growth of new blood vessels
Encourages the self-destruction of old or damaged cells

CBD Benefits Chart 4: Diverse benefits of CBD that relate to the underlying physiology and the functioning of our cells.

You may be wondering what all this really means. In the following section, we’ll explore the practical effects of CBD on your mind and body. You’ll learn how to connect these dots and see what the implications of the impacts listed above might be.

2. What Are CBD’s Effects on Your Mind and Body?

We’re going to start with the big stuff—the facts we’ve learned from clinical studies on humans. In later sections, we’ll dive into the details and find out what we’ve learned from animal models and cell cultures.

What Are CBD’s Effects on Your Mind and Body?

2.1 Clinical Findings

While rather limited in scope, there are human clinical imaging studies that support the claims that CBD and THC have opposing effects. Specifically, we’ll discuss these as related to our neurological functioning and psychological impacts. We’ll talk more about the differences between THC and CBD later in this guide. [3]

Further, evidence indicates that CBD does not alter physiological parameters, including heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, in a negative way. (Click to Tweet) That said, this does not mean that CBD is free from side effects. [1]

There are potential side effects that include: [1]

Tiredness or fatigue
Diarrhea
Changes in appetite
Changes to weight

The best way to avoid potential side effects is by starting with a low dose and gradually increasing it.

The best way to avoid potential side effects of CBD is by starting with a low dose and gradually increasing it. (Click to Tweet)

In science, we call this titration, and it works during the onset of treatment as well as when tapering off. While side effects can be avoided in most cases, the fact that they exist is further evidence that CBD has powerful impacts on our bodies and minds.

In the upcoming sections, we’ll dive into a few specific clinical investigations. We’re going to learn how CBD can impact anxiety, sleep, movement disorders, substance use disorders, and more.

WATCH: Advanced Sleep Formula with CBD

2.2 Anxiety and Sleep Study

A group of researchers in Colorado explored whether CBD could help to improve sleep and anxiety in a clinical population. Ultimately, the study investigated the effects of CBD in 72 adults over several months. Only three of these patients did not tolerate CBD well. [4]

This is incredible:

The results indicated that patients had better scores on measures of both anxiety and sleep. In fact, reductions in anxiety occurred after the first month and were maintained in the following months. The sleep scores also improved in the first month but fluctuated more over time. [4]

With CBD patients had better scores on measures of both anxiety and sleep.

2.3 What Do People Use CBD to Treat?

Another study took a different approach, using surveys to see what people were up to in their lives. Specifically, they inquired about the use of CBD in their lives and the reason they used it.

The results indicate that 62% of these CBD study participants used CBD to treat a medical condition. In fact, the top three medical conditions listed were pain, anxiety, and depression. So we know that people use CBD for these reasons, but is it effective?

What Do People Use CBD to Treat?

According to these people themselves, CBD helps to treat their condition very well by itself, said 36% of respondents. Only 4.3% said that CBD was not working very well for them. [5]

Studies exploring CBD for the treatment of specific conditions have also collected valuable information on other aspects of life. In fact, CBD has been shown to improve quality of life, with effects independent of the specific condition being treated. Furthermore, these improvements occurred over several months and were maintained after a year. [6]

CBD has been shown to improve quality of life.

2.4 Evidence for the Use of CBD in Treatments

CBD has shown promise throughout a wide range of pathologies, with dozens of studies demonstrating significant improvement in primary outcomes explored. We’re going to look at a few of these conditions and the effects of CBD on them below. [7]

2.4.1 Movement Disorders

Based on only a few studies, CBD has emerged as a promising compound to treat or prevent movement disorders. [8]

2.4.2 Chronic Pain and Opioid Addiction

This is crazy but amazing:

From both preclinical and clinical evidence, we have learned that CBD oils potentially play a role in treating challenging chronic pain or opioid addiction. [9] (Click to Tweet)

CBD oils potentially play a role in treating challenging chronic pain or opioid addiction.

2.4.3 Substance Use Disorders

CBD has also shown promise as a potential treatment for substance use disorders. In fact, these benefits appear across a range of specific substances, including nicotine, alcohol, and psychostimulants. [10]

3. How Does CBD Work in Your Body?

The first thing we should note is that there is still plenty of mystery around the way CBD produces the effects that it does. In science, we look for mechanisms of action to explain observed effects. We have some idea of the mechanisms of action that power CBD, but there is much more to learn.

For those who have not yet heard, we all have an endocannabinoid system. This system has two main receptors: CB1 and CB2. While THC is known to act upon CB1, CBD does not appear to do the same. In fact, CBD does not bind directly with either CB1 or CB2.

What CBD does appear to do is regulate the activity of the CB1 and CB2 receptors through mechanisms not fully understood. Currently, the best estimate is that CBD produces inhibitory actions throughout the body, but without directly activating the CB1 and CB2 receptors as THC does. Instead, it influences your health through various physiological mechanisms.

Instead of binding with the receptors, CBD influences your health through various physiological mechanisms.

RELATED: How CBD Works

But there is much more to our anatomy than just the endocannabinoid system. CBD has been found to have specific effects on other parts of our anatomy. For example, CBD appears to have effects at various receptors, such as:

The serotonin receptor, which regulates anxiety, mood, memory, and many other things in the body;
The adenosine receptor, which regulates sleep; and
The glycine receptor, which regulates motor control and pain perception. [2]

Explaining the science behind each of these is well beyond the scope of this article. In fact, understanding all of this content basically requires an undergraduate biology degree’s worth of knowledge. That said, we’ll explore a few mechanisms to help you understand the benefits of CBD.

CBD has effects at the glycine receptor, which regulates motor control and pain perception.

4. What Does Science Say about CBD Health Benefits?

What’s critical is that the actions previously mentioned provide the mechanisms that lead to the broader benefits discussed in earlier sections. For example, the actions of CBD on certain receptors lead to reductions in pain and help those with chronic pain issues.

To take it a little deeper into the science realm:

CBD has been shown to inhibit cellular uptake of anandamide and block the activity of fatty amide hydrolase (FAAH). These effects combine to produce some of the benefits of CBD involving pain perception, fatigue, and appetite.

CBD is able to block calcium channels for the better, and this underlies the impacts of CBD on motor disorders and muscular dysfunction.

Furthermore, CBD reduces the breakdown of numerous critical neurotransmitters, including noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. These changes have vast impacts as more of these beneficial compounds stick around in the brain.

What Does Science Say about CBD Health Benefits?

Now that we’ve gone into deep-ish science, let’s see what else we know about CBD.

We’ve already learned so much! We’ve learned about the health benefits of CBD in humans based on the evidence and the actions of CBD in the body. In the following section, we’ll find out how these actions may lead to the observed benefits.

Instead of looking at humans, we’ll largely be exploring basic research using animals and cell cultures. So, let’s learn about these preclinical and observational findings together. First of all, however, let’s emphasize that CBD is not THC.

4.1 CBD is NOT THC

The science is clear that CBD is not like THC. Often, people generalize Cannabis sativa L. without accurately breaking down the differences within the plant. In contrast with THC, CBD is nonintoxicating and non-impairing. [3]

Going beyond differences, there are features of THC and CBD that are actually direct opposites. For example, CBD is able to counter the effects of THC through the way it interacts with certain molecular targets, such as serotonin receptors. [2]

There are features of THC and CBD that are actually direct opposites.

What’s the Bottom Line?

Those who say CBD is non-psychoactive are ignoring the beneficial impacts of CBD on stress, mood, and even sleep. It is far more accurate to say that CBD is not impairing or intoxicating, while THC certainly is. (Click to Tweet)

4.2 Preclinical Findings

Preclinical evidence comes from studies that would be considered “basic science.” While clinical research involves humans, preclinical studies often use animals, cell cultures, and other biochemistry studies. [11]

Using preclinical studies, research has helped us to understand which effects of CBD can be found in other animals. This research helps us determine what to study in humans. Researchers have shown that certain cannabinoids, including CBD, can suppress acute nausea and vomiting and also anticipatory nausea. [3]

It gets better:

Research has determined that CBD can improve symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), including: [3]

Tremor
Spasticity
Inflammation

CBD can improve symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis

According to the state of the evidence, CBD might have anti-epileptic and anticonvulsant properties. Anecdotal evidence supports these anti-epileptic effects of Cannabis sativa L., including high-CBD strains. [3]

CBD may help alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Moreover, CBD has the potential to help delay dystonia progression. Dystonia is a movement disorder involving involuntary contractions of muscles, leading to repetitive movements and abnormal postures. [3]

Research has shown that in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease, CBD may help protect against inflammation, oxidative stress, and nerve damage or even nerve death due to overactivation. [3]

Often, research on animal models involves causing some sort of injury and seeing which effects certain treatments may have. CBD was shown to possess protective effects when animal livers were damaged through several mechanisms. [3]

CBD was shown to possess protective effects on animal livers.

Want to know the best part?

Other animal models showed how CBD reduces indicators of several important conditions. For example, CBD reduces behaviors associated with anxiety and pain. As we’ve already seen, this basic science appears to support what observational studies are finding. [3]

4.3 Observational Studies

We have also learned a bunch from observational studies that observe the real-life changes in people over time. We’ve seen medication use drop during the course of medical marijuana usage.

One of the best-studied benefits of CBD relates to seizure disorders. CBD has been associated with reductions in seizure frequency in adolescents with rare forms of drug-resistant epilepsy. [3]

Furthermore, for those using THC medically, adding in CBD can reduce the potential negative impacts on mood that can occur with THC. Adding to that, there is more evidence that shows that CBD can reduce THC-induced psychosis. [3] (Click to Tweet)

CBD can reduce the potential negative impacts on mood that can occur with THC.

5. Final Thoughts on CBD Benefits

Great job making it through this entire article exploring the world of CBD benefits. We’ve gathered knowledge together that has come from the tireless efforts of researchers. Combined, we know so much more about the benefits of CBD now than we did a decade ago.

Want to know the best part?

In another decade, we will have an even stronger understanding of CBD. Research on CBD has far fewer barriers today than in prior years. Interest in CBD for consumers and researchers is only growing.

The list of benefits provided here will also continue to grow as we learn more. While we await more evidence, let’s turn to what we know now. We know that consumers love our 3600mg CBD Tincture for the potent punch of CBD it provides. Others prefer to avoid the taste and instead pick our CBD Capsules.

CBD is not all made the same. We use advanced techniques to create our Fastest-Acting Liposomal CBD to enhance the benefits of CBD. Lastly, we ensure that you can get CBD in any way you need it, including by using our CBD Infused Herbal Balm. Regardless of your preferred dosing method or reasons for use, you can enjoy numerous CBD benefits to improve your health and well-being.

Hopefully, this CBD benefits chart has given you an idea of some of the effects CBD can have on the body. Stay tuned as more research is performed and knowledge increases!

Sources:

A CBD Benefits Chart That Will Change the Way You Look at CBD

Contents

1. What Are the Health Benefits of CBD?