Today you're going to learn all the potential benefits of CBD oil.
We analyzed over 100 scientific papers to see what the current scientific consensus is about the potential benefits of the cannabinoid ‘cannabidiol' (CBD).
Most CBD oils contain more Hemp-derived compounds than just CBD (for example other cannabinoids and terpenes).
All these additional Hemp-derived compounds are also exactly the reason why using CBD oil is the most effective and potent way to experience the potential benefits of CBD.
A discussion on the benefits of CBD oil, however, wouldn't be complete without highlighting the potential adverse health effects of CBD oil as well.
Even though CBD has many potential benefits, you'll also learn that there is little scientific proof that CBD can truly ‘cure’ anything. Most benefits associated with CBD relate to easing the symptoms of various conditions, and even then, clinical evidence is rare.
Then there are health risks associated with the composition and quality of CBD oils and the Hemp it's derived from. Contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals, bacteria, mold, residual solvents…all can end up in your CBD oil if the Hemp used to produce your CBD oil is of questionable quality.
The best part?
You'll learn exactly how to avoid these health risks.
If you're looking for the safest and best places to buy CBD oil, quickly go to our guide on:
Otherwise, keep reading!
The Benefits of CBD Oil
Ever since researchers started studying cannabis, there has been one cannabinoid that has received the most attention: THC.
But in the past decades, more and more attention is given to a different cannabinoid: CBD.
Here’s why:
While THC is known to have medicinal value for a variety of conditions, over the years, CBD turned out to be more potent as a beneficial agent for some conditions…
And comes with a HUGE additional benefit:
It has no psychoactive properties.
This means you can’t get high with CBD oil (it can help you relax though). And because you can't get high with CBD oil, it's:
- Easier to use, and;
- Easier to buy than products containing high amounts of THC.
THC-free CBD oil is a legal product in most parts of the world. And most countries allow a little bit THC in CBD oils (0.3% in the USA and 0.2% in Europe).
The fact that CBD oil is so easy to get, could be great news for anyone looking to improve his/her health.
Next up we'll explore all the potential benefits of CBD that scientific research has found in the past decades.
Starting with the condition that unfortunately, in this day and age, a lot of us suffer from…
1. CBD Could Help Reduce (Chronic) Inflammation (human studies)
Inflammation is a potential issue in our lives which, anyone eating a modern diet, potentially suffers from.
Some researchers think that the main cause of chronic inflammation is diet. It's thought that especially:
- A high amount of refined sugars;
- Refined vegetable oils;
- Processed foods, and;
- A highly off-balance omega-6 (n-6) to omega-3 (n-3) ratio (too high consumption of omega-6 fats),
are the main contributors to chronic inflammation when talking about diet-caused inflammation.
The worst part:
It receives little to no medical coverage.
Why is this such a big deal?
Chronic inflammation is a major risk factor for developing diseases, like:
- Heart disease;
- Diabetes;
- Cancer, and;
- Aging and disability in general.
One way to reduce the risk of these diseases is to reduce inflammation in your body to an absolute minimum.
Luckily, inflammation is easy to prevent with all kinds of anti-oxidant rich foods and exercise.
But in the past decade, researchers found out that CBD is an extremely powerful anti-inflammatory agent.
For example in this study researchers reviewed a dozen studies that looked at the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of CBD.
What they found was extremely promising especially on the anti-inflammatory part.
By its anti-oxidant properties and the targeting of inflammation-related intracellular signaling events, CBD reduces inflammation in a very effective way. And it does this without having psychoactive side-effects like THC.
So if you want to reduce inflammation in your body, CBD oil might be worth a try.
2. CBD Could Help with Anxiety Relief (human studies)
Always worrying about what you said, how you were perceived, feeling like you don't fit in and living with a constant fear of rejection…
Anyone suffering from social anxiety disorder (SAD) will tell you how exhausting even a simple daily errand can be.
Well, if you have a social anxiety disorder, you’ll be glad to know there have been a dozen studies that have shown CBD can reduce SAD.
For example, a 2011 study compared 2 groups of SAD patients on anxiety levels. The first group was given an oral dose of CBD, while researchers gave the second group a placebo. The researchers found that the group that they gave CBD had a significant decrease in anxiety levels, while the placebo group didn't.
In another study also done in 2011, researchers found that SAD patients who did a public speaking test and used CBD right before the test, significantly reduced:
- Anxiety;
- Cognitive impairment, and;
- Speech performance;
And anyone (with or without SAD) knows public speaking is a great way to trigger social anxiety.
Besides these studies, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence on forums, YouTube, and testimonials, showing CBD is useful in reducing anxiety of all sorts.
The bottom line is:
There's scientific evidence that supports the notion that CBD could be a beneficial agent for anxiety relief.
If you want to read our full guide on CBD oil and anxiety, click the link below:
3. CBD Could Help with Depression (only animal studies)
Everyone has a bad day once in a while.
But if you’re suffering from depression, life can not only seem worthless to you. In severe cases, you'll wonder if there's any reason to continue living.
Often stuck in a vicious cycle of negative thought patterns…
If you're depressed, it can be challenging to:
- Pull yourself out of this cycle;
- Pick yourself up, and;
- Live your life joyfully again.
Little outside help is often needed to pull you out of your negative spiral and put you back on the right track.
As it turns out:
CBD could act as this external agent, giving you the kick-start to pull you out of your negative spiral of depressive thoughts and feelings.
Although studies on humans are rare, there are several studies done on animals that clearly show a positive effect of CBD on depression, without any negative side-effects.
For example, a 2014 study that reviewed a dozen studies which looked at the anti-depressant effects of CBD, found that CBD has antidepressant-like actions through a mechanism that activated 5-HT1A neuro-receptors.
The 5-HT1A-receptor is a subtype of the 5-HT receptor, also called the serotonin receptor AKA the ‘happiness receptor.' By activating the happiness receptor, CBD could very effectively give you that kick-start to get you out of your negative spiral.
Now:
Even though most of these studies are done on animals, the way the 5-HT1A-receptor receptor works in mice is very similar to the way it works in humans.
And you got absolutely nothing to lose by trying out CBD oil to see if it will shake up your negative thought patterns, put you back on the right track…
And make you feel like your life is worth living again!
4. CBD Could Help with Pain Relief (mostly animal studies, a few human studies)
Imagine waking up, 
your body feeling heavy like concrete, like you’ve had a UFC fight the night before…
Or feeling like there’s an army of bees stinging your joints, and that on a daily basis…
This is the sad reality of someone suffering from chronic pain.
Whether you’re suffering acute or chronic pain, here’s the good news:
Various studies support the notion that CBD could help with pain relief.
There have been dozens of studies that have proven CBD can act as a potent painkilling agent. But here's the kicker: most of these studies were done on animals. Even though there's a lot of anecdotal evidence to support CBD oil as a potent natural painkiller, there's only one recent study done on humans that found such painkilling effects. This study was done on kidney transplant patients and showed that CBD's painkilling effects can differ widely on an individual basis and there's no guarantee that CBD will help with your pain problem.
If you want to read our full guide on CBD oil and pain, click the link below:
5. CBD Could Help with Epilepsy / Seizures (human studies)
Epilepsy is another one of those conditions, that can have a huge impact on your day to day life.
Losing your consciousness partially or wholly at random times during the day, or having full episodes of uncontrolled jerking by your body, can make for some very awkward and scary situations.
And while there’s already medication out there to treat epilepsy, as it turns out, this treatment is not useful for everybody.
Early in the 1980s, researchers already found that 200-300mg of CBD taken daily had a positive effect on the occurrence of convulsive crises in 7 of 8 epilepsy patients.
A more recent study done in 2015, found that CBD can be used to reduce seizures effectively, especially in patients who have resistance to traditional treatments.
So, although there’s no 100% assurance that CBD oil will help with your specific epileptic condition…
It might be worth it to try out.
6. CBD Could Help with Addictions: Nicotine, Alcohol and Addictive Behaviors in General (animal and human studies)
Addictions vary in their severity and impact.
But a severe alcohol addiction, for example, can be devastating to the life of the addicted person and their close ones.
Doing anything in your power to feed your addiction, at the cost of everything else, can very quickly destroy your life.
Here as well, CBD oil can help you by acting as the external agent that allows you to control your compulsive behavior.
Besides the anecdotal evidence, there’s plenty of scientific evidence reinforcing CBD’s potential effect on addictions.
In 2015, researchers reviewed 14 studies that looked at CBD as an intervention for addictive behaviors.
Although they’re not claiming any ‘cold hard facts’, they found that CBD could help with the following addictions:
- Opioid;
- Cocaine;
- Psychostimulant;
- Cannabis and;
- Tobacco addictions.
The exact mechanism of how CBD helps with addictions is unclear. But CBD has been associated with many neural circuits involved in the acquisition of addiction and subsequent drug-seeking behaviors.
The bottom line is:
If you want help with losing your addiction, definitely try out some CBD oil.
7. CBD Could Help with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Although Multiple Sclerosis is a relatively rare inflammatory condition of the central nervous system…
This doesn't make it any less impactful on anyone diagnosed with this often, life-changing disease.
One symptom which has a major effect on the daily life of many MS patients is spasticity.
Spasms can completely disrupt your ability to do simple life activities like cooking, driving a car, reading, writing, and more.
And although there are traditional pharmaceutical treatments for MS-induced spasticity, as it turns out, these treatments are ineffective for a substantial amount of MS patients.
There's much anecdotal evidence that marijuana and particularly high-CBD products and strains are effective in reducing MS-induced spasms.
But there's even stronger evidence:
A study done in 2012 found that inhaled cannabis had a beneficial effect on spasticity among MS patients receiving insufficient relief from traditional treatments.
Also, an earlier 2016 study that looked at the effects of the medicine ‘Sativex,' which is a mouth spray containing THC and CBD in a 1:1 ratio, found that it significantly reduced spasticity in MS patients.
Keep in mind that in both of these studies, a lot of the beneficial effects could also be potentially attributed to THC, and CBD oil usually doesn't contain substantial amounts of THC (it's illegal in most places).
That said, there are studies that looked at the effects of specifically CBD on MS-related conditions.
For example, a 2013 study found that CBD reduces inflammation and improves motor deficits in mice that got exposed to the Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus. This virus causes Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus-induced demyelinating disease (TMEV-IDD).
And while MS is not exactly the same as TMEV-IDD, TMEV-IDD has similar histological features as MS and there remains one of the most used viruses to research MS.
Note: Always make sure to check with your/a medical doctor before you start using CBD oil. CBD oil can interact with many different pharmaceutical drugs.
10 Other Diseases and Conditions that CBD Oil Might Be Beneficial for
Besides these diseases/conditions, there are many more on which CBD has shown to have a positive impact.
Except these are less well researched.
Here they are:
- Neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s/dementia
- Nausea
- Glaucoma
- Insomnia
- Arthritis
- Schizophrenia / Psychosis
- Degenerative disc disease
- Dystonia
- Liver diseases
- Different Cancers
If you have any of these conditions, CBD oil could be worth a try.
So that makes the number of conditions that CBD could potentially be helpful for 17, and honestly, there are probably more conditions that haven't been researched at all which CBD could be useful for.
But even if you don't have any of these diseases/conditions…
Is CBD Oil Beneficial for Everyone?
Yes.
In fact:
Adequately manufactured full spectrum and organic CBD oil, which has all the other cannabinoids, terpenoids and flavonoids in it, is a superfood of the highest order.
It’s PACKED with healing and rejuvenating anti-oxidant / anti-inflammatory compounds of which CBD is a major one of course…
But all of the compounds in the Hemp / Cannabis plant influence and enhance each other’s effect in a synergistic process which researchers call the entourage effect.
That's why it's critical that you get full spectrum CBD oil, which has all the cannabinoids, terpenoids and flavonoids that are present in the Hemp / Cannabis plant.
I can't call CBD oil medicine yet, but I will call it a superfood of the highest order.
Instead of comparing it with a pharmaceutical drug, I would compare it with another healthy oil like black cumin seed oil.
Here's what CBD does for me:
- Helps me to sleep at times where I have trouble falling asleep;
- Helps relax and unwind;
- Reduces feelings of stress.
I don't think CBD is a wonder-pill. And I don't use it every day. I use it mostly because CBD has been proven to be healthy in general and not for a specific condition.
What Makes CBD Oil the Most Effective and Potent Way to Experience the Potential Benefits of CBD
CBD Oil Side Effects
Although CBD has been shown to be safe and well tolerated in adults up to 1500mg/day, it's still possible to experience side effects, especially when taking high doses CBD oil.
Here's a list of reported side effects related to CBD-use found in 6 different studies:
- Headaches;
- Dizziness;
- Fatigue;
- Anorexia;
- Oral paresthesia;
- Dry mouth;
- Neck pain;
- Feeling of strangeness;
- Depression;
- Loss or modification of taste;
- Gastrointestinal disturbances;
- Feeling of weakness;
- Falls;
- Shaking;
- Muscular rigidity;
- Strange daydreams;
- Nosebleed;
- Outbursts of heat or cold;
- Heartburn;
- Bradycardia, and;
- Dysphagia.
These adverse effects have been reported in patients undergoing treatment with initial doses of 1mg/kg/d up to a dose of 16 mg/kg/d.
How to Use CBD Oil?
There's only 1 desirable way to use most CBD oils (these can also be called ‘tinctures'):
- Taking it orally.
If you take it orally, your oil will take some time to take effect. But the effects will last very long (2-5 hours).
It's essential when you take it orally that you keep the drops of CBD oil under your tongue for at least 60 seconds and THEN swallow it. This way the CBD oil will get directly absorbed into your bloodstream.
Then there's another way to use some CBD oils:
- Vaping it.
How do you know if it's possible to vape your particular CBD oil?
You want to be 100% sure that there are no edible oils like olive oil or coconut oil used in your CBD oil.
The vaping of edible oils over a more extended period is dangerous for your health and can cause Exogenous Lipoid Pneumonia.
Look for CBD oils which are specifically manufactured for vaping, they usually contain:
- Vegetable Glycerin (VG), and/or;
- Propylene Glycol (PG).
So again:
Don't vape edible CBD oils. Only vape CBD oils made explicitly for vaping.
If you vape it, the oil will take effect immediately, but will only last 1-2 hours.
To use CBD vape oil get a nice vape pen that's designed explicitly to vape ‘vape oils,' ‘vape juices' or ‘e-liquids.'
If you want our unofficial guideline on CBD oil dosages, check out the article below:
The Difference Between Hemp (Seed) Oil and CBD Oil
When looking for places to buy CBD oil, you might encounter shops that sell ‘Hemp oil.'
Here's the deal:
In 99% of these cases, products called ‘Hemp oil' are ‘Hemp seed oil.'
There's nothing wrong with Hemp seed oil. It's another super-healthy oil…
But it does not contain therapeutic amounts of CBD or large amounts of terpenoids and flavonoids.
So if you want the benefits associated with CBD, it's essential that you get Hemp CBD oil!
Again, don't get regular ‘Hemp oil' or ‘Hemp seed oil,' if you're looking for the benefits associated explicitly with CBD.
If you want to know what different types of CBD oils there are and what's important to look out for as a consumer, check out our ultimate guide on:
Where to Buy CBD Oil?
To receive all the benefits of CBD oil, it’s critical that you buy your oil from reputable and transparent producers.
Because CBD oil is such a new market, there are many shady businesses selling low-quality CBD oil.
Low-quality CBD oil might do you more harm than good because you have no clue about the extraction method and what kind of plants they use (they might be full of pesticides for example).
Besides contamination risks, FDA tests have shown that some CBD oils have 0% of CBD in them! So be careful…
We reviewed over 30 CBD oils and rated them on metrics like:
- Potency;
- Purity, and;
- Price.
You can find them here:
The companies in the article linked above, proof they have:
- High grade;
- Organic, and;
- Full spectrum CBD oil,
and have countless great reviews all over the internet.
They all submit their oil to third-party analysis and offer certificates of analysis checking for contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides, sometimes even on a batch-by-batch basis.
There’s ZERO guesswork involved in what exactly it is you’re taking, and the effects are POTENT.
