Cannabidiol oil (CBD) is a product of the cannabis plant. It has been used to treat inflammation and will play an important role, especially in athletes, at treating the condition for years to come.
In fact, it is becoming increasingly popular as a general medicinal molecule, as well as being used as a fitness and dietary supplement. For example, bodybuilders like to use CBD to prevent soreness after an intense workout in the gym.
After numerous studies, cannabinoid does not have a psychoactive impact on the user. On the contrary, it has shown very positive results, especially in relation to its antioxidant properties.
However, it’s inflammation, a factor or feeling pain and discomfort across the body and present from a number of health conditions is where it really comes into its own.
This article will show that CBD and actually help fight against inflammation.
What Is CBD?
CBD oil is a concentrated liquid from the marijuana plant. It is similar to other herbal extracts and the chemicals in the CBD oil varies based on how the extract was created and whether there were any other chemicals in the plant.
Standard cannabis plants produce hundreds, if not thousands, of different chemical compounds but the most well-known and studied is called a cannabinoid. There are a lot of different cannabinoids but the most recognized among traditional consumers are CBD and THC.
Where CBD does not have any psychoactive effects, THC most certainly does and is what users are looking for when they seek out a product to get them ‘high’. This makes CBD an attractive supplement as they can experience the benefits from the cannabis plant without getting high.
CBD In Humans
When ingested, CBD modules interact with the body in a number of ways. It can have an effect on levels of serotonin and also influence the endocannabinoid system. These are a system of different receptors found within cell membranes in a host of cell types across the body.
Standard cannabinoids bind to these receptors, however, CBD does not. While it has an influence over the endocannabinoid system in the body’s cells. Endocannabinoids are similar in shape to cannabinoids, which is why they can bind to these receptor sites.
CBD also has the ability to enhance and reduce the binding action of particular receptors. Furthermore, it also inhibits the intake of anandamide, another class of endocannabinoids.
These properties of CBD oil make it effective at fighting against inflammation.
What Is Inflammation?
As defined by the National Center for Biotechnology Information:
“Inflammation is the body’s immune system’s response to an irritant. The irritant might be a germ, but it could also be a foreign object, such as a splinter in your finger.
This means that an inflammation doesn’t only start when, for instance, a wound has already been infected by bacteria, is oozing pus or healing poorly. It already starts when the body is trying to fight against the harmful irritant.”
While inflammation is a vital bodily function and has its advantages, too much can cause serious chronic illness and disease, including cancer.
Acute inflammation is caused from traumatic injury. Ranging from a torn muscle to a sprained ankle, inflammation occurs in the form of redness, pain, swelling and the inability to move the affected area.
It can also be caused by coming into contact with harmful bacteria. The body reacts with acute inflammation to protect the injury, prevent further harm and start the internal healing process, where white blood cells and others move around the body towards the injury and clear debris and damaged tissue.
The general response to feeling pain ie acute inflammation is to seek out medication to numb and stop feeling it. However, this actually goes against the body’s natural process of healing itself.
Chronic inflammation is persistent inflammation that lasts over a long period of time, sometimes even over a number of years. There are many causes of chronic inflammation, including viruses and pathogens, and can occur when the body’s immune system attacks ‘threatening’ cells but are actually healthy tissue cells.
This is known as an autoimmune disease and covers conditions like asthma, Crohn’s and sinusitis.
Inflammation And CBD
Research has shown that CBD can protect people from the pathogenesis through induction of multiple anti-inflammatory pathways, including that of cancer cells.
A paper has been published to show that CBD can be effective during drug development. Here is an extract from its conclusion:
“Inflammation and oxidative stress are intimately involved in the genesis of many human diseases. Unraveling that relationship therapeutically has proven challenging, in part because inflammation and oxidative stress “feed off” each other. However, CBD would seem to be a promising starting point for further drug development given its anti-oxidant (although relatively modest) and anti-inflammatory actions on immune cells, such as macrophages and microglia.”
There is also a study that shows CBD can help with inflammation in the intestines. By applying CBD, the levels of macrophages within the intestines of mice decreased. While this is still unproven in humans, it just goes to show to potential future applications of CBD within modern medicine and treat more and more inflammatory diseases.
Finally, CBD can also be very helpful for athletes suffering from inflammation by taking it as a health supplement for recovery. Due to the nature of their work, athletes are likely to suffer from a form of acute inflammation, be it from a muscular or skeletal injury. However, by using CBD as part of their recovery program, they can reduce the amount of pain, swelling and soreness developed from strenuous exercise.
On top of that, CBD can also be used by Olympic athletes for their recovery. In fact, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has removed cannabidiol from their prohibited list of performance-enhancing supplements, so professionals cannot be penalized for using it either before, during or after their performance.
Conclusion
CBD oil does actually help with inflammation. It can help fight against chronic inflammation that leads to serious illness as well as an aid in the body’s internal process for dealing with acute inflammation.