In their quest to retain some semblance of normalcy and security, people respond to challenging circumstances in different ways. People are spending more time than ever at home during the current COVID-19 pandemic, and some have used that as an opportunity to look inward. People are doing what they can to improve themselves and their personal spaces, and for many, self-improvement means renewing their focus on overall health and wellness.
CBD is easily the most popular herbal supplement in the world right now, with some predicting that the total size of the worldwide CBD industry will eclipse $5 billion within the next five years. The growth of the CBD industry has been so strong that it has become self-sustaining in a way. People read the articles about how popular CBD has become, and they begin to wonder if they’re missing out on something. In that way, CBD continues to grow in popularity based on its reputation alone. Even Forbes recently sited CBD as one of the luxury beauty supplements to watch in the coming year.
If you’re looking for ways to improve yourself in 2021 and have started to think about your strategy for health and wellness, you’re almost definitely going to consider adding some supplements to your routine. In this article, we’re going to explain why CBD is a supplement that may belong on your wellness radar for 2021.
How to Get Started With CBD
You can find a huge variety of different CBD products on the market today, but the most popular way of using CBD is by taking an oil-based extract that’s held sublingually and then swallowed. CBD oil – especially if you buy an extra-strength product like this high-potency CBD oil from Crescent Canna – is easily the best value in terms of the amount of CBD that you get for the money. If you find that a low dose of CBD works for you, a single bottle can last for months – but when you buy a higher-strength product, you’ll always know that the extra potency is there if you need it.
Why Has CBD Become So Popular?
As we’ve just explained, much of the credit for CBD’s popularity stems from the fact that the phenomenon has largely begun to feed off of itself. As more people discover that many of their friends are using CBD, they want to try it for themselves. Before CBD could reach that point, though, people had to have a reason for trying CBD in the first place – and that reason is a growing body of scientific studies suggesting that CBD has the potential to be useful for a great many things.
We’ll cite some of the more interesting studies on CBD as it relates to health and wellness shortly. In deciding whether CBD is right for you, though, the most important thing to remember is that most of the published studies on CBD are preliminary in nature. They’re generally limited in scale and use either animals or cultured cells as test subjects. The fact that CBD produces an apparent result in a laboratory setting doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll produce the same result for you. All that you can really do is read the studies and decide whether it makes sense to try CBD for yourself.
Why Do Most People Use CBD?
A landmark survey published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research in 2018 detailed why over 2,400 people used CBD and how they felt about the results they were getting. In the survey, the majority of the respondents reported that they used CBD to treat specific medical conditions and cited a variety of conditions such as chronic pain, insomnia and anxiety. However, the most common single reason reported for using CBD was to promote general wellness – not to treat a specific condition. The vast majority of the people who responded to the survey felt that CBD was working either “very well” or “moderately well” for them.
Why Can CBD Be Useful for Overall Health and Wellness?
So, what scientific basis exists for the notion that CBD can be a worthwhile supplement to take for general wellness? In this section of the article, we’ll cite some of the studies that have gotten people so excited. Read the studies with a critical eye, remembering that it’s impossible to say CBD has a particular benefit when it hasn’t yet been tested for that benefit using a large-scale human sample.
- A 2004 study published in Neuropsychopharmacology examined the anti-anxiety effects of CBD as it relates to the stimulation of specific areas of the brain. It was a small-scale study consisting of 10 volunteers who were given either a 400 mg dose of CBD or a placebo. The study found that CBD didn’t only decrease the test subjects’ anxiety scores; it also improved blood flow within the subjects’ brains. Another study published in Pharmaceuticals in 2010 appeared to confirm that finding, suggesting that CBD could potentially reduce or prevent brain damage if administered in a high dose following stroke.
- A number of studies suggest that CBD may have anti-inflammatory properties. For example, this 2016 study published in the European Journal of Pain found that CBD reduced the joint circumference of arthritic rats when applied to the skin. Inflammation leads to a host of other medical problems, so many people try to select foods and supplements with anti-inflammatory properties when developing their strategies for health and wellness. CBD’s purported anti-inflammatory effect has also made it a popular supplement among athletes for post-workout recovery.
- A study published in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry in 2016 suggests that CBD may promote the browning of fat cells. Fat browning is a signal that the body uses to identify fat cells that are ready to burn as fuel, so some people use CBD with the hope that it will help to promote weight loss.
Final Thoughts
As a health and wellness supplement, the bottom line on CBD is that only you can decide whether it’s right for you. Read the studies, talk to your doctor and come to your own conclusion. You may find yourself becoming a member of the growing legion of happy CBD users in the new year.