What is CBD?

CBD stands for cannabidiol, one of the two primary active ingredients in the hemp plant. The other active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. THC is what gets you high when smoking marijuana, while CBD has much milder effects.

When it comes to CBD products, manufacturers use hemp plants that contain little to no THC. Not only does this make the extraction process easier, but it ensures that all CBD products are legal.

What Is CBD Used For?

The human body has what’s called the endocannabinoid system, or ECS. This one system regulates many bodily functions, from inflammation to sleep.

Cannabidiol reacts naturally with this system to make sure that it works more efficiently. While more research has to be done on the precise effects of CBD on the body, preliminary evidence suggests that CBD can be used:

  • For an Energy Boost – Low doses of CBD work to activate the ECS and give you an increase in energy.
  • As a Sleep Aid – Higher concentrations of CBD can help you fall asleep easier.
  • As a Pain Reliever – Pain is usually caused by inflammation, which CBD helps regulate.
  • For Seizures – The FDA has approved a CBD-based medicine that helps reduce or prevent seizures in epileptic patients.

What Are the Benefits of CBD?

The primary benefit of CBD is as an anti-inflammatory agent. As more studies come out about how cannabidiol interacts with the endocannabinoid system, they show that CBD has the following benefits:

  • Reduce Anxiety and Depression – The ECS helps regulate various brain chemicals, which can trigger anxiety attacks or bouts of depression. Since CBD stimulates the ECS, it becomes more efficient at producing these chemicals, reducing these conditions. CBD can also reduce cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone.
  • Ease Pain and Inflammation – CBD works well for most pain relief, particularly with muscles. Cannabidiol inhibits the receptors in the ECS, which reduces inflammation and pain.
  • Improve Sleep – While CBD can interrupt your REM sleep (when you dream), it does help produce more serotonin in the brain, which allows you to fall and stay asleep more easily.
  • Reduce or Eliminate Seizures – Currently, scientists are unsure why CBD prevents seizures in epileptic patients, but there is one FDA-approved medicine that does precisely that.

Is CBD Legal?

Technically, it depends on where you live. As more and more states legalize recreational marijuana, CBD sales are a natural side-effect of new legislation. However, while some states may outlaw cannabis, they allow the possession and consumption of CBD because it is not a psychoactive compound like THC.

Currently, cannabidiol is entirely outlawed in Idaho, Iowa, and South Dakota. Everywhere else, it is legal to have, but not necessarily in all forms. For example, many states don’t allow CBD-infused foods or beverages, although you can use tinctures and creams.

As a rule, if your state allows recreational marijuana, it likely doesn’t have many restrictions (if any) on CBD. Otherwise, you will need to check your state’s regulations.

What Does CBD Feel Like?

The answer depends on the person. As with all natural substances, cannabidiol does not have a universal effect on everyone. Some individuals report feeling calm and relaxed after taking CBD, while others may not feel much of anything. The method you use to take CBD can also play a part. For example, if you use sublingual (under the tongue) strips, you’ll get a more potent dosage, yielding more substantial effects. By comparison, CBD oil and topical creams may not feel any different from non-CBD products.

Cannabidiol can also have adverse side effects, such as mild nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, and diarrhea. Again, it affects everyone differently, so it’s hard to say how it will feel for a specific person.

How Does CBD Work for Pain?

Your body’s endocannabinoid system is composed of protein receptors that regulate how the system works. As receptors receive various chemical signals, they can trigger different actions, such as serotonin or cortisol release.

When it comes to pain, these receptors can create inflammation and soreness around areas with physical trauma, such as muscles and tendons. Since CBD can interfere with these receptors and make them work more efficiently, they don’t create as much inflammation.

Studies have been done on the connection between CBD and pain relief for arthritis, back pain, muscle fatigue, and migraines. While more comprehensive research has to be done, preliminary results show that CBD positively affects pain in all of these forms. Best of all, CBD doesn’t create a chemical dependency like other medications, such as opioids.

How Can CBD Help Me Sleep?

Many chemicals in your body affect your sleep/wake cycle. Two of these chemicals, cortisol and serotonin, can significantly impact your ability to fall asleep. Cortisol is called the stress hormone since it is most active when your body is stressed out. However, it regulates many processes within the body, such as blood sugar levels and metabolism.

Typically, cortisol is most present in your body when you wake up, and it should dissipate when you try to fall asleep. However, if you have higher cortisol levels at night, it’s harder to catch some ZZZs. CBD helps sleep by inhibiting cortisol production and stimulating serotonin.

By contrast, serotonin helps you relax. It’s like a reward hormone. Cortisol spikes when you’re stressed, and serotonin spikes when you’re happy. Higher serotonin levels allow you to drift off more quickly, particularly when you don’t have as much cortisol in your system.

How Does CBD Work for Anxiety?

The various chemicals in your body can affect your mood and bodily processes. Anxiety is a buildup of stress that can trigger panic attacks and overwhelming stimulation. While the connection between CBD and anxiety is still being studied, initial results show that cannabidiol can reduce the effects of anxiety and prevent future episodes.

Overall, since CBD helps regulate your body’s endocannabinoid system and that system regulates different brain chemicals, scientists believe that CBD balances the amount of stress hormones. Since there is no buildup, patients experience less generalized anxiety.

That said, CBD won’t necessarily work for a full-blown panic attack, and powerful triggers can override its effects, but it does create more stability for those who can get triggered easily.

Is CBD Good for Skin?

CBD topical creams and ointments are popular, but do they work? As with most CBD benefits, research is still in its early phases, but the results look promising for how cannabidiol affects the skin. There are two primary ways that it can benefit the skin.

  • First, CBD products don’t dry out as quickly, meaning that they can leave your skin moisturized and refreshed for much longer.
  • Second, since CBD reduces inflammation, it can help with various skin conditions, such as eczema, acne, and rashes. While CBD products can’t eliminate skin problems outright, they can regulate inflammation and reduce flare-ups or prevent future outbreaks.

How Often Should I Take CBD?

One of the primary advantages of CBD is that it doesn’t create any dependency issues. So, even if you take it every day, you won’t become addicted. However, since CBD can be so beneficial, you probably won’t want to stop anyway.

Most people who use CBD for chronic conditions like anxiety or pain take it every day. The average dose is between 20 and 1,500 milligrams. Higher doses can help you relax and fall asleep, while smaller ones can give you an energy boost.

One thing to keep in mind is that CBD is not a cure-all, so you don’t want to take it for no reason. The long-term side effects of CBD consumption are unknown, so you want to be cautious about overusing it.

What is the Difference Between Broad- and Full-Spectrum CBD?

When comparing different CBD products, you’ll notice that some are labeled “broad-spectrum” while others are “full-spectrum.” Here is a breakdown of each option:

  • Broad-Spectrum CBD – This version has no THC at all, even in trace amounts. Manufacturers do use other parts of the cannabis plant, so this variety is not 100% cannabidiol.
  • Full-Spectrum CBD – In this case, manufacturers use the whole cannabis plant, so the product may have small amounts of THC. By law, for CBD to be legal, it cannot have more than 0.3 percent THC.

When it comes to health benefits, full-spectrum CBD is the most potent. While cannabidiol is effective by itself, it works better when mixed with the rest of the plant.

What Makes TruHarvest CBD Different?

While other CBD manufacturers have to rely on secondary farms and cannabidiol extracts, TruHarvest manages the whole CBD process, starting with the plants we grow. Since we maintain control of our cannabis, we can breed it to be as potent and healthy as possible. As we continue to sell our products to our customers, we can adjust our formula directly from the source.

We also make sure that all of our products are full-spectrum CBD. This designation means that we use the whole plant for our extract, not just the cannabidiol. Cannabis has plenty of health benefits beyond CBD, which is why full-spectrum products are so valuable.

Finally, since we control the entire growth and manufacturing process, there are no markups in-between. We can guarantee the best CBD at the best prices.

How Do You Take CBD?

There are many ways of taking CBD, depending on how you want to use it. The most common options include:

  • CBD Strips – These products are the most potent because they administer CBD directly to your bloodstream through the sublingual artery (under your tongue).
  • CBD Cream – Muscle creams and skin moisturizers allow you to put CBD where it will have the most effect. Topical lotions work faster because they don’t have to go through your whole system to have an impact.
  • CBD Tinctures – As with strips, tinctures can be highly potent and deliver fast results. Be sure to place the mixture underneath your tongue for the best reaction.
  • CBD Oil – You can use this oil in various ways. First, you can place a few drops in your mouth. Or, you can create CBD edibles by adding oil to different beverages or foods.
  • CBD Gummies – If you want a tasty and easy way to take CBD, flavored gummy candies are an excellent treat.

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