There is strong scientific evidence that CBD can help with a variety of health issues, from anxiety and insomnia to chronic pain, addiction, and even childhood epilepsy syndrome: in 2018, in the United States, a CBD-based medication called Epidiolex made history as the first cannabis-derived medicine approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, two rare and severe forms of epilepsy. Elsewhere in the world, the prescription drug Sativex, which contains CBD as an active ingredient, is used to treat muscle spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis and for cancer pain.
The pain relieving effects of CBD are brought on by its ability to interact with the endocannabinoid system, in charge of regulating a variety of functions including sleep, appetite, pain sensation, and immune system response. Studies have shown its effectiveness in reducing anxiety and anxiety-like symptoms, and this remains the most prevalent use of CBD products: 51% of U.S. adults who use CBD do so to help alleviate their anxiety.
Athletic people might be familiar with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS,) the classic set of muscle aches and pains that comes with going for a run without stretching properly, exercising for the first time after a long break, or even a slightly too intense workout after another. A clinical trial showed that CBD was effective at relieving post-exercise joint stiffness and muscle tension in over 97% of participants. This is because it helps relax muscles, which alleviates tension and reduces inflammation, as well as supporting faster recovery between workouts or following injury.
CBD comes in several different forms, both oral and topical, such as oils, lotions, capsules, extracts, patches, pills, gummies or sprays. In a hilarious twist to its popular rise in recent years, it’s been added to cheeseburgers, toothpicks and breath sprays. Of course, the “unreliability of the purity and dosage of CBD in products” is a common concern: you could be using something with less CBD than advertised, and not see any benefits, or more, and perhaps get side effects such as a dry mouth or a feeling of drowsiness. That’s why it’s important to buy from reputable sources, and why we love APOTHEM.
We’re super proud to stock APOTHEM products, so let’s find out a little bit more about them.
