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Can I use CBD for inflammation? This is the question we have sought to answer in this article. To give you all the information you’ll need, we’ll first dive into what inflammation is, when it’s healthy or unhealthy, and some of the lifestyle factors that can promote or reduce inflammation.
We will then explain how CBD affects your health and homeostasis through its ability to interact with your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). Finally, we will conclude with an overview of important new studies on the potential benefits of CBD for inflammation.
But we should start with the basics, to make sure we’re all on the same page about what inflammation really is.
What is inflammation?
The word “inflammation” can conjure up images of pain, redness and swelling. This word tends to have a negative connotation. But in reality, inflammation is a natural and healthy reaction… sometimes.
Inflammation is an immune response produced by your body to protect itself from injury, disease or infection. It works by sending white blood cells into the affected area. In fact, this is what causes the redness and swelling: blood cells!
There are two types of inflammation:
Acute inflammation is when your body is faced with an acute stressor, such as a kick in the shin against the furniture, a splinter in the finger or an infection. This type of inflammation is an important part of the healing process when something has happened that has messed up your body in some way. You can often recognize acute inflammation by one or more of these five cardinal signs of inflammation:
- Redness
- Swelling
- Heat
- Pain
- Loss of function
Chronic inflammation, sometimes called systemic inflammation, is also an inflammatory response. But instead of being a short-lived response that disappears after a few hours or days, chronic inflammation remains. In a sense, this means that your body’s immune system is constantly activated in response to a chronic irritant or toxin, such as cigarette smoke, excess body fat or certain viral infections.
In summary, inflammation is a healthy immune response to irritants or injury. But when inflammation lasts too long, it can begin to destroy healthy tissue and create health problems. It can contribute to problems such as atherosclerosis and create symptoms such as bloating, pain, fatigue and “brain fog.
Now that you know that chronic inflammation is something to avoid, you may be wondering: what causes chronic inflammation?
Lifestyle risk factors for chronic inflammation
In some cases, chronic inflammation may be the result of factors beyond your control, such as autoimmune disorders or viral infections. In these cases, it is best to consult a doctor.
However, many causes of chronic inflammation are related to lifestyle and dietary factors that are within your control. Some of the known risk factors for chronic inflammation include:
Smoking.
Cigarette smoking is a well-known contributor to chronic inflammation. It induces several pro-inflammatory molecules while impairing the production of useful anti-inflammatory substances.
Obesity.
Did you know that adipose tissue (aka fat) is actually considered an organ, part of your endocrine system? That is correct. And adipose tissue is responsible for the storage and secretion of a variety of hormones and cytokines.
When your body is at a normal weight and your fat tissue is functioning properly, these hormones are kept in a healthy balance. But too much body fat can lead to an excess of certain substances that contribute to inflammation (such as IL-6, an inflammatory cytokine). This effect can be particularly pronounced in visceral fat (the fat between your body organs), which can create up to three times more IL-6 than other fat cells.
Age.
Unfortunately, advanced age also appears to contribute to higher levels of inflammation. This is even the case in otherwise healthy elderly people, and may be the result of an accumulation of oxidative damage over time.
Irregular sleep.
People who don’t get enough sleep tend to have more chronic inflammation than those who get enough rest each night.
Diet.
What you eat also seems to have an impact on inflammation. Diets high in saturated and trans fats, in particular, have been associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers. And this seems to be especially true for people with other inflammatory diseases, such as obesity or diabetes.
Another important cause? Overconsumption in general. Some studies have shown that simply eating a reduced-calorie diet can help curb chronic inflammation.
Chronic stress.
Whether it’s keeping up with a demanding job, raising children, or dealing with difficult world events, it seems we’re all stressed these days. Intermittent episodes of acute stress are one thing… but when your stress levels are consistently high, it can contribute to chronically elevated inflammation markers. This seems to be true for both physical and mental stress.
Lifestyle factors that reduce inflammation
Now it’s time to tell the good news. Most of the risk factors for inflammation we discussed in the last section are within your control – which means that with a few lifestyle changes, you can take steps to help reduce systemic inflammation. Here are some of them:
Eat a healthy diet.
An anti-inflammatory diet consists of lots of plant foods, with less red meat and fewer processed foods like sodas and sugary cereals. Two nutrients that may be particularly important are antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Foods that fall into these categories include fruits and vegetables, salmon, whole grains, beans and lentils, and green tea.
Maintain a healthy weight and stop smoking.
We discussed these two risk factors in the last section. The good news is that these are two things you can change. Losing weight and quitting smoking may not be easy, but they are two of the most effective ways to reduce your chronic inflammation levels.
Exercise.
Another way to reduce inflammation is to get up and move! And here’s more good news: you don’t have to kill yourself at the gym or run for miles to reduce inflammation. Purshape shows that even a single 20-minute session of moderate cardio helps reduce inflammation levels.
Sleep regularly.
Getting enough sleep each night is a simple but effective way to give your body the rest and recovery it needs to keep inflammation levels in check. One way to do this is through good sleep hygiene: keep your bedroom dark and cool, maintain a regular sleep schedule, and avoid television and caffeine near bedtime.
Reduce stress.
Chronic stress can be one of the most insidious causes of inflammation because it is such a slippery concept. But it is a very real phenomenon in our lives, and we all have to deal with it to some degree. Ask yourself if there are stressful situations you can avoid or if you can adopt a calming practice such as yoga or meditation to help control your stress levels.
Now that you have a good overview of what inflammation is, what causes it, and what fights it, let’s change the subject and talk about CBD and how it affects your body in a positive way.
The Endocannabinoid System: The Key to Your Body’s Balance
To understand how CBD works, you need to become familiar with what is known as the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is the part of your body responsible for maintaining balance and homeostasis in a wide variety of important functions, such as your moods, hormones, sleep cycles, etc.
Returning to the topic of this article, the ECS also helps modulate stress and inflammation and is considered a new key player in inflammation. So it makes sense that to help manage stress and inflammation levels, it is important to keep the ECS healthy and functioning.
How do we get there?
Your ECS system contains specific receivers. Think of these receivers as keyholes. For your central nervous system to function properly, these receptors must be paired with a key that fits the lock – and the keys your central nervous system needs are called cannabinoids.
How CBD helps stimulate your body’s endocannabinoid system
We’ve just established that your ECS system needs cannabinoids to function properly, some of which are manufactured by your body. They are called endocannabinoids. Others are manufactured by plants and can be consumed: these are the phytocannabinoids. Certain phytocannabinoids have been shown to interact effectively with your endocannabinoid system and help support your body’s ability to stay in homeostasis.
One of the best known of these phytocannabinoids is CBD, or cannabidiol.
Taking CBD orally – throughconcentratedCBD oils, from tastyCBD gummies or convenient CBD capsules – can help supplement your body’s cannabinoid levels and ensure that your central nervous system has the resources it needs to keep your body healthy and in tune.
We already know that taking CBD can provide significant benefits, including:
Helps to manage stress and anxiety on a daily basis.
Taking CBD helps your body better handle the small stresses and anxiety that can build up over time, helping you feel more resilient and in control.
Promotes healthy sleep cycles.
Taking CBD on a regular basis helps regulate your sleep cycles and promotes deep, regular sleep. It’s amazing how a good night’s sleep can make you more energetic and optimistic, which can make a big difference in your daily life.
Promotes a sense of calm.
By supporting the functioning of your endocannabinoid system, CBD helps you maintain a sense of calm and focus, instead of the scattered and restless feelings that can overtake us when our endocannabinoid system is low in cannabinoids.
But what about CBD for inflammation in particular? Let’s take a look at the studies and see what the research has to say.
What do published studies say about CBD and inflammation?
We strive to make only claims that we can back up with definitive science. So rather than tell you that there are definite benefits to taking CBD for inflammation, we’ll instead share the results of some of the most recent and compelling studies done on the subject and let you make up your own mind.
Study 1: CBD promotes recovery from exercise-induced inflammation
Not surprisingly, intense exercise can damage muscle fibres. What you may not know is that these exercise-induced muscle injuries (EIMD) can trigger an inflammatory response. Some inflammation is beneficial to the healing process, but too much inflammation can prolong pain and delay recovery.
CBD has been shown to stimulate the body’s production of anti-inflammatory cytokines while inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species, which helps the body recover from exercise-induced inflammation.
Another investigation showed that relatively higher doses of CBD were able to reduce plasma levels of inflammatory markers, including IL-6 and TNFα, while also reducing tissue damage.
Study 2: Cannabidiol reduces the impact of inflammation on oxidative stress
This research review cites several studies demonstrating CBD’s ability to support the normalization of systemic inflammation. Based on the strength of the available evidence, the authors conclude that “cannabidiol, which can interact with the endocannabinoid system but has distinct actions, holds promise as a prototype for anti-inflammatory drug development. “
What can we conclude from the use of CBD for inflammation?
In conclusion, the preliminary scientific studies are promising, but more studies need to be conducted to see if CBD for inflammation could help. We cannot definitively establish the link between CBD and inflammation at this time. What we do know for sure is that CBD is good for sleep, calmness, stress and exercise-induced inflammation.
