It is a little frightening to step out of your comfort zone and try new things sometimes. Depending on who you are and what your background is, you may have some misconceptions about CBD products to begin with and this will only add to your anxiety in trying them. Questions are normal and you should ask a lot of questions about anything that you put in your body. No one should ever settle for someone else’s advice about what will work for them and what is safe. Do homework, ask questions, and find out what to expect when you try something new.

What Is in It?

CBD stands for cannabidiol and this is a phytocompound – meaning that it is a compound found in plants. There is nothing else added to CBD but depending on the way it is extracted, there could be traces of chemicals in it. If you look for a product that states it was CO2 extracted, then it has no other chemicals in it as it was extracted using a process of only carbon dioxide, which is perfectly safe and a by-product of your own breathing. The human body turns oxygen into carbon dioxide (CO2) during respiration.

CBD is a naturally occurring compound that is one of 66 other phytocompounds that are in the hemp plant. Hemp is not marijuana. This is a common misconception. Hemp and the sativa plants are both forms of cannabis, but CBD is extracted from hemp, which has a lower concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) which is the psychoactive ingredient that is prevalent in marijuana. During extraction, THC is separated out and there are only trace amounts under .03% found in the final product. Third-party testing is done on all CBD, as well as testing by the manufacturers to ensure this result. All third-party testing results are accessible to you and most companies offer links on their websites and you are free to ask for it. If they do not disclose this to you, buy elsewhere.

You cannot get high from CBD products because the THC has been removed from them and the levels are too low to even trigger a positive drug test. Because the trace amounts are too low, you would have to consume exceptionally large quantities of CBD to cause a positive on a drug test. Therefore, you will likely not ever test positive for THC if you are concerned about your job and drug testing.

You have choices between using CBD isolate, full-spectrum CBD, pure, and hemp oil. Knowing the difference will help you decide which one to choose. Isolate is basically the same as pure. This is the most concentrated and pure CBD that you can acquire. You’ll pay a higher price for this one but sometimes it is well-worth the price if you are taking it for a chronic condition and/or pain. Full-spectrum CBD oil means that the entire plant was used, as concentrations and potency of CBD from various parts of the plant can differ. Full-spectrum ensures that you get the best blend possible. Hemp oil is also known as hemp seed oil and as the name implies, it is extracted only from the seeds of the plant. The concentration of CBD in the seeds is lower than other parts of the plant so this is the mildest version of getting CBD and the potency is far less than the other version. This version of getting CBD in your system is great as a supplement but will not be as effective for pain and some of the issues that cause pain.

Will It Work for Me?

CBD works in the neural pathways to block signals from reaching the brain. When repetitious thought patterns attempt to reach the brain, CBD blocks them. This stops anxiety in its tracks. It also helps with mood disorders and other mental health issues such as bipolar disorder and depression. Those who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) get the same benefit because the thoughts that cause the flash-back and trauma to surface are blocked also.

For pain, CBD steps in and says that enough is enough and chronic pain is blocked. Virtually any signal that bombards the brain until there is pain, extreme emotion, and physical reaction can be blocked and lessened, sometimes completely stopped, with CBD oil products.

Those who are attempting to stop smoking have found that CBD helps to curb the cravings and helps them to give-up the nicotine addiction. Along the same line, addictions of all sorts are showing that they respond well to CBD. People who are addicted to opioids can help stop the horrible withdrawals that cause so much distress. CBD works great on pain, nausea and all the other issues that withdrawals are made-up, as well as curbing the desire for the drugs to begin with.

What is important for you to understand is that CBD is not a cure. CBD is a tool that will help you, hold your hand, and assist your body to feel better so that you can function despite your condition. If you have fibromyalgia, for example, CBD will not cure you by any means. CBD will help you not live in constant pain and allow you to start living life again. Fibromyalgia sufferers know that their disease causes the nervous system to overreact. CBD can step in and block most of the signals so that the brain isn’t receiving constant messages about pain and stop reacting.

This one ability isn’t the only thing that CBD does. CBD is also full of essential omega fatty acids because they are made of these lipids in the body. These essential nutrients carry antioxidants throughout the body and these antioxidants help to fight off free-radicals that we know are cancer causing agents. There’s a lot of hope that CBD will lead to new treatment methods and even cures for cancer someday. Tests in lab rats show that CBD in high doses can slow the growth of tumors. This is encouraging and anyone can use CBD on a regular basis to help ward of the start of cancer to begin with.

How Will I Feel?

Like many, you are worried that you’ll be unable to function normally because CBD is the same as marijuana and people use it to get high. This is a huge misconception. CBD cannot make you high because there is no THC in it.

The human body has a system called the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) that has two receptors, CB1 and CB2. This system produces some cannabinoids of its own, but not CBD or THC. That said, when THC and CBD are introduced to the body, they will interact with these receptors.

CB1 receptors are primarily located in the brain and THC interacts mostly with this receptor. Therefore, THC is a psychoactive compound and inhibits the ability to function and causes the sensation of being high.

Conversely, CBD primarily interacts with CB2 receptors which are located all around the body and in the gut. CBD doesn’t have an impact on the brain or your ability to react physically or mentally to the things around you. You will not feel high, you won’t be in a fog.

It may come as a shock to you that CBD will enhance your ability to focus. For this reason, it has helped many people with ADHD and ADD. Those with autism seem to respond well to CBD also. If you have any issues with focus, CBD helps rather than hinders.

You might think you are high, because your moods will be significantly elevated. This isn’t a high, this is your neural synapsis getting no negative signals from the outside world that you typically get. You’ll have more patience too. CBD interacts with the same receptors that impact serotonin production in the body. When serotonin is too low or high it can cause increases or dips in dopamine. Both play an important role in moods. Those who suffer depression, bipolar, or other mood effective disorders will find that CBD can help to restore balance between serotonin and dopamine, giving them the ability to be happier, naturally.

Many people think that CBD is an enhancement for them, regardless of health. The mood benefits are outstanding. If you are a parent who is living the harried lifestyle of rushing to events, school, work, meetings, paying bills, getting kids shuttled to the dentist, doctor, and events, then you are stressed-out half the time. Maybe you are stressed all the time and maybe it is such a constant state for you that you’ve come to accept it as normal. When you take CBD, you might feel a little zoned out. You will find that the outside distractions just aren’t getting into your head. You are focused, calm, and able to tackle anything with a smile. You will ask yourself if you are high. You aren’t high in the strictest of terms, but you might be high on life for the first time in an exceptionally long while!

Will I Become Addicted to It?

You cannot become addicted to CBD as it is nonaddictive. Addiction means that you have withdrawals and find it difficult to stop something because you’ve become chemically dependent upon it. Addiction causes the shakes, vomiting, chills, stomach pain, physical aches and more. You will experience none of that with CBD. You probably will miss the way it makes you feel because it makes you feel better. That’s not addiction and it is important to understand the difference. You can use CBD products to break an addiction to cigarettes, alcohol, pain pills, etc. When that is effectively behind you, you can choose to stop using CBD, but you might decide that you liked how you functioned when using it. You might go back to it for that reason but that isn’t addiction. That’s just enjoying that something helps you function at a higher level.

Addictions are cravings that you cannot resist and if you’ve ever been addicted to a prescription drug, you know that you are incapable of stopping without extreme difficulty. Four days on pain pills can cause you to have horrific detox symptoms. Don’t confuse a simple desire to feel better with addiction.

Will There Be Side-Effects?

The safety of CBD oil is well-documented, and hemp has been used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes. The Chinese had discovered the benefits of hemp for medicine long before modern science did. There are no detrimental effects of CBD that will linger. It is even safe for children and pets and there are products made specifically for them. There are a couple of caveats to this.

• If you are under a doctor’s care for blood clots and currently taking a blood thinner, you should not take CBD products without consulting your doctor. Interactions which may affect your body’s ability to clot blood at all can result. This is a serious, life-threatening issue and this warning should be heeded. This is the only interaction that makes CBD potentially dangerous for use.
• Starting slowly, with a low dose is recommended because there are some minor, yet uncomfortable, side-effects that can result from too much, too fast. Diarrhea, stomach pains, and headaches are the result of taking too much CBD oil to start with. Half a dropper is about 10mg in most cases. That’s a good start and you may wish to start with one dose per day and increase from there. Remember that if you have one of the above side-effects, it will not linger. Stop your doses for a day and the following day start them again with lower doses and taper up more gradually. Your body simply needs to adjust, and the oil can cause diarrhea because all oils can when taken in large dose.

The beautiful part of using CBD oils are the ability to choose between CBD Isolate and Full Spectrum CBD Oil and that your dose is up to you. You can’t overdose. You get to decide how much is enough and if you take it slow, you can increase your dose until it is effective. Start with a low dose and keep track of how you feel each day. Start a wellness journal and write down how you feel physically and mentally each day. If you keep a good record of how much CBD you took on each day, you can clearly determine when and if you should increase your dosage. Remember that as your body adjusts, you may need to increase doses a bit and there is nothing wrong with that.

Depending on what sort of condition you are taking CBD for, you may need more and even require a higher milligram strength. If you purchase a 1000mg bottle and there are 30 doses in this bottle, then you are taking 20 mg in each dropper full. If it seems like you used the bottle faster than you’d like, increase the mg and buy a 1500mg bottle the next time. You can purchase many different strengths and, as always, you should start low so that you can make appropriate adjustments.

Will CBD Cure Me?

The industry of CBD products has boomed in recent years because it was a short time ago, in 2017, when CBD became legal in all fifty states across America. There are still some local jurisdictions that are holding out but the ability to use CBD is pretty much wide open for everyone now. Science is behind this. The proof that CBD cannot harm and doesn’t cause a psychoactive response in the body makes it no worse than aspirin. In fact, CBD might be safe in the long run than aspirin is. It won’t cause holes in your stomach to form like aspirin can. It won’t shut down your kidneys.

CBD has been shown to do so much that people are flocking to in large numbers and just as the market rises to meet demand, there are also a lot of businesses that pop-up and try to mislead people in order to sell more products. CBD is referred to a ‘the miracle cure’ and ‘the Cinderella drug’ and ‘a modern miracle’ by many of these unscrupulous vendors.

The impact on the industry will eventually be more regulation which is not ideal. People should take some time to learn more about CBD and the products. Ask questions, get third-party testing results. Ensure that your CBD is sourced right here int eh United States where it has met some guidelines for being contaminant free. Learn how CBD helps and all the things that it can do. Understand that CBD is not a cure for anything at all. It is not a miracle. It is a natural, plant-based substance that helps your body to fight a better fight against the things that ail you. CBD can enhance your health and it can make you feel utterly amazing, but it will not cure you of your condition.

If you stop having seizures because you started taking CBD, you still are epileptic. Your condition is under control, but it is still there. If your blood sugar is more normal than it was before, you are still a diabetic, but you are more under control. You might be up and moving around with little to no pain, but your fibromyalgia is still there, lurking under the surface.