CBD Oil Benefits: What Are the Pros of Using CBD?

Just think for a moment, how often do you hear something about CBD? There’s a high chance you’ve already seen CBD products somewhere in your surroundings. Thousands of people are swearing by CBD oil benefits to their health and wellbeing. 

Since it’s reportedly so amazing, why not spending a minute to know what is CBD oil good for?

There are loads of user-reported CBD benefits, though some of them may not be scientifically proven yet. However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) report^[1], there is enough scientific research confirming various CBD oil benefits and giving it the title of “medicinal product” in some countries.

A huge variety of CBD products is currently offered in the U.S. and it might get a bit difficult to navigate through all of them. For this reason, we’ve dedicated our time and effort to make things easier for you and prepared in-depth reviews about the top-tier brands in the market right now.

This article will cover the most notable and scientifically-proven CBD oil benefits as well as provide you with an overview of anecdotal and user-reported CBD benefits.

Without further talks, let’s lay out the facts.

CBD Oil Benefits. Science

As far as research on cannabis goes, there’s still a significant lack of it. Not so strange, considering the fact that cannabis was illegal up until a couple of years ago - in 2018 the U.S. Senate passed the Agricultural Improvement Act where industrial hemp was made legal throughout the country.

Before that, only some states have allowed medical marijuana to be used in treating certain ailments. However, hemp and its products - mainly CBD oil - had not been so widely used before. Thus scientific research on CBD oil benefits is still mainly animal-based and in its early stages. 

In order to understand what is CBD oil good for, we must understand how CBD interacts with our bodies. Since CBD is a phytocannabinoid, it mainly works with our endocannabinoid system which is responsible for many of our cognitive and physiological functions (mood, memory, immunity, appetite, etc).

There’s already some scientific evidence proving certain benefits of CBD oil, namely it being an anti-anxiolytic, anti-seizure, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and pain-relieving substance.

Anti-anxiolytic

Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is anti-anxiolytic, meaning, it helps to calm the nerves, reduce anxiety and treat other neuropsychiatric disorders, like epilepsy, panic disorder, schizophrenia or addiction.

This large-scale scientific research^[2], made in 2014-2015, provides positive results of CBD’s ability to reduce the number of seizures for patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy. 

As mentioned before, a lot of cannabis research is done on animals. A review of clinical data and relevant animal studies^[3], made in Germany, 2017, shows CBD’s potential to reduce symptoms of anxiety, psychosis, bipolar disorder, and Parkinson’s disease.

There is also a significant amount of studies made proving CBD to be effective in treating social anxiety disorder^[4] and reducing the stress caused by public speaking^[5].

To be clear, there’s no separate CBD oil specifically designed for anxiety. It all depends on its quality and potency. Therefore, we have prepared you our top picks for high-quality and potency CBD oil brands that can be used to reduce anxiety.

Latest CBDistillery Coupon Found:

Antioxidant

Perhaps the most well-known antioxidant is vitamin C. Antioxidants are molecules that fight against (neutralize) free radicals - the unstable molecules that damage your cells. Antioxidants are a major part of your body’s defense system.

Being a powerful antioxidant is also one of the CBD oil benefits. It also increases your body’s natural production of antioxidants by stimulating certain receptors^[6], thus strengthening neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory functions. 

In this respect, CBD is also used in treating certain skin diseases^[7], like dermatitis, acne, or keratin disorder. This is also one of the reasons why CBD is becoming more and more popular in the skincare industry.

Anti-inflammatory

In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory features are also a major part of CBD oil benefits. It has been shown that CBD can reduce inflammation for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis^[8], inflammatory bowel disease or the aftermath of chemotherapy treatment^[9].

In this groundbreaking study by Israeli scientists^[10], not only CBD’s anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving qualities are proven but also a major difference between CBD Isolate and Full-spectrum CBD oil  is revealed.

CBD Isolate is a pure CBD-only product. Full-spectrum CBD oil, on the other hand, has a full range of chemical components of the cannabis plant. By referring to ‘CBD oil’ it is most often referred to the Full-spectrum CBD oil.

This study gives evidence of the Full-spectrum CBD oil’s superiority over the purified CBD product - CBD Isolate - because cannabis chemical compounds work more effectively together.

Pain-relieving

Animal model studies give evidence that transdermal CBD is effective in treating pain caused by arthritis^[11]. Notable cannabinoids researcher - Ethan B. Russo, MD - also confirms that cannabinoids are effective analgesics^[12].

Similar to anxiety, pain is another major reason why people are turning to CBD products. Promises to alleviate pain and provide relaxation are two major benefits of CBD oil. To your convenience, we have also made a list of the most user-loved CBD oil brands for pain relief.

So far we have discussed the most credible CBD oil benefits, though mainly backed by animal model studies. There is still a lack of clinical, human model trials that would give us a clear vision of how CBD works in humans.

Nevertheless, numerous customer reports provide significant proof for these CBD benefits being true. Also, there are other anecdotal benefits of CBD oil that we would like to include in this article. Mainly because they are claimed by the majority of CBD oil users.

CBD Oil Benefits. User Reports

When talking about user-reported CBD oil benefits, we mean that there is not enough scientific research to back those claims, yet they are occurring repeatedly. 

What is CBD oil good for, according to those claims? A few things in particular: it reportedly improves sleep quality and helps those with insomnia; it also enhances sexual performance and drive; moreover, it has been claimed to fight cancer.

Research-based CBD oil benefits could support some of those claims. For example, "CBD improves sleep quality and treats insomnia". Since insomnia is deeply related to anxiety issues, and one of the CBD oil benefits is reducing anxiety, it might be possible that those claims are not coming out of thin air.

The same goes for improved sexual performance. Since anxiety is a real bummer for sex, reducing it could change the situation for the better. When a person is relaxed and at ease, the mind doesn’t bother him as much and therefore he/she can enjoy the pleasure more deeply.

As mentioned earlier, user-reported CBD oil benefits also include anti-tumorous qualities. 

It is true that there were recorded cases of people using CBD oil and achieving positive results in cancer treatment, however, according to this research in 2019^[13], even though CBD oil indeed demonstrates promising results, there isn’t enough clinical evidence yet to prove those claims.

CBD Oil Benefits. Pets

The CBD pet food market is exploding from all kinds of CBD-induced products for dogs and cats.

Well, those fluffs also suffer from similar things as humans do: depression, anxiety, cancer, pain, etc. For this reason, CBD brands are offering some solutions for our little friends, too. 

This safety assessment of CBD-rich products for pets^[14] made in 2019, gives us some reassuring results of CBD being safe for cats and dogs. 

Truly, there have been numerous positive customer reviews stating CBD oil benefits for their pets. Some of them rejoiced over their pets being calmer, less stressful, others were amazed how noticeable was their relief from pain.

It seems CBD oil benefits give promising results not only for humans but also for our furry friends, too.

Side Effects of CBD Oil

So far we have only been talking about CBD oil benefits and how magically wonderful it appears to be when it comes to treating certain ailments. But are there any side effects that you should be aware of before purchasing your first bottle?

Well, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), CBD is generally well-tolerated and has a good safety profile. There are no indicative signs of abuse or dependence potential. Most importantly, there is already evidence showing that it may be a useful treatment for a number of medical conditions.

Despite this relatively positive report, scientists and medical professionals have distinguished some of CBD’s side effects which might happen if you take too much of it. Those include drowsiness, irritability, diarrhea, signs of potential mild liver injury, low blood pressure. 

In addition, it’s not recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women to take CBD oil as it is yet unknown what results would that cause. Experts urge to “stay on the safe side and avoid use.”

The important thing to note is that many reported adverse effects are occurring because of CBD’s interaction with the patient’s existing medications, as WHO reports^[1]. Also, you can feel at ease because it is practically impossible to overdose on CBD. 

Where to Buy?

It is important to know that when it comes to an expanding CBD market, a lot of false production also comes into the game. This industry is not cheap and therefore becomes an inviting playground for those who desire easy money. 

We recommend doing your research about CBD products and companies that sell them. By no means we would recommend buying them from Amazon or eBay. Only certified, trustworthy and user-approved CBD brands are a wise option to choose.

Since time is precious, and the sheer amount of information on the internet is overwhelming, our sole job is to provide you with concise and informative reviews and articles about the best CBD oil producers and CBD itself.

We have also made separate “Top 7 CBD Brands” for those who seek relief from pain and anxiety, want to improve their sleep quality or help their pets achieve some of those CBD oil benefits.

You can also find our other CBD-related informative articles here.

Conclusions

Having discussed the scientific base and user reports about the CBD oil benefits, it should be more or less clear that CBD oil indeed possesses favorable qualities to our health.

Since the nationwide legalization and popular appreciation are relatively recent things, the research of hemp-derived CBD oil benefits is yet in its early stages. There is still a lack of clinical, human-model trials to have a comprehensive understanding of how CBD works in humans.

While there are promising results for many potential uses of CBD, as of now, we could only be sure of it being an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-seizure, and pain-relieving substance.

People mainly use CBD oil to treat inflammatory diseases, relieve pain, reduce symptoms of epilepsy and treat anxiety. Also, there are CBD-induced pet products that reportedly treat similar issues.

It is important to remember that CBD oil is not an official drug and therefore cannot be used as such. We would always recommend consulting with the doctor prior to using CBD oil for any kind of treatment.

Scientific References

1. World Health Organization: 'Cannabidiol (CBD) Pre-Review Report'

2. Devinsky O, Marsh E, Friedman D et al.: 'Cannabidiol in patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy: an open-label interventional trial.'

3. Kerstin Iffland and Franjo Grotenhermen: 'An Update on Safety and Side Effects of Cannabidiol: A Review of Clinical Data and Relevant Animal Studies'

4. Bergamaschi MM, Queiroz RH, Chagas MH et al.: 'Cannabidiol reduces the anxiety induced by simulated public speaking in treatment-naïve social phobia patients.'

5. Ila M. Linares, Antonio W. Zuardi, José A. Crippa et al.: 'Cannabidiol presents an inverted U-shaped dose-response curve in a simulated public speaking test'

6. O'Sullivan SE, Sun Y, Bennett AJ, Randall MD et al.: 'Time-dependent vascular actions of cannabidiol in the rat aorta.'

7. Laura Casares, Víctor García, Eduardo Muñoz et al.: 'Cannabidiol induces antioxidant pathways in keratinocytes by targeting BACH1'

8. Blake DR, Robson P, Ho M, et al.: 'Preliminary assessment of the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a cannabis-based medicine (Sativex) in the treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis.'

9. Pan H, Mukhopadhyay P, Rajesh M et al.: 'Cannabidiol attenuates cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity by decreasing oxidative/nitrosative stress, inflammation, and cell death.'

10. Ruth Gallily, Zhannah Yekhtin, Lumír Ondřej Hanuš: 'Overcoming the Bell‐Dose‐Response of by Using Cannabis Extract Enriched in Cannabidiol'

11. D.C. Hammell, L.P. Zhang, K.N. Westlund: 'Transdermal cannabidiol reduces inflammation and pain-related behaviours in a rat model of arthritis'

12. Ethan B Russo: 'Cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain'

13. Brigitta Kis, Feng Chen Ifrim, Corina Danciu et al.: 'Cannabidiol—from Plant to Human Body: A Promising Bioactive Molecule with Multi-Target Effects in Cancer'

14. Kelly A. Deabold, Wayne S. Schwark, Joseph J. Wakshlag et al.: 'Single-Dose Pharmacokinetics and Preliminary Safety Assessment with Use of CBD-Rich Hemp Nutraceutical in Healthy Dogs and Cats'