CBD: A substance that is allowed everywhere. Does it have real effects for athletes as well?
CBD here, CBD there. In the last six months, we will put our hand on the fire for hearing something about CBD. Czech and Slovak rappers started a business with CBD, abroad CBD drops a lot of influencers and names like Morgan Freeman, strongman Eddie Hall or wrestler Nate Diaz, and this is a modern thing that is of particular interest to nutritional supplement retailers. As the title reveals, we are the only EU member state where CBD is banned, although there have been reports that this will change from January 2020.
CBD = cannabidiols. Substances found in cannabis plants. If a parent reads this and already has in mind that we are writing about marijuana and drugs, it must be said that CBD is not a psychoactive substance and is not THC, which contains dozens of cannabionides. However, because we have different receptors in the body, our body can respond to CBD. In the Czech Republic, CBD is legally longer, in Austria you have specialized shops for it, you can also buy CBD at the pump, and you can even find soaps or ointments with CBD even in a drugstore.
According to a survey of almost 2,500 people three years ago, as many as 62% of respondents said they use CBD to treat a medical condition, specifically pain (chronic or joint), which came first, anxiety / depression, and sleep problems. Studies on CBD are mostly in rodents or in vitro (in the lab), and this is the first problem. Simply put, the data we have is not enough. But never mind, let's at least look at what we have. We will divide it into 3 categories. To those described by the respondents. We will mainly start from the excellent AARR review by Alan Aragon, where experts have dealt with many interesting studies.
PAIN & CBD
Talking about CBD helping someone with pain is enough. That's not enough for relevance, is it? When it comes to analgesics that treat pain, placebo works in a surreal way, as this research suggests. As the main animal studies mentioned so far predominate, let's start with them. In chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain, the benefits have been shown more than once. In rats. And we know that the differences between humans and rats are, so even though CBD is a known anti-inflammatory agent, it's hard to say a clear position.
In humans, we have research where transdermal application of CBD has helped individuals with temporary temporomandibular disorders (a group of jaw-related health problems. These disorders can cause joint sensitivity, facial pain, and difficulty moving). And the results were not small. We are talking about reducing pain on a scale from 70.2% to 9.81% compared to the placebo group.
Oral CBD has a bioavailability of only 6% due to cleavage, so transdermal administration can be truly effective. But before you go to the Czech Republic or Vienna to buy CBD ointments, you should be aware that many creams containing CBD, of which there are many on the market, also contain various other substances (menthol, etc.), so the effect can be via placebo.
ANXIETY, DEPRESSION & CBD
First of all, anxiety needs to be defined. It can be the well-known classic that we know before the interview, before the tests and the like. However, there is more of a disorder where anxiety is chronic - generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic disorder.
We have more human research in this category. Two studies have shown benefits in both healthy people and those with social anxiety (SAD). In addition, CBD helped healthy individuals who had anxiety in public speaking. However, studies show that more does not equal better. The 600 mg dose did not have a better effect than the half dose. Chronic Anxiety and CBD? This is more complicated. The reason is simple - little research. Although there are some indicative benefits, as stated in the AARR, both have significant gaps. And depression? Also - little research. Once again, some data in rats showing the benefits, but nothing that we could call relevant and worth mentioning.
SLEEP & CBD
We have a few articles about sleep, even a favorite part of the Fitclan podcast. But nowhere did we mention CBD as one of the ways that could help us improve the quality of sleep or sleep itself. Does CBD have potential? Um, anni. In this research, we had people with insomnia, and the results showed that people had better sleep. However, these were results reported by subjects, no more specific measurements. In another study, the benefits were shown with 600 mg CBD, not the direct effects associated with sleep, but a sedative effect. In a further study of 26 healthy people, it was concluded that 300 mg with sleep did not help and was measured by polysomnography. There is not much research (yes, again, we know…), but so far it seems that CBD can improve sleep only in people who suffer from insomnia, but healthy individuals will probably not see the benefit (not counting placebo).
DOSAGE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS?
Let's start with those negative effects. At the beginning, we mentioned the survey, but only now will we mention that the respondents were also asked about the negatives. They (30.8% of them) mentioned at least one, the most common being dry mouth, euphoria, hunger, red eyes and lethargy. In terms of dosage, most studies work with 300 mg. When you use google and search for some CBD products, CBD oil in a total amount of 300 mg will cost you 25-35 euros. You don't have to be good at math to know that by researching effective dosing, you would spend a lot of money on something that will last you a short time and about which we know little. Very, very little. Not to mention the fact that regulations are as they are and not always what is stated on the packaging is true. One study found that 30 out of 84 CBD products had a lower CBD content than declared and only 31% of the products had the same amount of CBD as on the packaging. In addition, 18 of the 84 products also contained THC, which can be a disaster for the athlete tested.
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