Today, scientific research and multiple clinical trials are underway exploring the potential for using Cannabinoid compounds, such as CBD, as part of a therapeutic strategy for lessening the impact of chronic inflammation. Why is this important? Chronic inflammation is thought to play a role in a variety of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, lupus and heart disease. So far, the testing of CBD is generating positive results along with some optimism that Cannabidiol compounds can help alleviate the pain and deterioration of these, and other diseases.
Certain kinds of inflammation can be a good thing. Acute inflammation, the kind you experience when you stub your toe, is the body’s protective response against injury or tissue damage. In its acute form, inflammation is helping the body repair itself. It lasts for only a short time, maybe hours or days, and is accompanied by redness, swelling and heat. Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is more long-lasting, and is not part of the healing process. Instead, it appears to trigger autoimmune disorders. In these disorders, the body attacks itself by launching an anti-inflammatory response when there is no visible inflammation to fight off.
The autoimmune disorders caused by inflammation are a serious health threat. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that as many as 23.5 million Americans suffer from autoimmune disease. These numbers, however, include only 24 diseases for which good epidemiology studies were available. To date, as many as 80 to 100 different autoimmune related illnesses have identified by researchers, leading the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association (AARDA) to place the estimate of sufferers at 50 million Americans. The good news is that the NIH and other research institutions are beginning to recognize the potential of CBD for reducing the inflammation underlying these disorders, based on preliminary trials and experiments.
Raphael Mechoulam of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has been studying Cannabinoids for almost 50 years. One of Mechoulam’s colleagues, Marc Feldman of Imperial College in London, tested CBD on mice that had a version of rheumatoid arthritis—a serious and common autoimmune disorder. Feldman found that the proper dosage of CBD reduced the inflammation in the mice by 50 percent. In conjunction with Feldman’s research, cardiologists working with the mice at Hebrew University discovered that a dosage of CBD immediately following a heart attack can reduce the amount of tissue damage by about 66 percent.
While there is much work to be done, medical professionals are expressing a fairly high certainty that CBD is demonstrating its effective for mitigating a range of inflammation-related problems, including arthritis. One explanation is that inflammation can be brought under control by antioxidant agents. Simply eating foods with are rich in antioxidants does a lot to reduce inflammation. CBD has strong antioxidant properties. That is one reason many people include CBD Oil from hemp as part of their daily routine for taking vitamins and supplements.
Within this context, the National Institute of Health (NIH) is studying the “non-psychotropic cannabinoid", better known as Cannabidiol” (CBD), for its promise as a prototype for anti-inflammatory drug development. Research papers published to date suggest that Cannabidiol may play a role in treating a number of diseases and disorders known to involve the activation of the immune system.
Overall, CBD has not been studied as thoroughly as its cousin THC. With interest in CBD and CBD-related research increasing, we are looking forward to science finding many new healthful applications for CBD. Even though our focus is on the future, the healing properties of compounds extracted from the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa) were recognized as early as the third millennium BC, when Chinese texts described its usefulness in the relief of pain.
We are happy to see the ongoing medical research into the potential of CBD, especially for issues as serious as chronic inflammation, the underlying source of so many autoimmune disorders. If you or someone you know is one of the 50 million individuals with an autoimmune disorder you might want to try CBD. You’ll find a good range of hemp-extracted CBD in oil, tincture and other formats at discovercbd.com. These can get you started on a regime and healthful trajectory to perhaps give your body a stronger defense against inflammation.
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