Real Talk — Should CBD be Part of Your Plan for Improved Well-Being in 2021?

Think way back to the beginning of 2021. If you're the New Year's resolutions type, it's a safe bet that something related to health, fitness, and the bigger idea of well-being made it in your top three. We've had a relatively cautious beginning to 2021 after the craziness of 2020, and a thoughtful, conscious approach to caring for your well-being has probably never been more important. So real talk — should CBD be part of your plan for improved well-being this year? Well, maybe. 

CBD for Your Health And Well-being

Hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, is the non-intoxicating cannabinoid best known for its health-related benefits. With extensive clinical studies and evidence-based research still largely unavailable in the United States, much of what we know is still preliminary. Still, the information we do have is promising. From pain management to stress and anxiety relief, people are finding serious relief from CBD. And from a well-being perspective, it can play a pivotal role.

One of the most important aspects of well-being is in its scope. The concept of well-being tends to be broad, encompassing everything from nutrition considerations and exercise to nurturing mental resilience and managing stress. To be truly well, it’s not enough to just not be sniffly. True well-being is an ever-evolving process in which lifestyle choices are made in consideration of long-term health and longevity to nurture our well-being. See how that works?

Right now in 2021, steps toward well-being might mean cutting back on the alcohol, minimizing the effects of stress, or committing to consistent exercise. Well, good news. CBD has been linked to them all.

CBD Instead of Alcohol

Alcohol influences the pleasure-reward circuit in our brains, triggering feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. But the drawbacks of alcohol are many — it’s a neurotoxin, which negatively impacts brain cells and organs. It can be addictive, and a startling number of people die in alcohol-related incidences annually.

CBD affects the same pleasure-reward circuit, without the neurotoxin downside. Many people are motivated to use CBD to relax and unwind, just like alcohol, but it’s generally believed to be a much safer option. What’s more, small studies have shown CBD may actually help people who are struggling with substance abuse.

CBD for Stress Release

There’s a lot we don’t understand about CBD and its effect on stress relief, but that isn’t stopping zillions of brands from heralding it as a cure-all. Quick aside — this is something we will never, ever claim. We do know that the endocannabinoid system influences mood, anxiety, and the body’s stress response, and that the effects of stress itself on the human body and mind are no joke, often leading to serious issues like heart disease and depression. Minimizing stress is imperative, and CBD has been linked to a reduction in tension, lowered cortisol, and boosted serotonin receptors in the brain. From an anecdotal standpoint, cannabis users as a whole report stress relief as the second most common reason for use.

CBD for Fitness

Whether your go-to form of fitness involves chewing up the miles, setting a squat PR, or nailing that pose, sometimes the hardest part is just mustering up the energy to get started. There are a number of reasons we may feel drained — think poor diet, poor sleep, and a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. The body’s endocannabinoid system produces its own cannabinoids to maintain balance, and CBD interacts with that system for energy and improved immunity.

Recovery is another area in which CBD can work wonders. Training hard often means sore muscles, inflammation, and joint pain. A 2018 review of 132 original studies found that CBD can reduce inflammation and help improve joint and mobility in patients with multiple sclerosis, and plenty of anecdotal evidence supports the idea that these anti-inflammatory properties can help manage pain after a, particularly grueling workout. What’s more, CBD may help people sleep better. And since muscle recovery happens while we’re sleeping, this may be its biggest benefit as a recovery aid.

The Takeaway

“Wellness” may have become a triggering marketing buzzword, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that we all have the opportunity to influence our own well-being. As for whether CBD can play a role, that depends on you and your life. No one should ever tell you you need to take this or do that. When it comes to CBD, its therapeutic benefits are still being confirmed, but the clinical studies we do have combined with the staggering mountain of anecdotal evidence — what we see and feel first-hand, and what we hear again and again from our customers — are all promising. Experimenting with a reputable, tested CBD product from a brand you can trust may very well align with your goals for improved well-being in 2021 and beyond.

And we can promise you this. While the federal government gets its act together, we’ll be doing what we’ve done from the start —  sourcing the best organic hemp from farms we trust, using the cleanest, most eco-friendly extraction methods we can, and testing every step of the way to ensure the final product is safe and effective for you, for us, and for those we love most (here’s to you, grandma!).