Another plant for inflammation...

In the world of wellness, it often comes down to reducing inflammation for improved health. Whether it is arthritis related inflammatory pain, or another inflammatory disease, such as colitis- focusing on ways to naturally reduce inflammation is a great place to start.

As a nutrition and wellness coach, with a Registered Dietitian training and certification- I can be quite the skeptic.  Yet, I do enjoy digging into trends and inquiries to see if there is some support for new claims.

CBD may not be a NEW claim, but it has definitely gained significant traction in “mainstream” wellness.  When my older dog started having significant arthritic pain, I gave her ¼ of a CBD puppy chew- and WOW….she has a new “leash” on life!  With that observation, I decided to dig into CBD for human inflammation.

Chronic pain is often due to inflammation and can be quite difficult to manage. Too often, patients end up with side effects from the pain medications required to get their pain under control.  What if a CBD tincture or chew can reduce the number of meds needed for comfort without a “high” or extensive side effects?  There is significant research supporting CBD as complementary therapy when approved by your doctor.

Having now done my homework, I am comfortable mentioning that CBD, one of the active ingredients in hemp plants, is a phyto (PLANT) chemical that is NOT psychoactive and may alleviate symptoms of arthritis.  (You can also derive CBD from marijuana, but that is not legal in all states.)

If you have looked into CBD, it is like the “wild-wild west”, as it is not regulated by the FDA at this time.  So…it is still buyer beware….here are some things to consider:

• Where is the hemp plant sourced 

• the USA has high standards on contaminant free farming soil

• What is the extraction method?

• Ethanol? Environmentally friendly to retrieve pure CBD, broadest suite of compounds for entourage effect (more of the original plant derivatives are still there for natural effect)

• CO2? Not as environmentally friendly, higher cost to produce

• Broadspectrum versus Full spectrum

• Full Spectrum contains all the CBD and the naturally occurring beneficial compounds.

• Entourage effect

• It may contain LESS than .3% THC and still be sold legally in most states

• Broad spectrum contains all the CBD and ZERO THC

• Look for the COA- certificate of analysis

• from ISO 17025 third party testing for each product batch

If you are interested in products that meet all the standards above, AND a 25% discount…

Go to Kyoto Botanicals and use discount code WELL25