[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t is highly likely that people who are over 40 have heard about cannabis or marijuana.
It more than likely first came onto their radars when they were teenagers.
This is when some of the more wayward (some might say experimental) teenagers were smoking it.
And it was for the ‘benefit’ of getting high.
It is also likely that they have heard of police raids where people were growing cannabis plants at home.
Stories of rows and rows of plants in spare rooms or attics with special lighting.
This is obviously for the purpose of selling it to others wanting to get high and, primarily, to make dishonest money.
This is the negative image that many people have of cannabis and can, therefore, lead to confusion regarding the benefits of the plant.
To explain this it is best to understand a little more about the plant.
Cannabis
Cannabis contains two different ingredients called cannabinoids.
One is THC which produces the high feeling.
The other is CBD which stands for cananabidiol.
CBD does not make the user high. It does, however, have healing effects.
To add to the confusion, there are two types of cannabis – hemp and marijuana.
Marijuana contains up to 40% THC and therefore gives people a high.
This is known as a psychoactive drug.
Hemp contains just 0.3% of THC.
Hemp is used for industrial purposes.
The THC content is the reason hemp is largely legal, but marijuana is illegal.
Having said that, marijuana is now legal in 8 states in the USA.
It is allowed for medicinal purposes in 24 states and is illegal in just 12 states.
In 6 states only CBD is legal and marijuana is still illegal.
Because of the negative image that people over 40 may have regarding cannabis they may not realise the huge health benefits that hemp and, in particular, CBD possess.
They also may not realise that they can benefit from cannabis without having to smoke it.
This may act as a barrier that needs to be overcome but once it is, the benefits are remarkable.
Health benefits of CBD oil
CBD oil is extracted from the whole plant using alcohol or carbon dioxide.
This oil is then used in either beauty products such as creams or lotions.
It is also used medicinally which will be discussed further.
Finally it can also be taken as a nutritional supplement.
This is because it contains healthy fats called omega 3s.
It also contains the anti-oxidant vitamins A, C and E as well as vitamin D.
CBD oil is also a source of B group vitamins which are important for the body to produce energy.
The minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and zinc are also in CBD oil.
It is worth mentioning that the best CBD oil is the full spectrum oil.
Many of the benefits of full spectrum CBD oil is due to the way that all the components of CBD oil interact with each other which is why isolated CBD oil is not such a good option.
Prescription drugs versus CBD oil
It is obviously important to make sure that you live as healthy a life as possible, especially once you are over the age of 40.
A healthy, varied diet, plenty of exercise, giving up smoking and only drinking alcohol moderately is the accepted advice nowadays.
However, many people turn to their doctor when their health suffers.
They rely on medication and prescribed drugs to help them manage the symptoms of their illness and poor health.
However, these drugs can often have side effects.
The doctor then prescribes more drugs to curb those side effects.
These drugs can also be addictive and an overdose can have severe consequences – even death.
You only have to read the leaflet that comes with drugs prescribed by doctors.
The list of side effects (or contraindications) is often very long. Some drugs even interact with healthy foods.
For instance, statin drugs prescribed for cholesterol interact with grapefruit when ironically grapefruit can actually play a part in reducing cholesterol levels.
This is where CBD comes in.
CBD does not interact negatively with drugs or foods.
It is not addictive and it is very hard to overdose on it.
In fact, four pounds of CBD per 140 pounds of human body weight is only just toxic.
This is an incredibly large amount of CBD to take yet is still not fatal.
Indeed, it is more likely that the person taking such a large amount would benefit from it.
This is because toxicity is dealt with in the body by the liver, yet the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant ability of CBD supports the liver.
CBD is credited with enhancing the healing power of prescribed medicines.
This means that eventually the use of prescribed medication can be tapered off leaving CBD to work its magic.
The health benefits of CBD oil for the over 40s
CBD is not advisable for children due to the brain still developing.
However, once the brain is mature this is not a problem.
The risk of many diseases increases as you age.
These are listed below with details of the health benefits of CBD oil.
Anxiety and depression
The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is connected with the emotions and mood.
Experiments on mice has been shown to play a part in the production of neurons in this area of the brain.
This is the reason that CBD oil can help reduce anxiety and depression.
CBD oil does not interact with anti-depressant medication.
CBD oil can also help to reduce panic and anxiety attacks.
These effects are because the oil not only makes the person feel better but also changes the way the brain reacts to feelings of depression.
The oil has even been reported as helping to reduce the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The research is, however, only based on short term use.
There is not much research on the long term use of CBD oil on this specific condition.
Arthritis
Arthritis is very common in those over 40 and is the number one reason people over 65 visit the doctor.
It is reported that over half of aging adults suffer from arthritis in one form or another.
Arthritis is extremely painful and CBD has been used for pain relief for a long time.
The omega 3 content of the oil helps to keep joints flexible.
There are also amino acids in CBD.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
The cartilage within joints is made up of protein and in arthritis it begins to break down.
Therefore, a good source of amino acids can delay this from happening.
Arthritis also causes inflammation of the joints.
CBD is great for reducing the pain of inflammation.
Bone health
CBD not only eases pain but can speed up the natural healing process.
This is particularly important in the over 40s in healing fractures and broken bones.
As we age, especially women, we become more susceptible to broken bones and fractures so it is important that we have strong bones, and that they heal quickly if they do get broken.
CBD is able to strengthen and heal bones as it helps the growth of new bone.
It contains vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, all of which are necessary to support healthy bone production and maintain bone strength.
CBD oil is reported to be one of the best food sources of vitamin D – although it is also a good idea to get plenty of sunshine (safely) as this is another great way of getting what is called the ‘sunshine vitamin’.
Vitamin D is essential to regulate calcium, magnesium and phosphorus in bones.
Brain health
For the nerves in the brain to be activated chemicals called neurotransmitters are produced. One of these is called glutamate.
As the brain ages it can produce too much glutamate.
This causes a build- up which can poison the brain and cause damage to the cells.
It can lead to strokes and not being able to hear.
CBD oil can reduce the amount of glutamate and this helps to protect the brain as it gets older.
Excess glutamate can also cause a stroke.
This ability to reduce the amount of glutamate means that CBD plays a part in protecting the brain against the effects of a stroke.
CBD oil is great at healing wounds quickly and amazingly it is credited with helping the brain to heal after a physical injury.
This speeds up recovery.
Omega 3
60% of brain tissue is fat and a very large percentage of that is Omega 3.
CBD oil contains Omega 3 oil which is therefore beneficial to the brain.
The omega 3 content of CBD oil is extremely helpful for the brain to work properly.
It is necessary for all the cell cases (called membranes) to be as flexible as possible in order to work properly.
Omega 3 maintains this flexibility.
As we age our brain gets more inflamed which leads to a reduction in the amount of nerves.
CBD oil has been reported to reduce this inflammation even if only a small amount is taken.
Some of the ingredients in CBD oil are called cannabinoids and these are anti-oxidants.
The vitamins A, C and e present in CBD are also anti-oxidants.
Anti-oxidants reduce the effect of waste products produced by the cells called free radicals.
Free radicals cause inflammation.
CBD is anti-inflammatory so helps to protect brain function.
As you can see CBD oil is your friend with regard to protecting the brain and is great to be taken regularly in order for your brain to work as best as it can and to protect it in case of injury (both physical and as a result of a stroke).
How all this happens is still the subject of a lot of research by scientists, but so far there are too many benefits to ignore the positive effect of CBD oil.
Breathing
Those over 40, and especially over 65, are more susceptible to colds, flu and pneumonia.
Their immunity is reduced due to the aging process so they have less ability to fight these viruses off in the first place.
They also take longer to get better. CBD helps to get rid of these viruses.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is caused by inflammation which causes the tubes in the lungs to tighten.
This makes it harder to breathe.
CBD can help to reduce the inflammation which relieves this disease to some extent.
Cancer
CBD has been researched a lot with regard to the treatment of cancer.
It is thought that it causes cancer cell death.
However, it is still being researched as it appears that low amounts of CBD can actually cause tumours to grow.
However, CBD can play a part in reducing the pain of cancer.
It can also help to reduce the side effects of cancer treatments which cause nausea and vomiting.
The jury is still out on whether CBD can be used safely to treat cancer itself.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
As already discussed CBD is great for the brain.
But it also plays a part in helping to protect the brain from deterioration.
Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a plaque (called beta-amyloid) that builds up in the brain.
This causes inflammation and permanent loss of brain tissue.
CBD has been found to both reduce inflammation and the production of beta-amyloid.
A symptom of Alzheimer’s disease is that the person can be restless and fidget quite a lot.
CBD oil has been shown to reduce this behaviour.
Diabetes
25% of people over 65 have diabetes.
CBD oil does not affect blood sugar or insulin however it can protect diabetes sufferers from the extreme long term effects.
Long term diabetes can lead to blindness and, in extreme cases, loss of limbs.
As mentioned in the section about brain health CBD oil helps to encourage the growth of nerves and protect them against cell death.
This applies to nerves in the eyes (known as optic nerves) protecting the eye sight and lower limb nerves.
Diabetes is often the result of obesity and CBD has been shown to reduce obesity.
This is thought to be due to the action of certain cannabinoids in CBD.
Again more research is needed to find out how it works as CBD has been found to increase appetite (which would normally increase obesity).
Digestive health
Having a healthy gut is vitally important for overall health. Recent research shows that many diseases can be prevented by maintaining a healthy gut.
The gut has even been referred to as the ‘second brain’.
CBD helps the gut to work properly, allowing food to move through it at the correct speed.
It also plays a part in letting the person know if they are hungry or not. CBD oil can help to heal the lining of the gut.
This makes sure that food particles and bacteria cannot leak out of it into the bloodstream.
This is called leaky gut and can cause pain and inflammation.
As mentioned with regard to cancer, CBD can relieve nausea and vomiting.
It can also help relieve diarrhoea, constipation, stomach pain and wind.
CBD oil has been used to treat irritable bowel syndrome which causes many of the symptoms above.
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a disease where the sufferer has fits or seizures.
These can be as mild as simply going into a bit of a dream for a while or falling to the ground, shaking violently and losing consciousness.
CBD oil has been shown to reduce these fits and is particularly effective in extreme cases.
These cases have recently been in the news in the UK regarding children that suffer dozens of fits a day.
CBD has reduced them significantly allowed the sufferers to lead a more normal life.
It also means that they will live a better life and live longer.
All because of CBD!
However, research does suggest that CBD can actually affect the development of the brain so it is not advisable to give CBD oil to children without consulting a doctor first.
However, for adults over 40 it has been found to be safe.
Eye health
CBD oil helps to protect the optic nerve in the eye which helps to preserve the eye sight.
However, it can also play a part in protecting against glaucoma.
Glaucoma affects the eye sight as a change in the pressure in the eye causes damage to the optic nerve.
CBD oil has been found to help reduce this pressure and subsequently reduce damage to the optic nerve.
In addition, advanced glaucoma is painful due to the change in the eye pressure.
CBD oil is great for pain relief so has more than one benefit with regard to eye health.
Heart and blood health
As discussed in the section on Alzheimer’s disease, CBD oil helps to reduce plaque build-up and inflammation in the brain.
It acts in a similar way on plaques in blood vessels.
These plaques can cause high blood pressure and can also break off.
If a fragment gets to the heart it can cause a blockage which will lead to a heart attack.
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis affects the protective coating on the nerves which means that messages from the brain to the nerves are not sent as fast.
This can lead to severe disability and lack of movement.
People that are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis have mild symptoms to begin with.
These symptoms develop into much more serious issues.
Unfortunately once the protective coating on the nerves starts to deteriorate nothing has been found to cure this.
However, it has been shown that taking CBD oil during the early stages of the disease can delay the development of the more serious symptoms.
Once the disease progresses CBD oil can reduce the symptoms of the disease.
When the person develops these symptoms they tend to have muscle spasms that they cannot control.
They also find it harder to walk due to balance issues.
CBD oil helps to reduce these symptoms plus the effect of tiredness and shaking of the hands and feet.
Unfortunately multiple sclerosis suffers can lose control of their bladder and bowel and again taking CBD can delay the start of this.
CBD oil also reduces how often all these symptoms occur.
Finally loss of memory is sadly something that happens to multiple sclerosis sufferers.
CBD oil helps to protect the brain and so taking it when the disease is first diagnosed can delay this as long as possible.
Pain relief
CBD is most well-known for pain relief.
CBD oil is effective against pain due to the cannabinoids in it.
All over the body, but especially in the brain there are cannabinoid receptors.
These are at the ends of nerves where they communicate and pass on messages such as pain.
When there is pain these receptors are increased.
The cannabinoids in CBD then attach to these receptors and block the pain message.
This is how CBD oil reduces pain.
CBD has been used to reduce pain in joints, muscles and wounds, and also for pain caused by diseases and inflammation.
Sleep
The pressure of life and not being able to relax is happening more and more, especially in the over 40s.
This can lead to not being able to fall asleep and waking up many times during the night.
Not getting enough sleep means we lack energy during the day, are not as alert as we should be, are unable to concentrate and can also lead to many other problems.
These include increased stress hormone levels due to our body clock not being correctly regulated.
The knock-on effect of this is inflammation and the risk of disease.
So it is very important that we get the sleep that we require.
This is where CBD oil comes in.
It has been shown to help you fall asleep faster, reduce insomnia and increase the length of time that you actually sleep.
When we sleep our bodies recover and repair but we need to be in a deep sleep for this to happen and CBD oil can help us to increase deep sleep.
This is good because lack of deep sleep is one cause of high blood pressure.
The other way that CBD helps sleep is by helping us to breathe better during sleep.
Sleep apnea is a condition where we stop breathing during sleep.
This is very dangerous and those who suffer from it often have to wear an oxygen mask.
This can be uncomfortable and is also quite noisy so can disturb the sufferer’s partner.
CBD oil is much less disruptive and equally as effective in many cases.
Stimulation of appetite
Loss of appetite can occur during illness but also as we age.
CBD oil has been found to stimulate the appetite and make us feel hungrier.
Put simply, it does this by attaching to the cannabinoid receptors in the gut and increasing the message that the body is hungry.
This message is sent to the brain which then makes us want to eat.
Where to Buy CBD OIL?
Due to the popularity of CBD oil there are a lot of places you can buy it but finding a trusted source of
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Health benefits of CBD oil: Conclusion
As more research is carried out CBD oil is proving effective for overall health.
It has been shown to prevent and relieve several conditions and diseases, both inside and outside the body.
So why not give it a try?
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