CBD has received lots of media attention over the last 24 months. It has gone from a relatively unknown substance to something that's seen almost everywhere. Professional athletes are starting to use it, numerous businesses are being opened around it - but what exactly is CBD and how does it work?
What is CBD?
CBD is also known as cannabidiol, which is one of the many active ingredients found in the cannabis plant. These ingredients are grouped under the heading 'cannabinoids' because of how they interact with your body. What a lot of people don't know is that the human body has many cannabinoid receptors in different cells. The primary purpose of these receptors is to send signals to the brain. Therefore, when something acts on the cannabinoid receptors in your body, it can change the way different signals are sent to the brain, altering the release of other neurotransmitters.
Of course, your brain is basically the control centre for your body. It dictates all the different processes that happen without you even realising anything is going down. So, to put things simply, CBD is a compound that can incite changes throughout your body. Some of these changes will be discussed later on in this article.
How is CBD oil made?
If CBD is found in the cannabis plant, how is it made into an oil? This process is relatively straightforward and begins by extracting the CBD from the plant. In some cases - as with a few of our CBD oils - multiple cannabinoids are extracted from the plant. This is then diluted with a carrier oil, typically hemp seed oil. From here, you have a concoction that can be used in multiple ways for various ailments.
Does CBD get you high?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions when people are looking at CBD products. The association with cannabis casts a shadow over CBD, with many people assuming it makes you high. In reality, this is far from the truth. You will recall we mentioned there are lots of cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. Well, there's something called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that acts as the main psychoactive compound in the plant. Effectively, this is the compound that provides the sensation of feeling 'high' when people smoke cannabis.
When you extract CBD and leave THC, you will not get the same psychoactive properties. It's all to do with the different cannabinoid receptors each compound binds to. We won't go into detail on that, but there are numerous resources out there that explain the science behind this in-depth.