What is CBD?

There’s no question that CBD is the buzzy wellness product of the moment. Coffee shops sell CBD lattes, spas offer CBD facials, vape shops sell CBD vape juice, beauty companies are rushing to release lotions with CBD or hemp oils in their formulas.

There is a massive rise in people now using CBD, According to recent data, an estimated 300,000 people in the UK now buy CBD oil on a regular basis and 1.6 million people using it. Reports also indicate that the global market for CBD products is estimated to grow to up to 700% its current size by 2025, with an estimated value of $2.1 billion.

Who are the 1.6 million people in the UK using CBD oil? Well it could be everyone from your anxious co-worker to your arthritis-suffering dad to your mates down the gym looking for better sleep and recovery, CBD is for everyone.

I am sure most of you have heard about CBD somewhere, but have you been given the correct information about it? There is so much misguided and uneducated information about CBD out there, a lot of people see CBD is connected to cannabis and automatically give it a bad name. You have probably heard the terms cannabis, marijuana, and hemp all tossed around in relation to CBD. The plant Cannabis sativa has two primary species, hemp and marijuana. Both contain CBD, but there is a much higher percentage of CBD in hemp, which also has extremely low (next to none) levels of THC compared to marijuana.

What is CBD? CBD, short for cannabidiol, it is a chemical compound from the cannabis sativa plant, it is a non-psychoactive. Unlike its well-known counterpart THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), using CBD does not cause you to feel high, but is believed to offer huge potential health and wellbeing benefits.

CBD and the human body

These endocannabinoids (a cannabinoid the body produces internally) are part of a network of chemicals and receptors known as the endocannabinoid system.

The ECS acts as the body’s assistant manager, with receptors throughout most of the major organs, the nervous system and the immune system. Essentially it ensures that the body is operating in a state of balance, known as homeostasis. This involves checking that everything is working between key parameters, such as temperature, metabolism and pressure.

When we introduce CBD into the body, the ECS is its means of interacting with us. In fact, because it’s so similar to other chemicals, CBD is able to integrate quite easily. That is why we’re so confident in CBD as a natural compound that you can safely introduce to your body.

Hemp seed oil

When people talk about hemp oil usually called hemp seed oil, they are referring to oil extracted from the seeds of the hemp plant (not the plant). There is no CBD or THC in hemp seed oil. This ingredient is packed with healthy fats and often appears in beauty products for its moisturizing benefits, hemp seed oil is very often mis sold on the internet as CBD so be careful when purchasing and do your research on a brand you can trust.

To see what CBD can do for you click here.