that by the number of doses (21) to get the size of your product dose (basically, one serving size of your infused product):
30 milliliters/21 doses = 1.43 milliliters/dose
For this example, 1.43 milliliters of your infused product will give you the 15-milligram dose of CBD you’re looking for.
Including complementary substances
To get the most out of your CBD, invite some other ingredients to the party! Technically, whatever base you use is the first complementary substance in any homemade CBD product because it’s a complement to the lipid-based CBD chemical that needs a carrier. But you can also add other compounds or ingredients that may enhance CBD’s effects. This list is endless, and it starts with a whole host of other plants that contain similar plant chemicals to cannabis, like terpenes, from linalool to myrcene. (Flip to Chapter 2 for more on terpenes.) It also means vitamins like B, C, and E, found in oils and minerals like sodium, and magnesium found in salts and Epsom salts.
For example, the best-recognized properties of CBD are its anti-inflammatory effects. To double down on those benefits, pair CBD with other anti-inflammatories. Natural anti-inflammatory plants include arnica, turmeric, and black pepper (just to name a few). These options are great additions for any topical. (Actually, you can use turmeric both topically and internally.)
Two other famous benefits of CBD are the improvement of sleep and stress relief. Melatonin, found in tart cherries and goji berries as well as chamomile and jasmine (among many more), may assist with sleep. Lemon and other citrus fruits, peppermint, and lavender are popular, effective solutions for stress and anxiety. Combine any one of these ingredients with hemp flower in a nice tea.
Chapter 5
Doing the Math: The Pluses and Minuses of CBD
IN THIS CHAPTER
You’ve picked up a book on CBD. You’re curious; maybe you have a condition that has been hard to treat, or you have symptoms from a chronic condition and aren’t happy with the current options. That feeling is totally understandable, and you’re completely right to pursue something a little off the beaten track if you aren’t finding the relief you need.
Surprise: This chapter looks at some general pros and cons regarding CBD use. There’s no shortage of chatter about the potential benefits of CBD, but proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that CBD does what marketers and brands say it does has been hard. Supposed benefits include relief from fibromyalgia, advanced arthritis, sleeplessness, fatigue, GI conditions, neuropathic conditions, topical inflammation, and chronic pain, among others. But the information available is basically some rudimentary science and some serious compilations of anecdotal/experiential evidence, so no one can say with 100 percent certainty CBD does any one thing. It is largely recognized by scientists, researchers, and users alike to alleviate symptoms of inflammation, which is a component of tons of conditions, including the ones I just mentioned.
Beyond the sheer volume of misinformation that’s out there, a few actual negatives of CBD use have cropped up. This chapter helps you examine which claims are legitimate.
Realizing the Potential Benefits: The Four Pillars of CBD (and an Added Bonus)
This section explores the four most significant pillars of CBD care cases to date. These pillars are the most common ailments plaguing the American population today. Additionally, we explore the topic of CBD skincare and beauty, and while it is just as much a pillar to some, it is not as important to others. Among the others are the regulating bodies that impose guidelines on product claims and marketing.
Relieving stress and anxiety
For the sake of eliminating confusion between stress and anxiety, I break them down separately here. Stress is a natural response to help address circumstances that require a level of heightened mental alertness and physical response. Anxiety is a reaction to stress. Anxiety is painfully persistent even when the triggers aren’t present.
Stress experiences are caused by mental and physical situations that result in symptoms such as pain, sleeplessness, gastrointestinal (GI) issues, anger, frustration, skin issues (which I discuss later in the chapter), and general fatigue. The body reacts to stress by releasing stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline, that push the body into a state of emergency action. In this state, your body is basically in overdrive — pumping blood more quickly through your system, increasing your heart rate, tightening your muscles, heightening your senses, and so on. The most identifiable feelings of stress manifest as nervousness, exhausting thoughts, lack of focus, compromised judgment, and disorganization.
Constantly living in this stress state has been associated with a multitude of overall health problems, even heart attacks and death. Early studies have shown that CBD modifies the body’s chemical interaction with cortisol in a sedative way. It mitigates stress by preventing the overflow of cortisol.
Though anxiety can feel much like stress, it’s actually clinically diagnosable. Because CBD seems to be apt at relieving stress responses,
