In the past decade, we have seen a fair share of medical products touted to solve most of the health issues people suffer from today. Arguably, CBD oil is one of the most promising within the natural supplement landscape today. Scientists are hard at work to prove that it works efficiently to help people suffering from common conditions. However, the main concern from consumers of such products is not its effectiveness but rather what side effects it might have. Many a famous solution failed to live up to the expectations despite the high promises. Their not-so-good side effects were often the main reason. Will this also be the case for CBD?
According to anecdotal evidence from a minority user, one of CBD’s main side effects is stomach upset. Yet, most users report no such thing. In this article, we are going to see: does CBD upsets your stomach. Does it really, or is it something else? Read on to find out.
Before we get to the answer of does CBD upset your stomach, we need to talk about CBD itself first.
CBD, otherwise known as cannabidiol, is one of the many cannabinoids found inside the cannabis and industrial hemp plants. For many years, CBD, alongside the other cannabinoids, were part of a multitude of remedies. Their apparent effectiveness comes from the fact that these compounds interact and stimulate the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). That is the system that balances bodily functions and helps preserve homeostasis within our bodies. More specifically, it regulates a variety of reactions such as stress, bad moods, anxiety, among others.
People have been using CBD and other cannabinoids through the consumption of the cannabis plant for many decades. However, CBD’s modern commercialization as a therapeutic compound began in 2018 when the FDA approved it. Since then, the market has been booming.
The fact that CBD comes from the cannabis plant does not mean it will make you ‘high’ as smoking regular cannabis does. In order to commercialize it, CBD must have a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of 0.3% or less. THC is, by the way, the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis and the reason why you feel high after consuming it.
Having such little content of it means CBD will not impair you with psychoactive effects like cannabis would do. All high-quality manufacturers of CBD make sure to only leave THC traces below the required legal level. In order to build trust with the consumer, they have third-party labs run tests on each batch of the product to certify its indeed compliant. The best manufacturers have their certifications on their websites and indicated on the product label as well.
The endocannabinoid system is a network of complex cell receptors and neurotransmitters. Cannabinoid receptors are found all over the body, with most of them being in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The ECS controls a wide variety of bodily functions such as sleep, mood, temperature, immune response, pain reception, fertility, memory, and appetite. This system works like a balanced seesaw. Whenever something wrong happens, the balance is lost, and it tips towards either side.
Once this happens, the ECS deploys endocannabinoids, the body’s natural cannabinoids, to attempt and restore the balance. However, this process takes some time, and, in some cases, the natural cannabinoids might not be enough to restore the balance effectively. CBD is a phytocannabinoid because it comes from plants. It can step up and help this process when consumed. It may boost the work of the natural cannabinoids to help balance the affected bodily functions back to normal.
Most of the potential therapeutic benefits of CBD oil relate to the bodily functions connected to the endocannabinoid system.
Some of these possible benefits include:
Note that CBD may help certain temporary conditions and also chronic ones as well. A good example is those who have arthritis and cancer. Here, it may help to relieve the pain associated with arthritis and nausea from chemotherapy.
Different people report some other effects when using CBD. Some wonder why they do not feel more relaxed after taking a few drops. You might ask yourself does CBD upset your stomach sometimes. The lack of effects or the presence of some side effects does not mean the product is defective; rather, they tie to some individual factors.
The factors that affect the way your body reacts to CBD include:
The key thing to keep in mind when you want CBD to work for you is figuring out the dose your body best reacts to. There is a method of figuring it out with precision that includes some of the factors mentioned.
The matter surrounding CBD oil and stomach upsets is fascinating. Mainly because one of the lesser-known benefits of CBD oil is actually that it may improve those upsets for some people.
First, understand that a stomach upset due to CBD oil does not happen very often. Yet, there’s a significant percentage of CBD users who report feeling sick after using CBD. Another side effect associated with taking more CBD than your body can handle is diarrhea.
What happens here is that CBD oil does not necessarily have to be the reason for stomach upsets. Other ingredients could be to blame as well.
CBD oil is not a fantastic flavor for your taste buds in its purest form. Most vendors mix it with carrier oils to make it a bit more palatable. After all, who likes sour tasting supplements anyway?
Scientific studies show that CBD is more likely to help you with stomach issues than to make them worse. When the cannabinoid binds with the CB1 receptors in the ECS, it works to inhibit intestinal inflammation, reduce excess gastric acid, improves blood flow to the stomach lining, and helps the lower gullet to reduce reflux. Such an effect indicates that CBD oil actually may help prevent stomach issues; however, studies are still ongoing.
Due to those effects, it is essential to look at what kind of CBD oil you are using if you are experiencing stomach issues. This is one common problem with most health supplements. The ingredients’ quality and source determine the kind of side effects they will give you.
The carrier oil is the main suspect here, as it makes up a significant percentage of the whole product. Some of the common carrier oils used include MCT oil, emu oil, hemp seed oil, coconut oil, grapeseed, and olive oil.
If you want to ascertain whether CBD oil upsets your stomach, try to see if you can nail the problem yourself. First, look at the ingredients of the specific CBD oil you took. Do an online search to see if any of them, carrier oils especially, have a history of giving people stomach upsets. MCT oil, for example, seems to cause such issues in other supplements that feature it as an ingredient.
If the specific brand of CBD oil you are using has a carrier known for causing stomach upsets, try another product. For example, if you are using CBD oil with MCT oil as the carrier, switch to one with olive oil as the carrier.
It doesn’t hurt to try out a few other carrier oils and see how your body reacts to them. Chances are you might end up feeling no stomach issues with another product that uses another carrier oil. Thus, the main issue is not if does CBD upset your stomach; it’s whether your CBD’s carrier oil will upset your stomach.
On the off-chance that all carrier oils end up upsetting your stomach, there are other options. Try changing the way your body receives CBD oil. If you are taking CBD oil on an empty stomach, then it could be the reason behind the stomach issues. Ideally, take some protein and ensure your stomach is full to help the body absorb CBD oil better.
Additionally, you can try taking other presentations of CBD different than oil. Today, retailers sell CBD in various presentations, such as capsules, edibles, and balms. Try one of these out to see if they fit what you are looking for.
Another thing to keep in mind is that consuming an excessive amount of CBD can cause diarrhea. Thus, once you know your ideal dosage, keep it constant and stick by it.
Lastly, if your stomach upsets keep happening with almost every other CBD product you try, contact your physician. They will make a thorough diagnostic to determine whether it’s something else related to diet or illness than the CBD itself.
CBD oil is a promising compound with many potential benefits. If you wonder, does CBD upset your stomach, the above-described steps will let you know for sure. You might end up finding out it’s something else unrelated to the CBD itself, and you can take measures to keep enjoying it as much as you like in a way that it does not upset your stomach. Don’t take too much of it, though. Remember, diarrhea!
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