CBD Oil works for many people in many different ways. In essence, when your body is out of whack, it helps get back to homeostasis. Your body might be going crazy for a variety of reasons internal or external. In this post, Johnny talks a lot about CBD and it’s benefits for him. Here, I’ll outline the products, plus a few different scenarios for using them.
The Products
With the product line we have chose, Pure Spectrum, there are 3 different ways to get the CBD into your body. There is a liquid form (which provides the greatest variety), topical forms, and vapor forms.
What is it, and is it legal?
CBD is cannabidiol and comes from the hemp plant. It is legal in all 50 states below a certain threshold of THC. Hemp and cannabis plants have a huge variety of natural chemicals in them, and CBD and THC are only a couple of them. For now, just know that there are two types of CBD (1 & 2, with most other products being just CBD1, but Pure Spectrum is both), and THC is what gets you high. There is a legal limit to the amount of THC allowed to be in a product for it to be sold, generally around 3%, which is still enough for popping some drug tests. Pure Spectrum eliminates all of the THC from their product, leaving them with a product that is safe for professional athletes, law enforcement, and government employees to use.
Liquid Forms
CBD oil is most commonly sold in oil forms in tinctures, and you place one serving under your tongue, let it absorb in your capillaries for a few seconds, and then swallow.
Hemp oil has a strong, nutty or earthy flavor. If it’s not your thing, you can mix it with other things, or try a different form.
There are essentially two serving sizes that Pure Spectrum sales, and they come in different quantities. 1 serving with be either 16.67 mg of CBD per serving, or 41.67 mg per serving. These come in different sizes of bottles:
16.67 mg = 250 mg tincture about 15 servings, 500 mg tincture about 30 servings
41.67 mg = 1250 mg tincture about 30 servings, 2500 mg tincture about 60 servings
You can take more or less from either one and the droppers even have markings on them for .25, .5, .75, and 1 ml, so you can really customize what you want.
99 % CBD Isolate
While this one is actually a powder, you can put it straight into your mouth or into a drink. It is only CBD1 and in the purest form. This one has almost immediate effect and can be used for post workout recovery, headaches, cramps, etc.
Topical
Pure Spectrum carries 3 different topical forms to use. The Muscle and Joint Lotion provides immediate relief for a particular area compared to the tinctures, which are more whole body. This works great for achy joints in CrossFit, but also arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Similar to this is the salve, which is oil based compared to the water based Muscle and Joint lotion. They have similar benefits, but will feel a little different in application and is more about personal preference.
Finally, they do make a Face, Hand, and Skin lotion which is a little less dense with CBD, so not as much about pain relief, but more for dry skin, sun spots, eczema, and other things. It can help regenerate cells and should be viewed as a beauty product, not for pain relief.
Vapes
If you are looking for something a little different, or even more immediate, the vape cartridges make that pretty simple. You can still use them similarly to the tincture in that you just take them once or twice a day, not steadily puffing for hours. If you have intense headaches, migraines, or stress, this could be the fastest way to combat that. And they come in 2 serving sizes and 5 flavors!
Who’s it for?
Now that I’ve given you a summary of the product line, let’s look at a few general scenarios and what you may want to take.
The Everyday
This is most of us. We train hard, have some aches and pains, maybe have some stress at work, but there’s specific going on.
If you’re curious, start with the 250 mg tincture or the 99% isolate. These are inexpensive and should make you feel a little something. And you can play with the dosages up and down.
The High Strung
Maybe your job or life is really stressful or it’s a stressful season for you. Maybe you even have adult ADD or ADHD. OR it could be your child who is bouncing off the walls and hyperactive and you don’t want to put them on drugs that have a lot of side effects.
Start with either the the 250 mg or 500 mg and play with the dosage. These both provide 16.67 mg per serving, but obviously the 500 mg is larger. This would allow you more time to experiment with a 1.5x or 2x dosage if needed. After you dial in what’s needed, you could save money by going with a larger tincture.
I feel great and love CF, but my knees/elbows/some joint always hurts
Similar to the previous scenarios, I’ll suggest starting with a low dose of the tincture so that you’re working on all receptor sites within the body. Generally, we’re going to suggest trying something internally first.
For specific joint pain, try the lotion or salve. Rub it on and rub it in for a minute or two and you’ll notice some significant pain relief.
The RX Athlete
Whether you’re 25 or 45, if you’re crushing workouts and beating yourself up, your body probably has some serious inflammation. Try the 500 mg or 1250 mg as a daily dose, and post workout throw a tiny scoop of the 99% CBD Isolate into a shake as well to stop immediate pain. If you tend to have one or two joints that hurt more than others, rub on some salve or lotion instead of that tigerbalm.
What if I’m still unsure?
Of course there are different scenarios and more products to try, but this will give you a start. If you’re still unsure or want some guidance, talk to a coach, or e-mail me, [email protected], directly. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find out!