Disclosure: Resilience offered me a complimentary product in exchange for a review. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own. Please contact a healthcare professional before using CBD oil. All sources for information are provided in my post!
Lately I have been reading and hearing a lot about CBD oil
or cannabidiol oil. It has been popping up as a recovery method for athletes
as well as an all-natural way to manage pain and anxiety. I had the opportunity to try a CBD cream
from Resilience CBD which was exciting after being intrigued by CBD’s potential
uses in healthcare as a whole but also particularly for running recovery. I am willing to try anything to help make my calves feel less tight and sore!
Resilience CBD was founded by military veterans and athletes plus their products are also derived from organic hemp grown in the U.S. and are third-party lab tested which made me trust their quality. Their products also contain no pesticides, herbicides, or harsh chemicals.
Continue reading if you are interested in learning more about what the heck CBD oil is and what are the benefits of CBD (including for athletes!)
Scroll to the bottom of the post for a discount code from Resilience.
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol is one of over 100 cannabinoids found in cannabis (yup, marijuana).
CBD products boosts the endocannabinoid system that is a signaling pathway
controlling functions in systems through the body. It has similar effects as
marijuana including anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving without the high you’d
get from medical marijuana. CBD is NOT psychoactive like tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) in marijuana (Source).
Is CBD legal?
Most commercially available CBD products use industrial
hemp, or a cannabis plant that doesn’t contain more than 0.3% THC. Marijuana
and hemp are federally classified as Schedule 1 drugs. Currently Idaho, North
Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas are the only states with no-CBD laws. Literally yesterday the Farm Bill was passed which legalizes hemp. This means you
will be seeing a lot more CBD and hemp products. Prior to the passing of the
Farm Bill, United States hemp-derived CBD sales totaled estimated $190 million
in 2017 (Source). For athletes, the World Anti-Doping Agency removed CBD from the list of prohibited substances in 2017 which has grown the use of CBD in sports.
CBD oil I have seen is on the expensive side right
now so hopefully this bill makes things more accessible and brings the price
down. For example Resilience CBD
body lotion costs $85 and their full
spectrum CBD oil costs $50-90 for one bottle which is comparable to other
brands I have seen.
How do you use CBD products?
CBD products including tinctures, capsules, and topical
formulas such as creams. Currently there are no studies on recommended dosages
so you need to be careful and definitely start with a smaller dose and slowly
increasing until you feel benefits. Even in this Runner’s World article, various individuals quote different amounts for CBD
newbies starting with as little as 5-15 mg (approximately a few drops of a CBD
tincture) or a baseline of 25 milligram for gels.
What should you look for when
purchasing CBD products?
Products also range in potency and amounts of CBD so be sure
to know what you are using or taking. One study published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association in 2017 found that 70% of all CBD products were inaccurately
labelled which 43% of products tested containing more CBD than indicated and
26% containing less.
I did my research prior to agreeing to try Resilience CBD
and was happy to find out that Resilience CBD third-party lab tests every batch
of product through an independent party to ensure purity and quality of their
products. They also share their lab results AND the date they were submitted
right there on their website.
Will CBD show up on a
drug test?
From what I’ve read since there is trace amounts ofTHC in
industrial hemp it is very unlikely that CBD would show up on a drug test
because most drug test panels are looking for THC and its metabolites. However
if you are drug tested it may be better to be safe than sorry and ensure you
are getting for 0% THC you can purchase Resilience Isolate, a CBD isolate tincture.
What are the claimed benefits of CBD?
CBD works through the endocannabinoid system which “controls
many physiological processes, including food intake and energy balance,
learning and memory, and pain processing, to name a few,” says DiPatrizio in
this Runner’s World article. As a former chemist and now a evidence-based
health care professional, I am always looking to research to support claims.
Currently I have not found any studies on CBD and runners specifically.
Upon
doing a quick literature search I was surprised to see range of ailments that
CBD was being studied with including depression,
major psychiatric disorders, epilepsy, Parkinson disease, PTSD, sleep disorders,
and even asthma. This literature review from September 2018 concluded that
studies up to the present show CBD has anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing!),
anti psychotic, and neuroprotective properties.
How can CBD help runners?
CBD has also has anti-inflammatory
benefits which would be the ones sore and achy runners would benefit
from. A 2015 study in mice determined CBD application provided
therapeutic potential for relief from arthritis pain and inflammation. To get
scientific on you again, when you run or workout you create micro-tears in your
muscles and tissue. When those micro-tears happen, your body sends in your
immune system to the damaged area with inflammatory cells, a.k.a things that
make you feel sore and achy (Source).
My Experience with CBD
I tested out the Resilience CBD
body lotion. I chose it over the CBD sports
cream because I thought the lemongrass scent would be more pleasant than
smelling like a peppermint or dealing with the icy hot feeling since I planned
on slathering it all over my lower legs.
The body lotion contains 300 mg of CBD and also contains shea butter,
aloe vera, and coconut oil for some moisturizing with my recovery. The
directions note to use consistently to areas of body as needed including before
and after activity. I used for one week just at bedtime and then used for 2
more weeks applying morning and night. The lemongrass scent is really pleasant
and isn’t overpowering.
My calves are also severely tight and despite not running
and then slowly running just a little bit after the 50K I ran at the end of
November, I couldn’t seem to shake the extra tightness in my calves and lower
legs. I was also dealing with some ankle discomfort on my left leg so I was
applying the cream there too. Overall I did feel less tight and achy, and now
my ankle discomfort has gone away. To be totally honest, it could be a placebo
effect or due to other factors including more time, trying to stretch my calves
more, but it could be the CBD. It was relaxing and also provided a nice
reminder to take some time for myself at the end of the day with my nightly ritual
of applying the lotion to my legs. In
the future I would love to try CBD oil to see if I experience benefits from it,
particularly with some of my overall tension and anxiety.
Overall if you are dealing with pain or sore muscles, I suggest adding CBD to your recovery arsenal. Again be sure to do your research and be aware of your dosage as well as talk to a health care professional!
Resilience has more information on CBD in general and
their products on their website.
You can try Resilience CBD products for yourself and save 20% off your purchase with my discount code SMILE20
Have you ever tried CBD products? Have you heard of CBD oil?
