Are the Benefits of CBD a Placebo Effect?
Meet the cool new kid on the block: CBD.
CBD has taken the health and wellness industry by storm, and for good reason too; it’s proven benefits include relief from anxiety and pain to menstrual cramps and post-workout soreness. There’s plenty of research to back up the claims that CBD is effective, yet some people remain skeptical.
As CBD oil continues to grow in popularity, the question on the minds of many people remains, is CBD a placebo or the real deal?
What is a Placebo Effect?
According to the American Cancer Society, the placebo effect is a “substance or other kinds of treatment that looks just like a regular treatment or medicine, but is not.”
Oftentimes in research studies, placebos are used in tandem with a real treatment, in the form of a “double-blind controlled study.”
This means that the researchers doing the administering, as well as the patients to whom the procedures are being administered, are clueless as to which treatment is the placebo and which treatment is the real one.
This method allows the researcher to be as unbiased as possible, and also allows the researchers to study whether or not the “real” treatment being studied is valid, or merely a perceived effect.
According to Research, CBD is NOT a Placebo I REPEAT CBD is NOT a Placebo
There have been a variety of studies where both CBD and placebos were used together. These studies show that CBD does have therapeutic benefits far outweighing those of CBD placebos.
Simply put; the human body is equipped with what’s called the endocannabinoid system, or ECS. This system is responsible for the regulation of balance within the body. Studies have shown that CBD interacts with this system to maintain balance and symbiosis with other bodily systems.
This means that the effects of CBD are very, very real- and cannot be dispelled by pure myth!
Why Do Some People Think CBD is a Placebo?
One of the reasons that some people believe CBD may be a placebo, is that CBD seems too good to be true.
Of course, CBD isn’t a miracle compound that can cure all diseases and dispel all ailments, though it can help make the management of symptoms exponentially more manageable. At times, CBD can be used together with more conventional forms of treatment- at other times, it work can just as well on its own.
Another thing that many people fail to realize is that we are all different. The way we metabolize different compounds and the effects they have on our individual bodies will vary from person to person. This helps to explain why some people get maximum benefits from CBD, while others don’t feel the effects from the same dose. CBD comes in many different forms, so different people will benefit from different doses, methods of ingestion, and even different cannabis strains.
Though CBD is the main component of CBD oils, full-spectrum products, for instance, are made up of other cannabinoids – although in minor amounts – and terpenes.
Sometimes, all it takes to see benefits is finding the right product containing the correct ratio of cannabinoid and terpenes ratio. This process of experimenting can become tedious and costly for most users, and so they tire out and give up easily after using one type of product if it doesn’t work for them. The key is to find your preferred method of taking CBD, and be patient when it comes to finding your ideal dosage.
Skeptics Say CBD Isn’t Effective, But…
With CBD, sometimes its effects take a little time and experimentation to really show.
People take one dose of the oil, and because it didn’t work that one time, they wave it away as a CBD placebo, dismissing the product entirely. Sometimes, depending on a range of factors, the effects or benefits are not felt immediately. This, however, does not make it a placebo. All you may have to do is increase your dose.
It is understandable that quite a number of people think CBD oil is not valid. Of course, it might not work for everyone, but it still doesn’t make CBD oil any less effective than it has been advertised to be.
Because there are numerous reports testifying about the goodness of CBD oil, surely CBD oil cannot be brushed away as a placebo.