CBD Gummies Benefits: What Are They Good For?
This article focuses on the benefits of CBD gummies. We explore the research on CBD’s health benefits and elaborate on potential risks. After reading this article, you’ll learn how to use CBD gummies to maximize their positive effects and ensure maximum safety.
CBD products are flooding the market, and CBD gummies are among the most popular options.
If you have no idea where to start your supplementation, CBD gummies may be your best bet. Not only do they taste amazing, but they also contain a premeasured dose of CBD in each piece.
Not to mention their convenience.
You can take CBD gummies everywhere with you, whether you’re traveling or chilling on the couch.
They take away the mess of having to measure out oil and the hassle of finding water-soluble softgels.
In this article, you’ll learn everything there is to know about the science-backed benefits of CBD gummies.
What Are CBD Gummies?
CBD gummies are — well — regular gummies infused with a CBD-rich hemp extract.
The gummy base includes ingredients like organic cane sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, pectin, and natural flavorings and colorings from concentrated fruit juices.
Each gummy comes with a fixed dose of CBD, making your supplementation hassle-free. They also taste great, which makes them the most desired form of CBD on the market.
Of course, they don’t come without cons, but the benefits outweigh them.
Let’s look at how CBD gummies work in your body.
What Do CBD Gummies Do?
CBD affects everyone differently, but most people take CBD gummies to:
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Ease pain & inflammation
- Improve sleep
- Lose weight
However, you may not feel the benefits of CBD gummies right away. That’s because they come with a delayed onset. CBD must be metabolized by the liver before it enters the bloodstream, so you may expect CBD gummies to work within 30-90 minutes.
CBD’s versatility stems from its interaction with the human endocannabinoid system (ECS) — the master regulatory network that controls essential bodily functions, such as memory, mood, pain perception, stress responses, immune function, neuroprotection, body temperature, appetite, sleep, etc.
CBD Gummies Benefits: Best-Researched Areas
Let’s look at the 4 major benefits of taking CBD gummies:
CBD Gummies for Pain
Using CBD gummies can help you relieve pain on two levels.
CBD offers remarkable anti-inflammatory properties. By interacting with the CB2 cannabinoid receptors in the immune system, it reduces inflammation and improves communication between immune cells to help them identify pathogens and protect healthy cells (1).
People take CBD for a range of pain-related conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, neuropathy, chronic pain, and autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto, multiple sclerosis, and cancer-related pain (2).
Another benefit of taking CBD gummies for pain is their ability to mitigate pain signaling to the brain. This happens by increasing the natural levels of anandamide — one of the major endocannabinoids involved in modulating pain threshold. CBD gummies may help if you suffer from hyperalgesia (oversensitivity to pain) (3).
CBD Gummies for Sleep
CBD gummies have a biphasic nature, meaning that low and high doses can produce opposite effects.
When you take a low dose of CBD, it may improve your focus and increase alertness (4).
However, higher doses are known to induce sleepiness by reducing blood pressure and calming down the nervous system (5).
You can use CBD gummies in the morning and evening to regulate your circadian rhythm, thanks to this feature.
Taking a low dose in the morning will improve your productivity so that your brain will feel “tired” at the end of the day and facilitate the processes that make you feel sleepy.
But when you eat more gummies in the evening, they can help you enter the first stage of sleep faster by slowing down your breath and eliminating racing thoughts.
CBD also helps regulate the REM sleep stage and improve its functioning in patients with Parkinson’s disease (6).
CBD Gummies for Anxiety
CBD uses a few different mechanisms to reduce anxiety and improve your stress responses.
Let’s start with the ECS.
By increasing your natural levels of anandamide and slowing down its breakdown, CBD helps maintain proper reactions to fear and stress. It also elevates your mood and reduces anxious thoughts this way (7).
CBD also acts on serotonin receptors so that they can use serotonin more effectively. Serotonin is a key hormone responsible for feelings of happiness, memory, body temperature, sleep, sexual behavior, and hunger (8).
Last but not least, CBD helps to increase GABA levels in the brain. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that works as a brake for the nervous system to prevent overexcitation. Higher GABA levels are associated with feelings of calmness, improved focus, and greater resistance to stress and distractors (9).
[Best CBD Gummies for Anxiety]
CBD Gummies for Weight Loss
As it turns out, CBD has a profound impact on your metabolic health.
When you take CBD gummies, CBD increases mitochondrial activity. Mitochondria are the cell powerhouses that regulate metabolic processes (10). Their healthy function is essential if you want to maintain good metabolism and proper weight.
Another benefit of CBD is that it may suppress appetite by antagonizing the effects of THC and other appetite-inducing cannabinoids. Mild stimulation of the ECS can balance hormonal activity, keeping your hunger and satiety hormones at optimal levels (11).
Last but not least, CBD spurs the conversion of white fat cells to brown fat cells. This process is known as fat browning. The white cells are the ones that accumulate body fat, while brown cells are more efficiently used for burning energy. The more brown fat cells, the better for weight loss (12).
[Best CBD Gummies for Weight Loss]
Other Potential Benefits of CBD Gummies (13 Surprising Examples)
Now that we covered the best-researched health benefits of CBD gummies let’s look at some practical perks.
1. Non-Psychotropic
CBD gummies are non-intoxicating, meaning they won’t get you high. Regardless of how many gummies you eat, you’ll never experience similar psychedelic effects to high-THC cannabis.
That’s because CBD doesn’t activate the CB1 receptors in the brain. So whether you use CBD gummies, CBD oil, or CBD topicals for health benefits, you’ll never feel like you’re buzzing.
2. Tasty
CBD oils have a distinctive, earthy taste due to the presence of botanical compounds like terpenes and plant waxes. They’re anything but tasty.
Capsules are more convenient, but they taste no different than any other pill out there.
With gummies, it’s a different story. They’re made with various fruit juice and concentrate that mask the botanical flavor of full-spectrum and broad-spectrum products. And if you use CBD isolate gummies, they will taste like the delicious gummy bears you remember from your childhood.
3. Each Serving Contains a Premeasured Dose of CBD
No matter what brand of CBD gummies you choose, make sure to follow the label instructions. Each gummy comes with a fixed dose of CBD, making supplementation easy for the bone.
From there, you can increase or decrease the number of gummies. The side effects of CBD are benign and almost non-existent in normal doses, so don’t be afraid of dangerous reactions.
For example, if the label says, “take two CBD gummies after a meal,” you may double the dosage and take four gummies if you need relief from serious discomfort.
On the other hand, if you only have mild symptoms or use CBD as a daily supplement, you can take one gummy per session. And if you have high-potency CBD gummies, cut them in halves and divide the dosage accordingly.
4. Easy to Take
Do you feel weird taking CBD oil in public? Do pills cause discomfort in your throat after swallowing?
If you can relate, CBD gummies are a godsend.
That’s because they’re super easy to take. All you need to do is chew and swallow — no prep work involved.
5. Stronger Effects With Lower Doses
To make this concept easier to understand, we’ll simplify two natural routes of administration:
- Your lungs keep things out
- Your stomach lets them through
Both organs do pretty well when it comes to CBD benefits. If you choose to inhale the CBD vapor, you’ll need to take a lot to get it through to your brain.
But if you choose the oral route, CBD will pass through your stomach, and you won’t need to take as much to feel the desired effects.
For example, if you smoke 0.7 mg of CBD flower four times a day, you’d only need to eat 2 CBD gummies throughout the same period to reach the same level of relief.
6. Last Longer Than Other Types of CBD
CBD needs to pass through the liver when you take CBD gummies. From there, it’s gradually released into the bloodstream, which has its pros and cons.
The obvious con is the delayed onset of effects. As mentioned earlier, CBD gummies may kick in within 30-90 minutes.
However, once the effects take hold, they develop gradually, ensuring a longer duration — up to 10 hours.
7. No Harm to the Lungs
Smoking CBD flower produces harmful substances that may increase your risk of respiratory tract diseases.
Vaping reduces that harm because it doesn’t trigger combustion. However, vaporization is a relatively new technology that dates back to 2002. We don’t know its long-term effects on the lungs.
But food? Food doesn’t hurt your lungs. As long as you take lab-tested CBD gummies, you don’t have to worry about your lung health.
8. You Can Buy Them Online
CBD products are often made from hemp, which is a legal type of cannabis in all 50 states. That means hemp isn’t subject to the same regulations as marijuana.
CBD gummies are actually legal in most places across the world. Companies can ship it worldwide, so the best place to find CBD gummies is online.
If your local cannabis dispensary doesn’t offer CBD gummies, you’ll be able to find them in plenty of online stores. You may need to wait extra 2-3 days for delivery, but knowing you’re getting a certified, safe product is worth the while.
9. Low-Profile
Taking CBD oil, among other people, can be weird and turn some heads around. Vaping is more discreet, but vapes still produce distinctive aromas.
Gummies are just gummies. Nobody will come to you and ask, “hey, you must be taking CBD gummies!” If anything, they will ask if you can share some of that goodness with them.
CBD gummies are just an easy, discreet way to get your daily dose of cannabidiol.
10. Minimal Side Effects
CBD gummies are safe and only come with a few mild side effects, such as (13):
- Dry mouth
- Changes in appetite
- Reduced blood pressure
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
CBD also decreases the liver’s ability to metabolize drugs. It interacts with a wide range of pharmaceutical medications, which may lead to dangerous side effects if you take high doses of both substances (14).
That’s why I recommend consulting a doctor before you try CBD gummies for their benefits. Doing so will help you find the optimal dosage range for your needs and space out the timing for both products to avoid the said interactions.
Even if you took 100% pure CBD isolate, you’d need to consume 33 tablespoons to feel any adverse effects.
11. Mitigate the Negative Effects of THC
The mind-altering properties of THC can backfire on you if you take a dose that breaches your tolerance and sensitivity.
This results in feelings of anxiety and paranoia, increased heart rate, sweats, and feeling drained of energy (greening out) due to a drop in blood sugar levels.
CBD blocks the side of receptors that THC tries to activate, weakening its psychedelic potential. Meanwhile, it enhances its therapeutic properties in a phenomenon known as the entourage effect (15).
If you get a bad trip after using high-THC cannabis, taking a CBD gummy or two should help you ease the discomfort.
12. Chock-full of Antioxidants
The CBD in CBD gummies has powerful antioxidant properties (16). Antioxidants protect cells against damage and degeneration by fighting off harmful molecules called free radicals.
When free radicals accumulate in your body, they can cause all sorts of health issues. They’re a common cause of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.
By removing the free radicals from your body, CBD gummies act as a shield against dangerous brain conditions.
13. Reduce High Blood Pressure
CBD can reduce the blood pressure of individuals under stressful conditions and during rest.
One of the benefits of CBD gummies is their ability to reduce the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension).
This effect is caused by the aforementioned antioxidant properties of CBD. Antioxidants help remove plaque and other substances that impair blood flow to your brain and other parts of the body. Without those hindrances, your blood flows freely, and your blood pressure drops.
Are CBD Gummies Safe?
Yes. According to the WHO, CBD has a decent safety profile whose potential for abuse is comparable to a placebo.
A 2017 update on the safety and side effects of CBD found that humans can tolerate doses as high as 1,500 mg administered daily for several weeks.
The most common side effects of CBD are dry mouth and possible interactions with medications. A consultation with a qualified physician will help you avoid the latter because dry mouth is inevitable — it’s a feature ubiquitous for all cannabinoids.
How Are CBD Gummies Made?
CBD gummies are made by infusing a CBD extract into a regular gummy base.
But how are CBD extracts made?
They’re produced with CO2 extraction, ethanol, or lipid extraction that pulls the beneficial compounds, such as cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids, from mature hemp flowers.
Once extracted, manufacturers infuse the full-spectrum extracts into the gummy base and blend it thoroughly to distribute the CBD oil evenly.
Broad-spectrum gummies are made by removing the THC content during extraction. This can be done by breaking down the extract into fractions and combining isolated compounds in one product or by thinning it down to get rid of THC.
Isolate-based gummies require fractional distillation and winterization to separate CBD from other cannabis compounds. Then the powder or oil is mixed with the base – and voila.
Related: How to Make CBD Gummies At Home
Are CBD Gummies Legal?
Yes. CBD gummies are legal under federal law and in all 50 states. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp across the country, reclassifying it as an agricultural commodity.
Now hemp farmers can grow and sell it for any use, from clothes to ropes, construction materials, biofuel, food, and health supplements like CBD gummies. You can find them online or in specialized CBD stores near you.
Will CBD Gummies Make You Feel High?
No, that’s an impossible scenario — as long as your CBD gummies really contain 0.3% THC or less.
That trace amount of THC in full-spectrum CBD gummies is insufficient to get you high. You may feel a little bit euphoric when you take more servings than recommended, but it’s nowhere near the signature cannabis high.
Always buy lab-tested CBD gummies that come with a legitimate Certificate of Analysis (CoA) proving its potency and THC content.
Tips for Taking CBD Gummies to Reap Maximum Benefits
Using CBD gummies for the first time? Here’s how to get the most bang for your buck.
Start Low and Go Slow
Although you won’t experience serious side effects when you take a large dose of CBD, doing so may be counterproductive if you’re just getting started.
Finding the best CBD gummy dosage requires patience and some classic trial and error.
Starting with a low amount — say, 10 mg — is a good way to test your tolerance to CBD and see how your body responds to it.
From there, you can increase or decrease the dose until you find your optimal range. Sometimes, you may feel the benefits of CBD gummies right away, but for some people, the effects take time to develop, sometimes more than 2 weeks.
Once you find your effective dose, you can stick to it because CBD doesn’t increase your tolerance. In fact, there’s a phenomenon called “reverse tolerance,” where CBD users decrease their dose or stop taking CBD because their symptoms become manageable or dissipate
Choose Lab-tested Gummies
The CBD market remains under-regulated because the FDA doesn’t acknowledge CBD products as health supplements or medications.
Instead, they call it a “novel drug” — in spite of the fact that humans have been using cannabis for millennia.
The lack of manufacturing, labeling, and lab testing standards creates room for fly-by-night companies that take advantage of unaware customers by selling them snake oil marketed as a miracle cure for all their problems.
If you want to avoid contaminated or mislabeled CBD gummies (and maximize their benefits), always ask your vendor for batch-specific CoAs that provide the full testing panel. This includes not only the potency of CBD and the THC content but also common contaminants, such as pesticides, heavy metals, mold, solvents, and more.
Companies without current CoAs are red flags.
Purchase From Reputable Brands
I’m not saying that newcomer companies can’t make decent CBD gummies — that would be a serious fallacy — but brands with an established reputation are more likely to deliver the expected quality standards.
If that’s your first time buying CBD gummies, choose one of the recommended brands from this guide, and once you know how to shop for CBD products, you can expand your ventures to new players.
With the right know-how, shopping for CBD gummies will be easy as A, B, C.
Avoid Synthetic Ingredients
I’ve seen way too many CBD gummies looking great on the surface but turned out to be inferior products because they contained artificial flavorings and colorings, wheat, or were loaded with sugar.
CBD gummies are a sweet treat, but that doesn’t mean they should be as unhealthy as their conventional counterparts.
Look for products flavored and colored with natural juices and concentrate, and steer away from artificial ingredients. If you don’t store such things in your pantry, why would you put them in your body?
Summarizing the Benefits of CBD Gummies
CBD gummies offer a great way to reap the benefits of cannabidiol without having to take earthy-tasting oil or swallow hard pills.
They’re fun to eat, come with a fixed dose of CBD per serving, and you can take them anywhere you want without turning heads around in public.
Most people take CBD gummies for pain, anxiety, sleep, and weight loss. CBD is a versatile adaptogen that can optimize essential functions in your body by interacting with the ECS.
Whether you want to ease stress, calibrate your circadian rhythm, or lose extra weight, CBD may come in handy with its powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anxiolytic effects.
Just make sure to source your CBD gummies from reputable manufacturers who provide batch-specific CoAs to prove the potency and purity of their products.
If you’re short on time, feel free to use my recommendations from this guide.
I hope you’ve learned a lot today about the benefits of CBD gummies!
Other Benefits of CBD Gummies:
- CBD Gummies for Diabetes
- CBD Gummies for COPD
- CBD Gummies for Erectile Dysfunction
- CBD Gummies to Quit Smoking
- CBD Gummies for Tinnitus
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