Explains quickly and easily why you should be interested in this exciting ‘new’ dietary supplement from the Food Movement. This pioneering extract of CBD (cannabidiol) from industrial hemp is a safe and legal product offering new options for consumers.
Because dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA, no one selling Hemp CBD can make health claims. But an ever-growing body of research suggests that they may just be of immense benefit. The video explainer above gives you some insights into the product and also a $10 coupon code SAVEONSUPERHEMP for your first order!
There is a new dietary supplement you may want to try if you have pain, and it is called CBD.
CBD (Cannabidiol) is often referred to as a “component of marijuana” which helps with pain, as well as things like brain disorders. However, it is not just a component of marijuana, as it is now being legally super-critically extracted from Hemp, a form of Cannabis sativa without the banned ingredient THC.
Researchers have found that not only does CBD relieve pain (nociception) when taken in combination with morphine it has a synergistic effect (sum is greater than the whole of the parts). This could also mean that potentially CBD could help those using prescription pain drugs by lowering the dosage for their pain meds and therefore positively impacting overall health.
As a supplement for pain we can expect to see new dietary supplements offering Hemp CBD as an ingredient, and as a stand-alone nutrient. One thing to make note of though, as it is very new to market it is usually quite expensive!
CBD (cannabidiol) seems to be such a promising new dietary supplement, especially as a super-critically extracted compound from industrial hemp. The pioneering health food store brand Super Hemp CBD, made with Plus CBD Oil from CannaVest and exclusively distributed by the Food Movement Co. in Illinois, has been very well-received due to the purity and 0.00% THC content of the product.
So, the letter to stockholders and customers just released by CannaVest’s CEO Michael Mona, Jr. may seem somewhat surprising. In the letter he officially responds to a recently-released smear article titled ‘Hustlers of Hemp’ by saying “Our industry as a whole is subject to numerous attacks, and typically we do not merit such attacks with a response. In this instance, where the quality and safety of our products is attacked, we owe it to our customers and stockholders to respond.” Read the full text of the letter here.
From my work on CBD with the Hemp Movement, I can tell you that Super Hemp CBD, made with Plus CBD Oil is substantiated by very reputable cutting edge testing methods. This is why we can assure that the product is indeed solvent-free because of the superior super-critical extraction method. Project CBD claims to be a third-party project, but according to Mona’s letter evidence indicates that Project CBD is little more than a marketing ploy by competitive products; in particular some which are marketed through multi-level networking channels or ‘pyramid schemes’; and have be known to slander competitors with similar smear campaigns and dirty business tactics.
In the end, I personally feel that those of us taking the ‘higher road’ of making products which pass credible third-party standards have already risen to the top as the product which belongs in the hands of the discerning consumer or health food store. In the short run, we give some attention to these attacks by responding. Ultimately, customers deserve to know the truth and products like Super Hemp CBD with a product that is guaranteed to be safe and legal, as opposed to the ‘whole Cannabis only’ platform which Project CBD claims to represent. Certainly in the interest of natural medicine, and particularly in states where medical marijuana is not an option, the non-psychoactive CBD seems to hold promise for many families and individuals.
Let’s take a minute to look at the numbers. Hemp History Week happens every year from June 1-7th. With all the renewed focus on this important plant, it is worthwhile to take a moment to explore this interesting history even in the other 51 weeks of the year! While it is a much more sustainable crop than say, trees being grown for paper mills, Hemp has gotten a bad rap over the last 57 years due to an interesting mix of industry and politics.
Take a look at this Hemp History Timeline on the Hemp History website. As you can see things start off well in the 1700s with the Declaration of Independence being written on hemp paper, and almost all of the founding fathers growing it. President Abraham Lincoln uses hemp seed oil to light his house. While ‘Hemp for Victory’ is a rallying cry in World War II, by 1957 Hemp is no longer grown in the US due to “confusion over hemp and drug varieties of the plant, while new government incentives for industry replace natural fibers with plastics, ultimately bankrupting key hemp processors.”
Then in 2004, the Ninth Circuit Court decision in Hemp Industries Association vs. DEA permanently protects sales of hemp foods and body care products in the U.S. But yet still no Hemp is grown in the US.
Fast forward to 2014 – and we find the Kentucky and Colorado Departments of Agriculture are fighting with the federal government for the right to grow industrial hemp in their states. BACKGROUND HERE Now, just recently we see that the Federal Government and the state of Kentucky have settled their differences, and the state of industrial Hemp appears to be turning a corner.
Say it with me – Hemp Hemp Hooray! This beneficial source of human nutrition and sustainable industrial applications could just yet be America’s latest bumper crop all over again.
The Dietary Supplementation Health Education Act (DSHEA) prevents dietary supplement manufacturers from talking about research that indicates their products may treat, or even PREVENT, any kind of disease or health condition. Cancer definitely falls under that category.
So lets say, hypothetically, that you are a manufacturer of dietary supplements who is releasing a new product that is made of the natural Cannabis sativa cannabinoid CBD (cannabidiol). Wouldn’t you want to tell the world if there was information that indicated that your product could address cancer? We know from other countries where CBD (and even THC which is illegal in 48 of 50 states) is sold as a prescription drug for conditions such as epilepsy, pediatric seizure disorder, anxiety, severe nausea and lack of appetite, that it can be a versatile natural substance. Helping to prevent cancer might be something folks would want to know about? Well, you, if you were a manufacturer of dietary supplements you wouldn’t be able to say that, or else risk the legal ramifications of being cited by the government’s Food and Drug Administration. Of course in most cases in order to BE a manufacturer, you’d have to believe in Corporate_personhood because most supplement manufacturers are corporations. As well it should be.
I am not a manufacturer of dietary supplements, although I work with many companies that are and have for a long time, none of which I personally consider people. I am an American citizen with first ammendment rights guaranteed by the constitution. So I can tell you what that link I posted to above says, just in case you haven’t clicked on it yet.
One study in mice and rats suggested that cannabinoids may have a protective effect against the development of certain types of tumors.[3] During this 2-year study, groups of mice and rats were given various doses of THC by gavage. A dose-related decrease in the incidence of hepaticadenoma tumors and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was observed in the mice. Decreased incidences of benign tumors (polyps and adenomas) in other organs (mammary gland, uterus, pituitary, testis, and pancreas) were also noted in the rats. In another study, delta-9-THC, delta-8-THC, and cannabinol were found to inhibit the growth of Lewis lungadenocarcinomacellsin vitro and in vivo .[4] In addition, other tumors have been shown to be sensitive to cannabinoid-induced growth inhibition.[5–8]
Cannabinoids may cause antitumor effects by various mechanisms, including induction of cell death, inhibition of cell growth, and inhibition of tumorangiogenesis invasion and metastasis.[9–12] Two reviews summarize the molecular mechanisms of action of cannabinoids as antitumor agents.[13,14] Cannabinoids appear to kill tumor cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts and may even protect them from cell death. These compounds have been shown to induce apoptosis in glioma cells in culture and induce regression of glioma tumors in mice and rats. Cannabinoids protect normal glial cells of astroglial and oligodendroglial lineages from apoptosis mediated by the CB1 receptor.[15]
An in vitro study of the effect of CBD on programmed cell death in breast cancer cell lines found that CBD induced programmed cell death, independent of the CB1, CB2, or vanilloid receptors. CBD inhibited the survival of both estrogen receptor–positive and estrogen receptor–negativebreast cancercell lines, inducing apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner while having little effect on nontumorigenic, mammary cells.[19]
CBD has also been demonstrated to exert a chemopreventive effect in a mouse model of colon cancer.[20] In the experimental system, azoxymethane increased premalignant and malignant lesions in the mouse colon. Animals treated with azoxymethane and CBD concurrently were protected from developing premalignant and malignant lesions. In in vitro experiments involving colorectal cancer cell lines, the investigators found that CBD protected DNA from oxidative damage, increased endocannabinoid levels, and reduced cell proliferation. In a subsequent study, the investigators found that the antiproliferative effect of CBD was counteracted by selective CB1 but not CB2 receptor antagonists, suggesting an involvement of CB1 receptors.[21]
Another investigation into the antitumor effects of CBD examined the role of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1).[12] ICAM-1 expression has been reported to be negatively correlated with cancer metastasis. In lung cancer cell lines, CBD upregulated ICAM-1, leading to decreased cancer cell invasiveness.
In an in vivo model using severe combined immunodeficient mice, subcutaneous tumors were generated by inoculating the animals with cells from human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines.[22] Tumor growth was inhibited by 60% in THC-treated mice compared with vehicle-treated control mice. Tumor specimens revealed that THC had antiangiogenic and antiproliferative effects. However, research with immunocompetent murine tumor models has demonstrated immunosuppression and enhanced tumor growth in mice treated with THC.[23,24]
In addition, both plant-derived and endogenous cannabinoids have been studied for anti-inflammatory effects. A mouse study demonstrated that endogenous cannabinoid system signaling is likely to provide intrinsic protection against colonic inflammation.[25] As a result, a hypothesis that phytocannabinoids and endocannabinoids may be useful in the risk reduction and treatment of colorectal cancer has been developed.[26–29]
CBD may also enhance uptake of cytotoxic drugs into malignant cells. Activation of the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 2 (TRPV2) has been shown to inhibit proliferation of human glioblastoma multiforme cells and overcome resistance to the chemotherapy agent carmustine.[30] In an in vitro model, CBD increased TRPV2 activation and increased uptake of cytotoxic drugs, leading to apoptosis of glioma cells without affecting normal human astrocytes. This suggests that coadministration of CBD with cytotoxic agents may increase drug uptake and potentiate cell death in human glioma cells.
The page also covers very well the research on appetitie stimulation and analgesia (pain relief). Neither of which the makers of dietary supplements will let you know about it. “Because we can’t talk about it.”
Talk about being on the cutting edge of science here, folks. Now more than ever, scientists are furiously researching the activity of our body’s own endocannabinoid system (ECS) as a major factor in some very important areas of brain and Central Nervous System functioning. Now, research by Z Hadju et al published just yesterday shows that Maca root aka Lepidium meyenii or Lepidium peruvianum (yes that amazing Peruvian super food you may have heard me talk about just a little bit) contains compounds which may have important effects on various protein targets in the ECS system. These compounds, called N-alkylamides (NAAs), have an effect that is described as cannabomimetic.
This is fascinating not just because it gives one more exciting insight (from a thoroughly reductionist standpoint, mind you) of how dynamic plants are. It is especially timely because it parallels a re-visitation our society and our scientists are having with cannabinoids. New pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements and brain therapies are being developed around these stunning new developments and the potential for tapping into our body’s own regulation mechanisms. Which is, clearly, what plant medicines do best because of their own internal regulatory mechanisms and unique things like secondary metabolites.
In an article in the NY TImes, celebrity food author and philosopher Michael Pollan talks about the cannabanoid network “A brain chemical that sharpens the senses, narrows your mental focus, allows you to forget everything extraneous to the task at hand (including physical discomfort and the passage of time) and makes you hungry would seem to be the perfect pharmacological tool for Man…” While this is extremely relevant to research on compounds such as CBD extracted from industrial hemp (and therefore legal in all 50 states) it may apply to many botanicals in different ways, as well as to our body’s own intrinsic production of compounds such as anandamide (named for the Vedic word ananda, meaning bliss).
