- An amazing letter from a reader about her experiences with CBD
- The oil that can treat pain, epilepsy, anxiety and insomnia
- Men! This new research reveals a benefit of drinking coffee that you might not have thought about
A few weeks ago I wrote to you about cannabis oil, otherwise known as CBD.
This natural remedy is new to most people, and science is racing to catch up with the research missed through years of stigma and prejudice against cannabis products.
So to get some more evidence that this stuff really works, I asked if any readers had some stories of their experiences that they wished to share.
I wasn’t disappointed!
A fantastic reader, who delights in telling me that she is in her 70s, wrote me this remarkable message.
“Six years ago I was misdiagnosed with a back problem, which thanks to a Chiropractor was found to be a hip in urgent need of repair. Painkillers were useless as I had bone grinding on bone. I tried CBD Oil and it took the edge off the pain.
I had a replacement at the end of July 2018. Very little pain afterwards and once home I used CBD oil if I needed pain relief.
One month later my husband died. The shock and the enormity of what I was having to cope with resulted in not wanting to get out of bed, with migraines, nightmares and panic attacks.
I had forgotten about CBD oil until one of your articles jogged my memory…
I can now get up within 30 minutes of the alarm going off. The migraines have disappeared as have the nightmares and the panic attacks seem to have gone. I can now take more exercise I am much less stiff, so I am walking and learning to garden. Gradually I am taking an interest in life again.”
It’s so wonderful to get emails like this, and I’m grateful that that people are willing to share their painful experiences with the rest of the readers.
If you’ve had some good results from CBD, do let me know.
Like I say, there’s so much research that needs to be done into the many ways you can use CBD, but here are some suggestions from Dr O’Sullivan, an associate professor at Nottingham University, who has been studying cannabis for more than 15 years.
He writes:
“Clinical trials have shown CBD provides significant improvements in epilepsy, anxiety and Parkinson’s disease and based on pre-clinical evidence, there are more than 30 or more disorders that could benefit from treatment with CBD…
These include chronic pain, anxiety, nausea and vomiting, dementia, stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and insomnia.”
That’s remarkable isn’t it?
Here’s a professor who has specialised in researching CBD and lists a whole range of problems from dementia to diabetes to arthritis – all from this one oil.
A tip for those with sensitive taste buds
Nothing is perfect, of course.
And there is a drawback with CBD oil – and that’s the taste. Don’t expect a mouthful of deliciousness that you can savour like a fine wine.
However, if you have sensitive taste buds, you might want to try adding CBD oil to coffee to cover up the taste.
This has a second benefit, because CBD oil helps counteract some of the side-effects of coffee, such as jitteriness and anxiety.
This is why some cafes, for instance, Deeney’s in Leyton, offer drops of CBD oil as an extra when you make a purchase!
If coffee is not your cup of tea (sorry, silly joke) then you could also add CBD oil to smoothies, shakes and soups.
Oh, and talking of coffee.
New research reveals yet another benefit of drinking coffee
Coffee is one of those ingredients that seems to get good and bad press in the health news, although much of the research does tend to land on the side of good.
…in moderation of course. Drinking gallons of strong coffee every day can lead to some of the side-effects I alluded to like jitters and anxiety – but also a racing heart, high blood pressure, insomnia and even stress.
But keep it to one small cup a day and it does seem that there can be long term benefits.
Remarkable research a few years ago said that a cup of coffee per day can extend your life. Study author Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter said: “Pro-rata, a cup of coffee puts, on average, around nine minutes on a man’s life, and around three minutes on a woman’s.”
And a little before that, in 2015, a Harvard study showed that moderate coffee consumption could reduce your risk of dying prematurely from heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and Type 2 diabetes.
The lead researcher of that report, with the excellent name Ming Ding said:
“Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation. That could explain some of our findings.”
Now the latest research, published in the journal The Prostate last October, has looked at the links between drinking coffee and the risk of prostate cancer.
Scientists from Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science in Japan tested coffee compounds against prostate cancer in mice, including cells that were resistant to standard cancer drugs. They found that the cancer cells grew far less rapidly.
This is only a pilot test study in humans, but the results seem to be encouraging. One of the study leaders, Dr. Hiroaki Iwamoto says:
“What it does show is that these compounds appear to have an effect on drug-resistant cells prostate cancer cells in the right circumstances.”
So it really could be worth combining CBD with coffee for a whole number of health reasons!
Anyway, do let me know if you’re trying it out and getting some results.
