Can CBD Help You Maintain Heart Health?

Growing Evidence Suggests It Can Lower Blood Pressure and Much More

By Dan Reich

Heart health is one of many areas being explored to determine the therapeutic health benefits of CBD. Nearly 655,000 Americans die from heart disease every year, accounting for one in every four deaths – the largest single cause of death in the US. The term “heart disease” is often used synonymously with cardiovascular disease, an umbrella term for all medical conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels in the body.

Heart disease can have many causes, including high blood pressure, narrowing of the arteries due to plaque, autoimmune disease, bacterial infections, diabetes, diets with too much sodium, refined carbohydrates or trans fats, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, stress and viral infections. Unfortunately, according to the American Heart Association, the majority of people (82%) who engage in diets or lifestyles that put them at risk, choose not to make any changes until heart disease strikes.

CBD is perhaps best known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Research suggests that inflammation may be at the root of many chronic illnesses. Heart disease is associated with inflammation. Inflamed blood vessels make it harder for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. CBD also has antioxidative properties that may help reduce risk factors that can lead to heart disease. It may also be helpful in reducing the risk of related conditions, such as stroke.

Researchers have found that CBD is a vasodilator, meaning it can lower blood pressure by widening blood vessels and enabling the blood to flow more easily. During a 2017 study by the National Institute of Health, researchers learned that one dose of CBD reduced blood pressure in healthy participants.

An Effective Stress-Buster

Epidemiological studies have shown a positive relationship between long-term stress and the development of cardiovascular disease. A 2017 study in the UK involved a group of men who were tested for the effect of stress on blood pressure. Those who were given CBD had significantly lower spikes in their blood pressure after being subjected to stress.

Reducing the harmful effects of stress can also address factors such as social isolation, low socioeconomic status, depression, stressful family and work life, and anxiety…factors that are associated with an increased risk of the development and accelerated progression of existing cardiovascular disease.

CBD may also protect against cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, where the heart beats too fast, too slowly, or with an irregular pattern. Arrhythmias can be brought on by long-term stress, as high cortisol levels can raise blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides, and other risk factors for heart disease in general. CBD also has well-documented anti-anxiety properties which can help combat stress, lower cortisol, and protect against arrhythmias related to those causes. Sativa type THC, on the other hand, often exacerbates arrhythmias, causing the heart rate to quicken and increase the blood pressure.

In summary, CBD can mitigate cardiovascular disease through stabilizing blood sugar levels, easing inflammation, lowering blood pressure in the face of acute stress, and protecting the arteries from oxidative stress.

Additionally, CBD possesses neuro-protective abilities, which can minimize the chances of having a stroke, limit the damage if one occurs, promote recovery and improve survival rates.

How to Use CBD to Protect Your Heart

Seek out companies that use all natural organic hemp and avoid those that don’t list their third-party lab results publicly on their website. Any contaminants in low-quality oils could make underlying causes for heart disease worse, so it’s critical to ensure you only use high-quality products.

There are three main types of CBD products:  

1. Full-spectrum, which contains multiple naturally occurring cannabis plant extracts, including terpenes, flavenoids and up to 100 other cannabinoids. Hemp will have less than 0.3% THC,

2. Broad-spectrum, contains CBD and other components/ cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant, but does not contain any THC.

3. Isolate, is pure CBD and is the only cannabinoid contained in the product,

Of these three, Full-Spectrum is considered the most effective, as they offer the benefits of the “entourage effect” providing the synergy with the other cannabinoids and terpenes increasing their effectiveness. At Synergy Wellness, we offer a wide range of highest quality full-spectrum CBD products.

CBD products can take the form of sublingual (under the tongue) tinctures, edibles, capsules, topicals and flower, which is either smoked or put into capsules. People at risk for heart disease, or already suffering from it, are not encouraged to smoke CBD flowers. Topicals offer relief from various skin and muscle issues, but won’t penetrate deep enough to address cardiovascular problems. That leaves tinctures, edibles and capsules. Tinctures are the fastest-acting of the three (20-30 minutes), and are easiest to measure dosages in drops. Edibles and capsules take slightly longer to achieve their effects(30-60 minutes), but are equally effective and often last longer.

Everyone, particularly if they already are suffering from cardiovascular disease, should discuss CBD with their health team to make sure that it won’t have any undesirableUsually interactions with medicines they may already be taking. Usually there are on interactions at low to normal doses of CBD. However, there can be rare interactions at super high doses of CBD. For the vast majority of people, CBD can be an invaluable ally in the fight against cardiovascular disease.

• • •

The Rising Star of CBG

By Billee Sharp

Cannabigerol, CBG, was one of the earliest cannabinoid discoveries, Raphael Mecholam first identified it in 1964 as one of the minor cannabinoids, as CBG represents just 1% or less of the whole cannabinoid profile.

As research progressed further it became apparent that of the hundred or so cannabinoids present in the average hemp plant, every single one was derived directly from CBGa, the so-called “mother” or precursor of THC, CBD,CBN, THCV etc. By the time a cannabis plant is mature and ready to harvest only a tiny percentage of CBG is left in the plant. This is probably why both interest and research in CBG started slowly, as there was so little actual material available.

However cannabis counselors, therapists and doctors have been so impressed with CBG’s performance at low dosages that this has promoted the development of high-CBG strains of cannabis.

The effectiveness of CBG at low dosages is a component that really helps with affordability and also has the great advantage of less volume ingested for those with digestive issues.

Coupled with this enhanced effectivity at low dosages are CBG’s many attributes: pre-clinical trials have yielded positive results for CBG as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, neuroprotective and antibacterial, also a non-psychoactive appetite stimulant and a treatment for glaucoma.

As an anti-inflammatory, a 2013 pre-clinical trial showed that CBG reduced bowel inflammation in mice. This research proved to have further implications for CBG as treatment for autoimmune disorder inflammation.

In 2014 an anti-tumor colon cancer study tested CBG on mice. CBG was seen promoting apoptosis in colon cancer cells and inhibiting colon tumors from developing.

In terms of neuroprotective qualities, CBG relieves both inflammation in the brain and oxidative stress. Promising results with Altzheimer’s sufferers has been recognised.

MSRA, the notorious staph infection which has become immune to many antibiotics, has been eradicated successfully with CBG’s powerful anti-bacterial action.

THC is the usual cannabinoid treatment for appetite stimulation, but the associated psychoactive high makes it unusable for some. A 2017 pre-clinical trial on rats used CBG to stimulate appetite; both the amount of meals taken and the sizes of meals were seen to increase substantially.

CBG reduces intraocular inflammation which is the most damaging symptom of glaucoma, this anti-inflammatory action in the eye also relieves pressure and pain in macular degenerative conditions.

Recent studies in Canada and Oregon on immune support showed that CBGa combined with CBDa blocked the Sars Covid-19 virus from penetrating cells. The immunoprotective value of this combination is another appreciable aspect of CBG’s impressive profile.

The non-psychoactivity of CBG makes it a widely applicable cannabis panacea. Yet if psychoactivity is desired, CBG will not block THC from the CB1 receptor site, unlike CBD which inhibits THC. Therefore, CBG and THC can be taken together and retain their unique attributes. This can be helpful if THC is needed to treat chronic pain or tumors.

In the developing field of cannabis medicine we are witnessing the emergence of CBG, another cannabinoid with immense therapeutic value for health.

Cannabinol: the Darling of the Phytocannabinoids

by Ruth Hill, RN

Dementia is defined as a group of progressive disorders affecting the cognitive ability that is so severe it prevents the individual from independently brushing their teeth, taking a shower, or remembering their spouse’s name. Alzheimer’s (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia. An estimated 6.5 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in 2022. Seventy-three percent are 75 or older. About 1 in 9 aged 65 and older (10.7%) has Alzheimer's.

AD is the sixth leading cause of death more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Unfortunately, the Alzheimer’s Association and other Internet medical sites are unfamiliar with the latest research on cannabis treatment for AD and neurological diseases. Their reliance on pharmaceuticals with accompanying toxic side effects is not keeping pace with the public’s use of natural herbs. There is no cure for AD.

Researchers found that the brain cells of those with AD have abnormal protein deposits called amyloid-beta plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. These plaques and tangles disrupt the brain cell function and cause apoptosis or cell death. Neuroinflammation is also a big part of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Pharmaceutical Research

There are five approved drugs available for treating dementia. Three are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (rivistagmine, donepezil, and galantamine) and one is a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist (memantine). The Food and Drug Administration granted conditional approval in June, 2022 for a new drug, Aducanumab, even though an advisory panel had recommended against allowing the drug on the market. Aducanumab is the first drug to address the underlying biology of the disease. According to the FDA, aducanumab reduces beta-amyloid plaques, which reasonably leads to a reduction in clinical decline due to AD disease. However, its cost of $56,000 and toxic side effects was met with physician backlash. Consequently, these drugs that directly target amyloid, or tau proteins, that damage cells, have not yielded significant clinical benefits for patients.

Cannabinoids to Treat Dementia

Research on medical cannabis has focused mainly on the major phytocannabinoids, namely delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), for their pharmacological and clinical applications. Cannabinoids are known as potent anti-inflammatory compounds. CBD and THC both reduce the formation of amyloid-beta protein (G. Watt et al). However, relatively little scientific knowledge has yet been made for the minor phytocannabinoids.

Salk Institute Studies

There are many chemical pathways that lead to cell death. Research by Pamela Maher's team, at the Salk Institute in La Jolla CA, looked at the process of oxytosis/ferroptosis. Her research was published on January 6, 2023, in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Oxytosis is regulated cell death induced by an antioxidant depletion molecule called, glutathione (GSH). Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent non-apoptotic form of regulated cell death induced by potential anti-cancer drugs. There is growing evidence that oxytosis may cause AD.

Maher’s team treated nerve cells with cannabinol (CBN) and then introduced an agent to stimulate oxidative damage. They found that CBN worked by protecting mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses, within the neurons. In damaged cells, oxidation causes the mitochondria to curl up like donuts. Treating the cells with CBN prevented the mitochondria from curling up.

To confirm the interaction between CBN and mitochondria, researchers then replicated the experiment in nerve cells that had the mitochondria removed. In these cells, CBN no longer demonstrated its protective effect. CBN is molecularly similar to THC without the psychoactive effects. THC works directly with the CB1 receptors. But CBD and CBN do not affect cell function through the CB2 receptors. Instead, they modulate the effects of cells.

Transitioning Science into Practice

Synergy Wellness produces CBN-rich tinctures in two blends: #210 THC:CBN 1:1 in and #220 CBD:CBN 3:1 derived from natural cannabis flower and CBN isolate in organic sesame oil. Sesame oil is a long-chain triglyceride that encapsulates the cannabinoids and creates a liposomal effect. This liposomal effect provides better bioavailability of cannabinoids.

Our full spectrum tinctures enriched with CBN improve nerve health, organ function, and mood regulation. These capsules can be used for chronic conditions as well, taken every 4-6 hours, to maintain a constant dose of CBD and CBN cannabinoids in the body.

The challenge for the cannabis industry is disseminating this knowledge to other cultivators so this darling of the phytocannabinoids is available to the public.