The Myth:
Cannabidiol (CBD) has emerged as one of the biggest health trends over the past few years. You might have seen CBD in the form of candy at the drugstore or an additional option to your morning tea or coffee. It has been touted to help ease symptoms of many common health issues, including anxiety, depression, acne and heart disease.
Why has CBD become so popular? Is it safe? Effective? Let's take a look a closer look.
What is it?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is the active ingredient in cannabis (marijuana). CBD is derived from the hemp plant directly and is a component of marijuana. According to the World Health Organization, “CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential.” This is because CBD does not contain THC, which is the ingredient that produces a “high.” CBD can come in many forms. It is commonly seen in liquid or oil. However, food, drinks and even beauty products that contain CBD are widely available.
Health Benefits and further research:
CBD has claimed to treat a number of different health issues. There is some research out that CBD can treat anxiety and chronic pain. However, research is limited and more high quality evidence in human studies need to be made. The strongest evidence is that CBD is used to treat childhood epilepsy syndromes.The FDA only approved one prescription CBD oil called Epidolex and it is used to treat two rare and severe forms of epilepsy in children, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.
Concerns and Safety:
CBD is sold as a supplement and not a drug so the FDA does not regulate the safety and purity. Therefore there is no guarantee the product has active ingredients or any unknown ingredients. A recent study of 84 CBD products that were bought online showed that more than a quarter contained less CBD than labeled and THC was found in 8 of the products as well. In addition, just like many medications or supplements, CBD can cause side effects including nausea, fatigue and irritability. CBD can interact with Coumadin and caution should be used when using CBD if on any medications become pregnant or nursing.
Our bottom line:
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends consumers use caution when purchasing CBD in Food and Beverages. As discussed earlier, the lack of rigorous scientific trials and limited information regarding safety, dosing and effectiveness is too real to be ignored . In July 2019, the Academy posted remarks to the US Food and Drug Administration indicating that they support only a science based, public health driven approach to regulating CBD products.
At Integrated Eating Dietetics-Nutrition, we support the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics regulations. CBD is simply too unregulated for us to recommend the products, especially to a recovering populations. As a practice, we use caution when a new health trend hits the market as there are too many unknowns when it comes to safety and efficacy.
With that being said we are seeing some promising research on CBD and it’s role in supporting health. Emerging research is currently being done looking at using CBD in eating disorders. We look forward to seeing more human studies to test its efficacy to treat health conditions. If considering using CBD we strongly suggest discussing this with your treatment team.
Sources:
https://www.eatrightpro.org/news-center/on-the-pulse-of-public-policy/from-the-hill/academy-announces-stance-on-cbd-in-food-and-beverage-products
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-drug-comprised-active-ingredient-derived-marijuana-treat-rare-severe-forms