The latest trend in the CBD market is infusing products with other vitamins and minerals to potentially boost the immune system. Companies are combining their CBD edibles and CBD oils with other organic compounds to cater to customers worried about staying healthy.
Does CBD Help the Immune System?
There aren’t sufficient clinical studies on human subjects to definitively say that CBD helps the immune system. Unfortunately, cannabis prohibition has slowed research. We need much more controlled studies to make these types of claims.
CBD companies making health claims violate the FDA’s guidelines for CBD marketing.
Early researchers are looking into how CBD can balance the immune system. While this early research is promising, we are just beginning to understand how CBD can affect cell production in the body.
As restrictions on cannabis research are lifted by world governments, we will have a better understanding of how CBD can improve people’s lives.
How to Boost the Immune System?
Individuals that practice healthy habits usually have a strong immune system. Unless you have an underlying condition, the choices made throughout the day are a determining factor regarding how the immune system will respond.
People who eat healthy, exercise, and sleep well are most likely going to have a functioning immune system.
Some tips to boost the immune system are below.
- Don’t smoke
- Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day (USDA)
- Exercise regularly
- Sleep at least 7-9 hours per day (WebMD)
- Reduce stress
For individuals who are accustomed to making healthy choices, these guidelines are already apart of their routine. Unfortunately, many Americans have developed unhealthy lifestyle choices.
Boosting the immune system usually takes a multifaceted approach. Exercise alone won’t substitute for not getting enough sleep and eating junk food all day.
Adding CBD to your life could help boost your immune system, but you are likely going to need to make other changes if you want to notice results.
CBD and the Immune System
CBD researchers are hoping CBD oil drops can increase white blood cells. We don’t have the data to back this claim but there are studies to suggest this could be a reality.
A peer-reviewed article in the NCBI looks into CBD’s role in the immune response. Researchers James M. Nichols and Barbara L.F. Kaplan from Mississippi State University believe that studies point to CBD being immune suppressive.
“The area in which most of the effects of CBD in the immune system have been studied is T cells. Early studies examining rosette formation in response to sheep red blood cells revealed that CBD reduced this response.”
According to Nichols and Kaplan, most studies suggest CBD inhibits unwanted responses regarding the immune system. However, they do later state that “there have been a few reports over the years that CBD has produced some immune-enhancing effects.”
It is unclear whether CBD should be taken to enhance the immune system or taken to relieve the unwanted side-effects of immune response.
CBD companies are cashing in on a world-wide effort to boost the immune system. While CBD’s role in this is still unclear, there is no harm in taking vitamin D and C infused with your favorite CBD capsules or pills. We are too early in the game to understand how CBD can be used with the immune system.
Boosting the immune system will likely require a lifestyle change. Eating more vegetables, getting adequate sleep, and exercising are all steps required to boost the immune system. CBD could one day prove to be a part of the larger effort to become a healthier society.