Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS is a condition that affects over 45 million people in the U.S. It is a bowel disorder that lasts for a long time and causes bloating, discomfort, abdominal pain and irregular bowel habits. While this form of bowel disease is difficult to treat, there are some revolutionary approaches that minimize the effects of IBS.
CBD oil for IBS is a ground-breaking product that works against this long-term disorder and today, we are going to discuss about it in detail. Cannabinoids are rapidly getting a reputation as a new class of medicines.
The unique interaction of these natural components with the body systems and their wide scope of uses make them stars in the medicinal world. CBD has particularly gained a lot of popularity as an effective compound with no psychoactive effects, suiting a wide range of people suffering from different conditions.
What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is a medical condition affecting the body’s digestive system. It is a chronic disease that affects patients all through their lives, causing a lot of stress and frustration. While it can occur to anybody of any age, it is common among women. It is uncertain what exactly causes IBS but many theories relate it to the too fast or too slow passing of food through the digestive tract, stress, oversensitive gut nerves and even genetics. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this condition though there are some ways to control the symptoms.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome usually starts with stomach cramps and pain, constipation, diarrhoea and bloating. The symptoms can become worse or better and patients may have good and bad days though it is unclear what causes the fluctuations. Apart from these common symptoms, sufferers may be affected by nausea, flatulence, backache, fatigue and incontinence. Research also suggests that IBS is related to depression and anxiety due to the chronic nature of its symptoms.
All these symptoms are highly nasty and unpleasant and patients are often desperate about treating them.
How CBD Helps IBS Symptoms?
IBS is a functional digestive disorder with common digestive problems like bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain as well as mood disturbances and inflammation. Cannabinoid receptors found in our body help treat conditions like anxiety, seizures, insomnia and inflammation.
Using products containing cannabidiol can help our endocannabinoid system maintain balance and help with mood, sleep, appetite, pain and inflammation. Here are some of the ways CBD can help treat the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Reduced Intestinal Inflammation
CBD oil is effective at preventing painful intestinal inflammation. When patients with IBS use CBD oil, endocannabinoids in the body relieve gut inflammation. When CBD is used to treat IBS, there is an additional benefit that it is completely non-psychoactive.
Lesser Spasmodic Occurrences
The research on IBS does not clearly indicate the cause for the condition. It can either be dietary or stress-related. Some cases see the combination of the two. While the causes are not clear, the symptoms are pretty universal. Gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation are the symptoms that cause so much trouble for the patients.
When CBD is used, it interacts with the cannabinoid receptors in the digestive tract and relaxes the tissue. This results in fewer spasmodic episodes and less discomfort. CBD also reduces gastrointestinal distress, making it highly effective for IBS.
Regulates Pain
Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be a really uncomfortable condition. We may suffer for mistakes we make regarding the food and deal with pain, discomfort and bloating. But knowing that you have an effective pain reliever at hand really helps. CBD is known for its pain relief effects in the medical field. Not only does it alleviate nausea but also helps reduce swelling and inflammation. Getting rid of these symptoms of IBS can give the patients their daily life back. When the condition is uncomfortable, they have something to do about it. Many patients fear they will have to live with the discomfort and pain through their lives as they don’t find what works. With the right dose of CBD, the treatment is effective.
Improved Motility
IBS is a condition with a number of causes and symptoms. No two people can experience the disorder in the same way as various physical and mental factors come into play. A problem that plays a big part in most people’s IBS is anxiety. Anxiety resulting from simple stress can lead to hypermotility where food moves quickly through the gastrointestinal tract. This results in IBS symptoms in many people and can cause poor digestion, loss of water and degraded nutrient absorption. Consuming cannabinoid has been known to help with hypermotility. It works great for healing diarrhea.
Stimulate Appetite
The bowel condition makes you nauseated and affects the appetite. This causes the patients to stop eating for some time periods and then overeat when the appetite returns. And as they overeat, IBS symptoms show up again. It becomes a cycle in which many people get stuck every year. It is possible to deal with these problems using over-the-counter medicines but most of the time, they are ineffective. Nausea suppressants generally don’t work to promote a healthy appetite. Clinical studies show that CBD is effective at suppressing nausea and promoting a healthy appetite. It is, for this reason, an amazing tool to fight IBS symptoms.
Does It Really Work?
The industry of CBD Oil is growing at a fast rate in the US, Canada and across Europe. CBD is a compound found in the cannabis plant and is not psychoactive like THC, another popular component extracted from the plant. A number of studies have been conducted to throw light on various health benefits of CBD.
CBD works by interacting with the endocannabinoid system of the body. This system consists of two types of receptors – CB1 and CB2. CB1 receptors found in the brain are stimulated by THC while CB2 receptors are affected by cannabidiol. The neurologist Ethan Russo in 2008 suggested that IBS can be caused by a deficiency of endocannabinoids, the natural cannabinoids occurring in the body produced through biological processes. The review serves as a strong base for CBD’s effectiveness at treating the symptoms of IBS.
The British Journal of Pharmacology revealed in 2016 that CBD actually has positive effects on IBS symptoms. When consumed, CBD interacts with the CB2 receptors in the digestive tract, showing a number of beneficial effects. CBD has properties known to alleviate spasms in the tract and improve the motility of the intestine.
CBD, in simple words, works by stimulating your body to ease the symptoms of IBS. CBD being a naturally occurring compound, it is a safer treatment to use in the IBS condition.
Why Use CBD Oil Over Other Treatments?
IBS is quite tricky to treat because the traditional treatments might not work for everyone. There are cases where people end up having tried everything and nowhere to turn to. However, if you do a quick Google search, you would find the real-life stories and reviews from people who have used CBD oil to treat the symptoms of IBS. Most of these patients shared that though they saw no improvement in their condition with whatever treatment they tried, CBD seemed to work for them.
While CBD does not claim to have no side effects, the effects that occur are usually favorable and mild as compared to those of medicines. Moreover, it does not claim to cure IBS but it is definitely an easy way to get relief from the awful symptoms.
Some people are skeptical about the use of CBD oil because of the way media has presented it over the decades. However, as we saw, CBD has no psychoactive properties and is not known to get the person high. In fact, CBD has already entered the medicinal industry in the form of various products including soft gels, capsules, oils and tinctures and prescribed by medical marijuana doctors in Florida and other states where cannabis is legalized for medicinal purposes.
Final Thoughts
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a highly uncomfortable condition affecting millions of people across the world. It is quite unusual that there is no proven cure for such a condition. Thankfully, there are some treatments that help relieve the frustrating symptoms of IBS including probiotics, medications and dietary changes. But these treatments work on trial and error basis and patients experience flare-ups in their condition despite all the lifestyle and diet changes.
Studies have shown that CBD can prove to be a solution for people looking for safe, simple, natural ways to treat the condition of IBS. Though it does not claim to cure the disorder, people using CBD Oil for IBS testify the positive effects it causes on the body. CBD works by interacting with the body’s endocannabinoid system, easing spasms and inflammation and improving motility in the intestine. CBD, thus, reduces the IBS symptoms by relieving constipation, cramps and diarrhea.
Considering these facts, it can be concluded that CBD Oil really works in treating the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. People suffering from this condition can consult a healthcare practitioner for guidance on the use of CBD for IBS. There are many CBD Doctors who can help you add CBD to your current medication to benefit the IBS condition.