Veggie Magazine March_2019

SHOP WELL

It’s the health ingredient

du jour – but does CBD

really deserve all the buzz?

We investigate with the

help of a nutritionist and

skincare expert...

C

BD is the hottest skincare

ingredient at the moment,

with a plethora of brands

and products waiting to be

discovered by those concerned

with ageing, dry, or acne-prone

skin. However, you might not

realise that this wonder

ingredient is also available as

a dietary supplement, commonly

taken as drops of oil. We’ve

chatted to nutritionist Alix Woods,

and strategy director at beauty

brand CBD of London, Samir

Juneja, for their insights into why we

should consider using CBD to nourish

our skin on the inside, and out.

First up, Alix Woods gives us the

low-down on the mood-enhancing

properties of CBD oil: “Studies show that

CBD oil has a stabilising efect on your

mood, as it works on the endocannabinoid

system (ECS), which is responsible for

maintaining homeostasis in physiological

processes like sleep, pain perception,

memory, mood, digestion, cognition and

immunity. The CBD oil acts upon the

cannabinoid receptors in the body, and

there is some evidence that this indirectly

stimulates serotonin cannabinoid

receptors to exert an anti-anxiety, happy

mood – they’re the same receptors that are

targeted by anti-depressant medications.”

Improved moods are just one of the

beneits touted by fans of CBD oil – so if

that’s not enough to get you on board,

then perhaps its memory-boosting and

sleep-enhancing powers might just

convince you, as Alix explains: “there is

some research that suggests CBD oil

promotes neurogenesis: the growth and

development of neurons. Plus, insomniacs

may ind it helps prevent them from

overthinking, and it can also act as a

natural analgesic.”

CBD is also lauded in the world of

skincare – and rightly so, according to

Samir: “When broken down, CBD is simply

made up of vitamins, minerals and fatty

acids essential to healthy skin. It packs in

powerful anti-ageing, anti-inlammatory

and antioxidant compounds. Plus, CBD

contains vitamin A for irm skin, vitamin

C for collagen production, and vitamin E

which ights free radical damage and

environmental pollutants.”

There’s still a lot of potential bound up

in CBD that we are yet to discover, as Samir

describes: “We’re only beginning to scratch

the surface of CBD’s skincare beneits. The

understanding of the endocannabinoid

system, with CB1 and CB2 receptors which

control inlammatory responses, is really

exciting – it could be the key that unlocks

methods of treating inlammatory skin

diseases such as psoriasis,

dermatitis, rosacea, and acne.

A recent study in the Federation

of American Societies for

Experimental Biology Journal

found that CBD acts as a highly

efective compound to suppress

sebum production: for a person

with acne who typically over-

produces sebum, this research

could have a dramatic impact on

their life.”

It doesn’t look like there are

any signs of the popularity of CBD

slowing down any time soon; for Samir, this

is down to a few reasons: “Attitudes seem to

be changing with the level of information at

people’s ingertips these days, and the

barrier to studying cannabis is not as

rigid for researchers as it used to be.

The heartening indings from experiments

are also having a positive efect in changing

perceptions – plus, high-proile law cases,

such as Billy Caldwell’s, are capturing the

hearts and minds of the public, shifting

opinion to the point that the law changed,

and medicinal cannabis is now given to

those in need.”

IS CBD

WORTH

THE HYPE?

Turn the page to

see a range of CBD

products you can

incorporate into your

daily routine!