CBD & Fitness – Cannabis | weed | marijuana

CBD & Fitness. So far, there has not been much concrete scientific knowledge on this topic. There have been a few observational studies and numerous anecdotal reports. And the results were everywhere.

Does CBD Reduce Inflammation? Does CBD change body composition by affecting glucose metabolism? Can CBD Increase Oxygen Consumption?

Do CBD and exercise go hand in hand? What Are the Health Benefits of CBD? What are the benefits of CBD for fitness?

Luckily, the latest CBD study published in Nutrients Journal is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized controlled study.

In other words – the gold standard for answering such questions.

Details on the CBD & Fitness study

As previously mentioned, this latest CBD and fitness study is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study. Researchers studied the effects of oral CBD in 48 individual adults aged 18 to 50.

Participants did not use CBD or THC for six weeks prior to the study. None of them had a history of problem alcohol or drug use.

Only healthy individuals were selected. The researchers excluded people with metabolic or cardiovascular problems, pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, and people with neurological disorders.

The researchers randomly distributed 50 mg of CBD capsules daily for eight weeks. They examined participants’ cognitive health, body composition, exercise patterns, psychological well-being, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.

(CRP is a protein produced by the liver in response to inflammation. Researchers use CRP levels as a marker of inflammation and infection.)

In addition to blood tests and self-report surveys, participants also wore Fitbits so researchers could assess their physical activity.

CBD & Fitness Study Results

So are there any benefits to combining CBD and training? Have researchers found any health benefits of CBD at all?

Do you use CBD for exercising? If you believe that CBD increases the intensity of exercise, then it could be a placebo effect.

While this CBD and fitness study found that CBD did not increase the intensity of exercise, there was a small reduction in the placebo group over eight weeks.

This suggests that a daily intake of 50mg of CBD will help prevent a reduction in anaerobic performance. Researchers said this was likely due to CBD’s antioxidant status.

By increasing antioxidant levels, participants noticed a decrease in free radicals. (Free radicals are reactive molecules that steal electrons from other molecules, damaging cells and tissues in a process called oxidation.)

The effect of CBD on body composition and other fitness measures has been inconclusive. Results varied between both the CBD and placebo groups, suggesting that individual differences played a greater role, at least in the context of this study’s measurements.

Although CBD benefits fitness, researchers have not been able to answer our many questions. They came to the conclusion

The present study found that daily consumption of 50 mg of CBD for 8 weeks in physically active adults did not result in significant improvements in body composition, aerobic and other muscle strength measures, mental health, or inflammation.

They added that while CBD doesn’t increase the intensity of your workouts, it can increase your average workout time.

limitations of the study

The researcher wrote:

The interpretation of the results should also take into account the limitations of the present study. Future studies should consider longer intervention durations, higher CBD doses, and monitoring of physical activity and exercise during the intervention period. Overall, these results add to the limited knowledge about CBD’s effects on physical fitness, mental health, and inflammation, and underscore the need for further research to fully understand the potential benefits and limitations of CBD consumption in healthy individuals.

Of course, given the parameters of the study, this should not be interpreted to mean that CBD has no effect on inflammation or mental health.

Other double-blind studies on CBD and mental health show positive associations. This study also examined CRP levels as a marker of inflammation. Other broader-spectrum CBD studies have shown that CBD reduces inflammation.

While this CBD study may not have yielded the results cannabis connoisseurs were looking for, it wasn’t stricken with fridge madness either.

As the researchers mention, more rigorous studies will uncover more health benefits (or side effects) of CBD. No adverse effects were currently noted in this RCT and CBD increases endurance during exercise.

All other CBD and training benefits appear to be placebo, at least for now.