the endocannabinoid system.

from the neurons in your brain to the bones in your feet, and everywhere in between, your cells have binding sites that allow chemical messengers to dock and relay information. its pretty crazy to think about your body having a brilliant network of messengers and receptor sites that carry out complex processes. imagine the outside of a cell having a mailbox, with an address, where a piece of mail containing information is dropped. the inside of that cell receives the message and carries out a task in response to the information. this is happening all the time at an incomprehensible magnitude and speed. inflammation, stress response, metabolism, pain, detoxification and countless additional functions are carried out by your body’s cells reacting to chemical messengers.

the ecs (discovered in 1992) is a network of messengers and receptors that communicate with nearly all tissue in your mind-body. endocannabinoids (like anadimide) are naturally produced by your body to activate the esc, transmitting information to promote homeostasis. balance is a primary objective of holistic health and is the most powerful approach to long term health and wellness (in our opinion). since disruptions to health and wellness are often the result of foundational imbalance in multiple systems, the ecs is a very powerful player in strengthening overall health and wellness. cannabinoids like cbd are exogenous (found outside the body) messengers that bind to receptor sites that stimulate the balancing action of the ecs. the booming popularity of cbd has everything to do with its powerful balancing properties.

cbd.


cannabidiol (cbd) is a phytocannabinoid found in cannabis (hemp and marijuana) that is becoming well known for its vast therapeutic applications. cbd is often referred to as the “medicinal” compound in the cannabis plant while thc is know for more recreational uses. while cbd is a specific chemical compound unique to cannabis, the term us used as a general name for product containing all varieties of hemp extracts that contain cbd.

 

hemp vs marijuana.

thc content is the main differentiator between hemp and marijuana. as defined by congress (2014. 2018 farm bill), any cannabis harvested and tested below 0.3% thc by mass (dry weight of flower before extraction) is classified as industrial hemp. any cannabis harvested and tested above 0.3% thc at harvest is classified as marijuana. marijuana growing is centered around thc content while hemp farming is centered around cbd or fiber content. reputable cbd formulators will extract from hemp grown to maximize cbd content and quality.

 

cbd wont get you high.

cbd is non-psychoactive and does not produce a high sensation like thc. cbd does not bind to the psychoactive cb1 receptors of the ecs. however, cbd can produce a relaxed state of mind and body. while this is a highly desired effect, it should be monitored and understood by the customer.

 

general approach to serving sizes.

this is a conversation for your medical professional. general routine recommendations start at 10mg cbd 2x daily for a total of 20mg daily. this is considered the beginning of therapeutic range. anything lower than this may not produce results. we believe people seeking the general, whole mind-body benefits of cbd should start at the beginning of therapeutic range and work their way up. after 10 days with this routine, an increase of 10-20 mg cbd / day is common if the client isn’t experiencing notable progress towards their goal. repeat this process until desired outcome is notable. we made a chart that illustrates the general starting point and path for a cbd routine. this chart is intended for adult usage. while relevant, we did not factor weight into this chart because impact on daily life, endocannabinoid system “sensitivity”, gut health and immune function/ inflammation levels are greater factors in a persons response to a serving size. this is why we recommend starting lower and working your way up. this is a well respected approach within our network of practitioners and body work experts.

 

evaluating effectiveness.page2image25130304

establish a baseline. we suggest people journal before starting a cbd routine and benchmark their progress at 10 day intervals. this means paying attention to and writing down things like sleep quality, mood & energy when you wake up, mood & energy in the afternoon, digestion, pain levels, mental clarity and any performance issues you’re trying to address. brining attention to these indicators of health will help you better track & understand your progress and success with a cbd routine.

 

what to expect.

there’s no definite answer for what to expect first with a cbd routine because it’s truly holistic in action. the vast network of endocannabinoid receptors act on a wide range of mental and physical systems to drive improvements in multiple systems at the same time. this is why cbd is known for being so successful at addressing chronic and acute performance issues throughout the mind-body. through the holistic balancing action of cbd, there are multiple pathways to achieving improved health and wellness.

here’s what we do know. people often notice the first improvements in areas that are most out of balance. for example, if you’re most concerned with improving sleep, that’s where you’re most likely to see results first, even though you’re likely experiencing improvement in multiple areas at the same time. then, as a result of better sleep, you may notice lower stress levels (better cortisol patterns), which will improve energy levels, mood, mental clarity, digestion, and inflammation response.

when you start improving foundations of health without negative side effects, other systems start functioning more effectively, resulting in improved overall health and wellness.
most often, a consistent cbd routine will deliver improvements in multiple areas at once. those improvements compound as you move further into holistic balance. however, what you will notice first is hard to predict. in general, bringing attention to the areas you want to improve will help you identify progress faster.

 

set up for success.

if you want to get the most out of your cbd routine, its important to get serious and positive about improving your health. take additional responsibility for your progress. this means getting objective and analytical. we consult for physicians across the country to help their clients get the best results with a cbd routine. time and time again, the client who improves their diet, start exercising more, meditates and implements better sleep hygiene will see better results in a shorter amount of time with a smaller cbd serving size. while cbd is proving to be one of the most powerful holistic plants in the world, nothing is cure all. every truly healthful therapy is significantly more powerful and low lasting when supported by improved diet and lifestyle.

 

separate novelty from sustainable improvements.

some people ask about loosing results when stopping a cbd routine. while the short answer is not to worry, countless variables contribute to a persons experience with starting and stopping a cbd routine. we think these are very important questions and will take a little space on this page to explain.
lets look at a simple example. consider a woman who starts running for exercise. the first dozen runs will have a notable effect on the mind and body. she will be out of breath and feel soreness the next day. the endorphins make her feel good and the soreness validates her effort. she will likely see mental and physical improvements pretty quickly. however, a few months into a consistent routine, the endorphins and soreness are not as noticeable because the feeling is more familiar and she is physically stronger. her health continues to improve, but the rate of change is less dramatic. she evaluates the benefit of running purely on novelty experiences, so she thinks running (exercising) doesn't work anymore and stops. three weeks later, her energy levels have dropped and she feels stressed about things that weren't bothering her a few weeks prior. basically, when she stops exercising, the acute (short term) mental and physical benefits start to fade. she might feel like all that work was for nothing if she doesn’t continue running. in reality, her health is much better from 3 months of running, even after stopping for a few weeks. however, her expectation of health has changed as improved health and wellness became the new standard. she should continue exercising to maintain that level of health.

many clients will experience impressive results within a few days of starting a cbd routine and set their expectations to continue enjoying that rate of boundless improvement. when the novelty starts to level out, the client might think cbd stopped working for them. similarly, after stopping a routine, some clients may feel signs of their discomforts returning. this doesn’t mean their mind-body is back to square one, it just means the powerful balancing properties of cbd aren’t acting on the endocannabinoid system.

while you may not experience the acute effects of cbd after stopping a routine, cbd has short term and long term benefits. this is a good reason to journal key health indicators on a regular basis and put in the work to make additional healthy changes to diet and lifestyle. making these efforts will help you understand your long term progress vs you short term experiences.

 

make some lifestyle upgrades.

discomfort from pain, anxiety, depression, sleep dysfunction, fatigue, brain fog, digestion problems, etc. are rooted in holistic imbalance driven by inflammation, stress, toxicity, nutritional deficiency, emotional toxicity, etc. while cbd alone will deliver exciting improvements, it’s important to put in some work of your own to further balance the mind-body. carve out some time to exercise 4-6 days / week, work on improving sleep hygiene and structuring your morning routine to include meditation of some kind, eat more organic fruits and vegetables, eat less sugar, remove wheat and non-organic corn from your diet, limit caffeine after 3pm to reduce circadian disruption. start somewhere and work to make steady progress. for more information on the above recommendations, send us an email or chat with your holistic health care practitioner.

 

staying close to the source. choosing function.

like any booming industry, the cbd market is being flooded with hundreds and hundreds of different product types. we see more everyday and its becoming difficult for clients to choose a product that best serves the function the need. booming cbd popularity shines a light on pharma’s failure to address chronic and holistic dysfunctions like pain, inflammation, gut health, stress, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disorder, immune function, etc. however, the increasingly popular demand for cbd is fueling a marketplace that pumps out novelty product and damages therapeutic value. while the rest of the industry races to push out the newest infusion, combination, flavor, packaging, extraction method, etc. we’re staying as close to the plant as possible and improving therapeutic value

bruce lee one said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”. we take this concept seriously. we know the most powerful therapeutic value is in the plant itself, and the more you process and refine that plant, the more therapeutic value is reduced or removed. we’re not trying to rush 1,000 products to the market. instead we continue to master the fundamentals of therapeutic value through minimally processed extracts harnessing the whole plant. our focus on the basics has allowed us to surpass the rest of the industry in quality and simplicity.

topical vs internal.

both have their benefits and it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. topical products like our deep tissue salve are used for targeted areas that can be reached with topical use (like muscles, joints and fascia). internal product like our sublingual is used for holistic mind-body benefits of a cbd routine and addressing issues more internal. in general, topicals tend to be quicker acting while sublinguals usually result in better long term, sustainable improvements.

 

isolate vs full-spectrum.

generally speaking, therapeutic value of the whole plant is greater than the sum of its parts. isolating cbd requires significantly more processing and it removes other beneficial compounds that synergize with cbd to improve the overall benefits (as compared to cbd alone). this synergy called the “entourage effect”. formulations using isolate generally require greater serving sizes to experience results comparable to full spectrum formulas. unfortunately many highly processed forms of cbd like isolate, nano-particle and water soluble advertise higher efficacy at lower serving sizes while actually delivering far less.

 

cbd from hemp vs cbd from marijuana.

the argument that industrial hemp is inferior to marijuana because of low resin content is not valid anymore. its actually the opposite now. reputable cbd companies extract from high resin plants grown specifically for maximizing cbd content. high resin hemp plants produce a far superior cbd product than marijuana. why? because cbd and thc originate from the same cannabinoid called cbg. the sum of cbd and thc won’t exceed the original percentage of cbg (thc+cbd < original cbg). this means plants higher in thc will be lower in cbd and plants higher in cbd will be lower in thc. we want the latter. through research and iteration, our understanding of plant genetics have improved tremendously over the past 5 years; allowing for organic plants with tailored cannabinoid compositions.

 

cbd & drug testing.

cbd will not result in a false positive on a drug test. however, full spectrum cbd products can contain trace amounts of thc (trace amount = 0.3% or lower. our products typically measure between 0.00% - 0.01% thc lower than trace amount thc). many companies’ measuring below 0.3% thc will market their products as zero thc, and we think that’s a little irresponsible. the customer needs to know there may be trace amounts of thc in full spectrum cbd products. this trace amount should be of no concern in topical (non-transdermal) products. internal full spectrum product carries very low risk of a positive drug test, but it’s still a risk the customer needs to be aware of.