CBD Oil has taken the health and wellness industry by storm and now it forms part of the many products in natural health shops and supplement stores.
Today there are plenty of CBD based products including body creams, lotions, soaps, lip balms, oil, and proteins.
Manufacturers of alcohol have also decided to spice up their drinks. Today you will find CBD-infused beers, shots and a number of other beverages. However, some people are worried about mixing CBD Oil and Alcohol. In this article, we will review the effect of mixing alcohol and CBD Oil. Read on to find out more.
What is CBD Oil?
CBD Oil is a natural compound derived from the marijuana or cannabis plant. Unlike THC, cannabis’ most active ingredient, CBD is not psychoactive. Therefore, it does not cause you to feel “high” as is the case with marijuana.
CBD is an extract of cannabis with an oil carrier, which can be anything from palm oil, coconut oil, hemp or olive oil.
Over the last few years, CBD Oil has gained a lot of popularity. You can now find it in a variety of forms including capsules, sprays, tinctures, food products or shots.
Recent research has shown that CBD Oil has many benefits to your health. Some of the things it can do include lower your anxiety levels, pain management and improve the health of your skin.
What is Alcohol?
Ethanol is the key ingredient in alcohol. Often referred to as alcohol, ethanol is what make you tipsy. It is made from yeast, which digests carbs and sugar-rich foods like grapes. Alcohol is the most psychoactive compound. It has a great impact on a person’s mental state and mood.
It tends to reduce your shyness and self-consciousness encouraging a person to act without fear or inhibition. It also impairs a person’s judgment promoting regrettable behavior. Most people take small quantities while most others tend to binge drink.
The liver helps to break down toxins and alcohol. For that reason, it tends to get damaged due to continued alcohol consumption. The damage leads to liver disease. Alcohol has other negative effects on the body.
It can affect the brain. For example, alcohol is known to block the transfer of signals between brain cells. Binging on alcohol can also cause you to blackout, an effect that is also associated with amnesia and memory loss.
Heavy drinkers also tend to become depressed. Although one can influence the occurrence of the other, the use of alcohol is often a stronger risk factor for depression. Most people experiencing depression and anxiety take alcohol knowingly as a coping mechanism to help them get over their stressors. Although drinking offers temporary relief, it tends to worsen a person’s mental state causing a repeated cycle.
Drinkers also battle other health concerns like obesity. Alcohol has many calories. In fact, it has about 7 calories/gram. Beer seems to have a similar number of calories as most sugary drinks, while red wine contains double the amount of calories.
However, it should be noted that the link between obesity and alcohol boils down to preference. For instance, moderate alcohol consumption may lead to slowed weight gain. Heavy drinkers tend to gain weight rapidly.
CBD Oil and Alcohol may amplify each other’s effects
Alcohol has the ability to minimize inhibitions. It can also promote relaxation. CBD Oil has almost the same effect on the body. Researchers found that it could cause your nerves to calm down lowering your anxiety levels.
For instance, a study involving 72 subjects showed that a daily dose of between 25 and 75 mg for a period of one month could lower anxiety levels and even improve the quality of sleep.
Mixing them up can could amplify their individual effects, and potentially cause increased sedation and sleepiness. Some researchers also believe that CBD Oil and Alcohol may intensify individual effects causing mood swings and changes in behavior.
A small study assessed the effects of giving subjects 1 g alcohol and 200 mg CBD Oil. It was established that combining the two would cause impairment of time perception as well as motor function. The study subjects found that they did not experience any changes when they consumed CBD alone.
CBD might protect users against side effects associated with Alcohol
Very little literature is available on the negative effects that may arise from mixing alcohol and CBD Oil. However, the little research there is has shown that CBD is likely to protect you from the negative effects of alcohol consumption. Here are some of the ways that CBD might counter the effects of alcohol.
CBD prevents disease and cell damage
Excess consumption of alcohol can lead to damaged cells. This might cause inflammation and even chronic diseases like pancreatitis, cancer and liver disease. A number of studies shown that CBD has the potential to protect liver cells from damage caused by alcohol use.
For instance, a study on rats has shown that spreading CBD Oil on your skin can lower brain damage caused by the use of alcohol by up to 49 percent. Another study has shown that injecting CBD into mice tissue protected liver cells from damage by raising autophagy. This process increases the production of new cells leading to rapid tissue regeneration.
May reduce blood alcohol levels
BAC or blood alcohol level is a measure of the quantity of alcohol in the blood. A higher blood alcohol level goes hand in hand with loss of cognitive function and motor control. Unfortunately, there is not enough research on the effect that CBD has on BAC.
But, a study on ten subjects concluded that when the participants consumed 200 mg of Cannabidiol, they registered substantially lower levels of blood alcohol than those who had placebos.
CBD Oil is a therapeutic option for Alcohol addicts
Researchers think CBD can help to treat alcohol addicts. This reasoning stems from the fact that studies on animals have shown that CBD is effective against withdrawal and addition in general. A recent study looked at the effects CBD had on rats addicted to alcohol. Researchers found that CBD had the potential to help lower alcohol intake, prevent relapse and decrease the need to consume more alcohol.
Research involving human subjects is scanty, but, a study on 24 subjects concluded that CBD use for a week reduced the need to smoke by up to 40 percent. These findings show that CBD can help prevent addiction.
Should you consume Alcohol and CBD Oil together?
Currently, there is not enough research detailing the effects of mixing alcohol and CBD Oil. A few studies on humans and animals have shown that CBD can mitigate the effects of alcohol.
However, there is very little research detailing the effects the two put together would have on your health. In addition, the effects may vary from person to another. So, it would be almost impossible to tell whether the effect would be the same for everyone.
Besides, most of the research work focused on high alcohol quantities mixed with CBD Oil, instead of a few drinks with CBD Oil consumed randomly. As a result, not much is known regarding occasional or moderate alcohol consumption.
For this specific reason, you should not consume both at the same time, especially because you have no idea how the two together will affect your health.
However, if you have to consume both at the same time, consume both in moderate amounts to minimize potential risks.
Bottom Line
Alcohol and CBD Oil are thought to amplify their individual effects, and consuming a cocktail of both may lead to sedation and sleepiness. Nevertheless, animal and human tests have shown that CBD Oil is able to protect you against alcohol cell damage.
It can also regulate BAC as well as addiction-related withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, existing research has only looked at the effects that each has on the other in animals. There has been very little research on their effects on humans.
