CBD Oil for Diabetes Prevention and Management: Hope Is on the Horizon

As a diabetic or pre-diabetic patient, you might wonder whether CBD oil for diabetes is the right move for you. 

New research emerges every year, providing hope for alternative and complementary therapies as we continue to see rising prices of diabetic medications.

At Feel Good Hemp, we want to help you make the best decision for your health, so we strapped on our research hats to give you a comprehensive look at CBD and diabetes. 

Diabetes Stats and Facts  

According to the National Diabetes Statistics Report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2017, an estimated 30.3 million people of all ages had diabetes in 2015. This doesn’t include the estimated 33.9% of Americans over the age of 18 considered pre-diabetic. 

When the condition gets worse, your pancreas will create lower amounts of insulin, which is known as insulin deficiency.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for just 5% of cases, and is an autoimmune disorder where the immune cells attack the pancreatic beta cells, preventing the pancreas from making insulin. 

Both types of diabetes can lead to complications, such as cardiovascular and kidney disease, vision changes, neurological conditions, and damage to blood vessels and organs.

CBD Oil Benefits for Diabetes

Cannabis interacts with the body through cannabinoid receptors, which are a part of the endocannabinoid system (ECS). 

In school, we are taught about the 11 major organ systems in the body. But unless you’re a researcher in the cannabis field (or super geeks like us!), then you’ve likely never heard of the (ECS). 

The ECS is so amazing Dr. Dustin Sulak, a physical and advocate working to reform Cannabis Laws, suggests the ECS is, “the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health.” 

Endocannabinoids and their receptors are found in the brain, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells. 

Cannabinoid system performs different tasks in different tissue, but homeostasis is always the primary goal. 

AKA keeping the internal environment despite changes in the external environment.

This means the ECS system plays a huge role in regulating:

• Appetite
• Insulin sensitivity 
• Pancreatic cell function
• Energy balance
• Lipid metabolism

This is big news for those with diabetes looking for supportive therapies. 

Research is continuing to evolve, which will help us better understand the benefits of CBD oil for diabetes.

Though some information is contradictory, studies suggest CBD may help diabetic patients and pre-diabetics:

• Stabilize blood sugar
• Reduce inflammation
• Reduce neuropathic pain
• Relieve muscle cramps
• Reduce gastrointestinal issues

Researchers have discovered several positive links to CBD oil in the prevention and management of diabetes-related symptoms. 

One study published by The National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health strongly suggests CBD may have “great therapeutic potential in the treatment of diabetic complications” by restricting oxidative and nitrative stress, which is considered the leading cause of chronic diabetic complications, as well as, inhibiting inflammation and cell death. 

In diabetic patients, a condition known as hyperglycemia, or blood-sugar elevation, is known to cause tissue damage. Tissues damaged by diabetes often have low levels of oxygen, known as hypoxia.

By reducing oxidative stress, CBD oil may help prevent tissue damage and vision loss in those with diabetes. 

Scientists are currently limited with human model studies but have made significant headway in other research areas. 

In fact, studies with animal models of diabetes have reported two more interesting findings. One study published in Autoimmunity found CBD, inhibits the onset and severity of diabetes. 

This study found CBD reduced an “incidence of 86% in non-treated control mice to an incidence of 30% in CBD-treated mice,” an astounding change. 

CBD treatment also significantly reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines levels, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha specifically, which are the little buggers that promote not-so-good inflammation in diabetics.

A further study published later in Phytomedicine suggests cannabinoids largely protected insulin-producing pancreatic cells from the damaging effects of obesity in rat models. 

Not only does CBD show promise to protect those with diabetes, but also to help prevent instances of new diabetic cases. 

Despite many diabetes patients reportedly using CBD oils to manage symptoms, the medical community is still wary of suggesting treatment due to lack of clinical funding supporting these physiological benefits.

However, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, a researcher from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, notes that the human body is full of natural CBD receptors from the brain down to the tiniest immune cells. 

His findings further showed the pancreas, which produces the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin, displayed a high level of these receptors. Other recent research suggests cannabinoids are a useful adjunct to treat pancreatic cancer.

How CBD affects sleep

What Does This Means For The Diabetes Community? 

Though exact therapeutic dosages have yet to arrive from research, a daily CBD oil regimen may help manage current diabetic symptoms and even prevent the onset of diabetes in an at-risk population. 

A common concern when using cannabis products is whether or not you will experience impairment. CBD oil is derived from hemp plants and does not contain enough THC to promote any psychoactive properties.

In other words, it won’t get you high. 

This means there are no major side effects that will impair your ability to do everyday things like drive or go to work. 

It’s important to continue with your standard medical regimen and remain under the care of your doctor when you begin a CBD oil regimen to help with diabetes.

How To Choose CBD Oil for Diabetes?

It’s important to make the right decision when choosing the best CBD oil for diabetes.  With over 30 million diabetes reported diabetes patients in the U.S., and many more who are prediabetic, Cannabis researchers bring hope for alternative and supportive therapies with CBD oil.

Regular therapeutic doses of CBD oil have shown to improve quality of life and combat symptoms of diabetics by reducing inflammation, neuropathic pain, and gut health issues, and stabilizing blood sugar. 

The good news is we’ve done ample research when producing our Feel Good Hemp products. 

We developed products from high-quality hemp plants, processed them in the safest way possible to ensure the CBD oil is of the highest quality, and we put our products through rigorous testing.

“Representations regarding the efficacy and safety of [CBD Oil] have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA only evaluates foods and drugs, not supplements like these products. These products are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease. Click here [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21144973/] to find evidence of a test, analysis, research, or study describing the benefits, performance or efficacy of [CBD Oil] based on the expertise of relevant professionals.”