Lung Disease: Can CBD Help?

You’ve probably noticed that CBD products are losing the market for alternative medicines these days. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound found in cannabis a plant that comes in all forms, from tablets to tea. Many of these products list health benefits that cannot be proven to be true.

So for what, if anything, CBD can do lung disease?

Claims that science does not support or disprove

David Mannino, MD, Ph.D. pulmonologist in Lexington, KY, and medical director and co-founder COPD The foundation says the question is common. The answer is not so easy.

“These are questions we get a lot of,” Mannino says. “There’s a whole home industry around CBD that’s no different than snake oil, and it’s supposed to do everything with very little evidence.” As food suplements, these products can claim anything. But studies have not shown results in humans that CBD can help with lung disease.

But there’s still nothing to say that CBD isn’t helping either, Mannino says.

CBD has, at most, a trace amount – no more than 0.03% – of THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, a psychoactive substance in marijuana that causes “high” and others brain answers. Many products have CBD as an active ingredient: tablets and capsules without a prescription; oils and tinctures (meaning it is dissolved in alcohol instead of oil); food and drink; oil for vaping; and even current species that you put on your own skin, nails, and even in yours hair. It is currently illegal to place CBD on the market by adding it to food or labeling it as a dietary supplement. Some online stores are still trying.

At the same time, pure hemp seed oil, which comes from another part of the hemp plant, and other hemp products do not have CBD or THC. The FDA says they are safe. But CBD / hemp oil combinations exist and blur the lines even more.

Animal testing shows some positive results

Since CBD comes from hemp, researchers could study its possible benefits more widely. To date, several studies have been conducted. Of that small number, insufficient research has been done on people to say whether it can help with lung disease or not.

Some positive results came from animal studies. A study on guinea pigs from 2015 showed that CBD helped open the bronchial passages. Some researchers believe it is possible that this could help people with COPD breathe easier and keep blood and oxygen levels from falling. And a 2014 study on mice with impaired lungs showed that CBD helped reduce it inflammation and improved lung function.

One of the few CBD reports involving a person is the case report of an 81-year-old man with lung cancer whose tumor was greatly reduced when he regularly took CBD oil drops for a short time. Meanwhile, a 2020 pilot study using human cells and CBD oil is possible COPD links have been confirmed by previous studies that have shown that CBD could support your body’s anti-inflammatory and immune responses.

For now, limited CBD research means no information on its long-term effects on the body or how it works with others. drugs, and there is reason to be wary of some medications, such as blood thinners.

The labels don’t tell the whole story

The hemp plant itself is legal from a federal standpoint. However, to date, the FDA has approved only one cannabidiol product, an oral prescription drug called Epidiolex to treat seizures caused by two rare, severe forms epilepsy. Because CBD safety guidelines have not been adopted for other purposes, the FDA emphasizes that taking the substance can be risky.

CBD strength levels in OTC products can vary from product to product even across the same brand. Some do not have CBD in them at all. And sometimes they do have THC, which carries its own risk and possible side effects like marijuana, especially if the user doesn’t know they took it. That includes anxiety, aggression and paranoia.

CBD usually does not cause many side effects at first. But it is possible that you will have diarrhea, poor appetite, drowsiness and fatigue. Therefore, consult your doctor before adding CBD to your treatment.

Since the quality of CBD products is unknown and unregulated, it can be difficult to say what is legal. A Penn Medicine study of 84 “CBD oil” products from 31 different online companies found that nearly 70% were mislabeled. Some said they had more CBD than they advertised, while others had less. There are also reports that cannabinoid products such as CBD are contaminated with microbes, pesticides or other foreign substances.

However, it is possible that one day it will be discovered that CBD has scientifically proven benefits for people with lung disease.

“There are a lot of people who use CBD and swear by it, for lack of evidence,” says Mannino. “However, if they believe it helps, then maybe it can. There is no complete data that would make it clear that he is not doing anything. “