Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a derivative of the cannabis plant. This product is an antioxidant and provides protection against the damage caused by free radicals in the body. A high intake of antioxidants can protect your body from damage and disease as they act as a magnet for free radicals.
What’s a Free Radical?
Your body breaks down molecules into atoms in the digestive process and as we breathe. As molecules are held together with a magnetic “charge”, breaking this charged connection can lead to toxins being released in your bloodstream. These uncaptured atoms are actually waste, but they rove around the body looking for something to bind with. Once bound in the body, they can cause serious illness.
There’s no escaping free radicals. We need oxygen to live, but the process that turns O2 (oxygen molecule) into CO2 (carbon dioxide) releases free radicals. Chemical contaminants, including cigarette smoke and other forms of air pollution, also enter the body as we breathe.
How Do Antioxidants Help?
If you can keep your intake of antioxidants high, your blood stream will be full of magnetized particles that can travel around your body, bind up the free radicals and process them out of your system via your cleansing organs, such as the kidneys, liver and gut.
CBD provides antioxidant protection, particularly the antioxidants astaxanthin and spirulina. You can also boost your antioxidant intake by focusing on colorful produce. A diet high in
- berries
- leafy greens
- citrus fruits
- peppers and tomatoes
Where CBD really shines is when it’s vaped. This method of antioxidant protection cannot be picked up in the produce section of the grocery store. It’s quickly absorbed and can get right to work, capturing free radicals and escorting them out of your body.
What CBD Is, and Isn’t
There are hundreds of chemicals that can be gleaned from a cannabis plant. The one that gets a lot of bad press, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, is the one that causes a euphoric high. People who use CBD are seeking health, not a high.
Methods of Dosing with CBD
There are many ways of taking in CBD products to increase your antioxidant protection. You can ingest the product
- under the tongue
- as a tincture in a cup of tea
- as a capsule with your vitamins
- as a gummy (make sure you use sugar free)
- via a vape pen.
Taking the Long View on Free Radicals
High levels of free radicals probably won’t make you sick today. However, these toxins steal from your healthy tissues and cause long-term damage that shows up over time. We’ve all seen smokers who’ve been unable to break the habit. The hacking cough of a life-long smoker doesn’t show up after only a month of using tobacco products. Neither do the wrinkles, the gum damage or the lung disease.
Toxic free radicals are both sneaky and patient. Once they find an atom to steal from healthy tissue, they’ll happily travel out of your body, taking just an atom’s worth of your health and vigor. Your body will pay the price over time, showing signs of oxidative stress, like premature aging, unhealthy connective tissues, and more formidable diseases. By keeping your antioxidant intake high and steady every day, you can shield yourself against free radicals getting released within your body and stealing from your strength and good health.
Habits and Foods to Avoid if Free Radicals Are a Concern
As noted above, smoking is a big no-no if you’re concerned about free radicals. You can actually boost your antioxidant intake by trading cigarettes for a CBD vape pen.
Saturated fats, particularly animal fats, cooked at high temperatures are very high in free radicals. If you love to sear a steak or make a roux with browned butter, make sure you pair these foods with a dish high in antioxidants. Enjoy the steak, but have a spinach salad on the side and a fruit salad of berries, grapes, and pineapple for dessert. Before bed, kick back and vape with a CBD oil high in antioxidants to help you sleep more deeply.
Processed meats, such as smoked or cured sausage and bacon, boost your free radical intake. Again, moderation and pairing can help. There’s a reason the BLT is so popular. Bacon introduces the free radicals, while the lettuce and tomato try to balance it out. Be sure to treat cured meats as a “sometime” food if free radicals are a concern. You can pair your sandwich with a glass of iced tea, tinctured with CBD to increase your protection.
Alcohol is often the go-to for adults who want to relax. However, relaxing with alcohol can put your body at risk if you overdo it. Take in no more than 2 drinks per day for a man and no more than 1 drink a day for a woman. You might also consider giving up alcohol entirely and relaxing with sparkling water after a sublingual dose of CBD to help you wind down at the end of the day.
Conclusion
Nature has given us many ways to protect our bodies against free radicals and oxidative stress. CBD dosage is one of the ways to keep our tissues protected against theft by free radicals. No matter your ingestion preference, you can increase your antioxidant protection with a CBD dose.