CBD Oil
Sales of cannabidiol (CBD oil for short) have skyrocketed in the UK in recent months - with claims circulating that this new ‘miracle molecule’ can help provide relief for everything from pain to stress and anxiety*. But what actually is CBD oil? And - more importantly - why are people starting to put it in their morning coffee?
What is CBD?
The name CBD is a shorthand term for ‘cannabidiol’, which is one of several chemical compounds found in both hemp & cannabis plants. Now, the most famous (or should we say infamous?) of these chemicals is THC, which is the part of the plant that gets you ‘high’. It’s also the part which is still very much illegal to sell or distribute in the UK, where it is considered a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. CBD, however, is not psychotic - which means it displays none of the typical symptoms associated with THC when ingested.
What does CBD do (or claim to do?)
Before we go any further, we just want to make it very clear that all the claims made here are still under investigation both by health bodies and clinical trials - and as such, these supposed benefits should all be taken with a pretty big pinch of salt. Indeed, CBD oils can only be sold in the UK if no claims are made about their medicinal benefits.
Last year a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed CBD may help treat symptoms relating to Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, MS, cancer & diabetic complications. Alongside this, less concentrated CBD oils (which are readily available and rage from anything from 1% - 15%) are believed to help with all kinds of ailments, including relieving inflammation, pain relief and reducing anxiety - although (and we can’t stress this enough) there have yet to be any conclusive scientific studies on these particular claims.
Why are people putting it in their coffee?
With the growth in CBD products skyrocketing in the UK, it wasn’t long before people started putting it in their morning coffee - after all, with it’s supposed calming effects and claims to help with anxiety, it seems the perfect way to take the edge off some of the more undesirable side-effects of caffeine drinking. Effectively, the claim is that people drinking their coffee with CBD oil get all the benefits of drinking caffeine (increased alertness, mental capacity, energy & attention to detail) without any of the less desirable side effects (anxiety, insomnia, headaches) - a match made in heaven, right?
So, what happened when we tried it?
After some debate, we thought it would be a good idea to test this out for ourselves - so we got a few willing members of our CRU to start adding a little drop of CBD oil into their coffees each day for a week or so and see if they noticed any difference; after all, we wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
The results were - to be fair - pretty mixed. Out of our small group of 8, 2 of us claimed to experience no marked difference in our coffee-drinking routine.
The rest of the group, however, did seem to think that the oil (we used Disciple 5% CBD) helped to take the edge off their morning cup of coffee. Phrases that started popping up included ‘less jittery’, ‘nice & calm’, ‘more grounded’ - but, in general, they all claimed to feel more relaxed and more productive - something our CEO was happy to hear.
The Verdict
In retrospect, we probably could have picked a better trial group than our office. It will come as no surprise that we’re all pretty big coffee drinkers here at CRU, so are probably a bit immune to some of caffeine’s more extreme side-effects. That said, several of our colleagues have well and truly embraced CBD oil as part of their new coffee routine!
If you’ve had any experience with CBD in your coffee, we would absolutely love to hear your thoughts @crukafe - or drop us an email at help@crukafe.com.
*as stated above, we just want to make it very clear that all the claims made here are still under investigation both by health bodies and clinical trials - and as such, these supposed benefits have yet to be scientifically or clinically proven. Indeed, CBD oils can only be sold in the UK if no claims are made about their medicinal benefits.
