Author: Team Tionne

December 22, 2020

2020 was the year no one expected. Things started out seemingly fine for most of us and then suddenly we’re living in the middle of history in a pandemic for the majority of the year. You’ve heard everyone say it all year long – these are unprecedented times – and they are, but what has this public health crisis taught us? What have you learned? I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned. 

2020 was the year I learned to slow down and even to pause for a while. I learned that amidst the darkness, there is still light. Sometimes you need to look for it, while other times you need to shine your light on others to help them through it. Other times still, you simply have to put your light out there in the hopes that the person who needs it will see it and let it guide them to where they need to be. This year was a year of extremes. There was great division, but there was also great togetherness. I saw people come together to help people they didn’t know, to help lift their voices higher so they can be in the spotlight. We all saw the medical community come together and work harder than they ever have before. We saw researchers, epidemiologists, virologists, and other members of the medical community come together to work quickly to create a safe, and effective vaccine to help get our arms around this virus that has become our entire lives this year. 

2020 was also the year I learned more about myself. I learned more about mental health and how important it is for everyone to have access to resources; I also learned how important self-care is – everything from naps to home spa days, coloring, and simply taking time to listen to music, podcasts, or whatever makes me happy and calm. We all learned how strong stress is in our lives and that we have to find positive ways to deal with it in order to be able to face each day when uncertainty is the main item on the daily agenda. I know that using my CBD has greatly helped me stay calm and helped to keep things more manageable, if that’s possible during the middle of a pandemic. 

We had to change so much about how we live our lives in order to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our community members safe. We had to stay apart so that we can come together again soon. I think we all have a deeper understanding for how important hugs are to our well-being. Learning to stay connected virtually has been another substantial lesson of this year. It may not be perfect, but we are so fortunate to have the technology that we do in order to stay connected, even if it’s not ideal. 

As the new year quickly approaches and uncertainty remains at the top of our daily agenda, a new year brings new hope – hope that we will be able to come together again soon and hug each other and do all of the things we love to do together instead of on a video call. There will still be challenges ahead, but my hope is that we’ll be better equipped to deal with them and we’ll begin to reshape what normal is for us and that this normal will lift us all up so that we’ll have healthier lives. 

To those of you who have supported us this year – thank you. We are grateful for your support and we look forward to continuing to support you not only this year, but in the years to come. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a happy new year – may it be filled with a multitude of blessings – none greater than we’ll be able to come back together in the new year. 

We wish you the best for 2021…

Jenna,

President of Product Development

November 10, 2020

2020 has turned out to be anything but the year that we all expected. Sheltering in place, working and educating our kids from home…Nothing has gone to plan. As we continue to see cases of COVID-19 increase, we’re wondering what we can do to protect ourselves from contracting the virus ourselves.

Can CBD Help Protect me from COVID-19?

The answer is not clear, unfortunately. More research is needed to find a more definitive answer, but scientists have discovered that CBD oil may increase levels of cytokine, a chemical that protects the lungs and other organs, which could ward off the worst effects of COVID-19.

Cytokine is a protein found in the immune cells and responds to inflammation and infection in our bodies. An overactive cytokine response has be found in serious cases of COVID-19, and when this happens, it can cause serious damage to the lungs and even cause death; however, apelin, a naturally occurring peptide, has been shown to reduce this response in laboratory models of another serious disease, adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

So how does this connect to CBD? New research has been published by scientists from the Dental College of Georgia and Medical College of Georgia, and in this research, it was shown that CBD oil has been shown to increase apelin levels. The research also showed that oxygen levels were increased and inflammation was reduced and overall lung damage caused by ARDS was reduced as well. In the ARDS models, levels of apelin in the blood dropped to almost zero, but when CBD was administered, these levels increased twenty-fold and nearly brought it back to a normal level.

Apelin acts as a key regulator to bring blood pressure back to normal levels and reduce inflammation. It is produced in the heart, brain, lungs, and blood and works in cooperation with the angiotensin-converting enzyme receptor, also known as ACE2, to control blood pressure. But as we’ve learned this year, the ACE2 receptor is how COVID-19 enters our cells and corrupts normal function.

COVID-19 disrupts the relationship between ACE2 and apelin, which stops blood vessels to relax and takes over cells to create more of the virus. Reduced levels of ACE2 seem to have an  effect on how apelin is produced and provides naturally occurring protection within the lungs and other organs affected by COVID-19.

Again, more research needs to be done to more fully understand the relationship between CBD and apelin production, but the work with ARDS indicates that CBD could provide some protection to the organs affected by COVID-19. 

October 1, 2020

I was reading recently about an elephant named Fredzia at the Warsaw Zoo going through serious stress and depression after the death of one of her longest partners.  She was acting strange and having eating issues.  The zookeepers decided to try CBD for her anxiety.  I was blown away by the fact that they considered this an “experimental treatment” – how can anyone not consider CBD to be a baseline go-to for stress and anxiety and a variety of other things these days.

But then I realized I shouldn’t be concerned, I should be happy.  Mainstream media may be years behind what we have known about the benefits of CBD but at least they are starting to catch up and with stories like this one about Fredzia, things will get more common soon.

Tionne

September 1, 2020

We’ve been getting a lot of questions from our customers asking if CBD is safe for their aging parents and grandparents, especially those with arthritis and memory issues.

We, of course, say yes.  There are always things to consider, like what other medications they are on, but for the most part, we believe it’s a viable option for seniors.

CBD provides no “high” and you can’t overdose on it.  It’s most commonly used for anxiety, insomnia, and joint pain. And almost a third of adults in the United States have tried CBD in the past two years according to Consumer Reports.  And twenty percent of people 65 and older said they’d tried CBD in the past year, which means that usage has doubled for seniors in just one year.

Why are more seniors trying CBD? We think it’s because it works so well in common conditions that age group suffers from.  Things like chronic pain, nausea from chemotherapy, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, pain from fibro­myalgia and sleep issues.  It’s also been found to help with brain health and many seniors are worried about things like Alzheimer’s.

If you are thinking about putting your senior citizen on CBD, we suggest a couple of things:

• Talk to a doctor.  Ask about potential interactions with prescription and over-the-counter drugs. For instance, it’s been found that CBD may intensify the effects of certain blood thinners and may ­increase blood levels of certain cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
• Stay mindful of potency. Some of ­today’s CBD  products, such as edibles and tinctures, may have dosage suggestions for those who are in better health, higher weight classes and who have no underlying conditions.

Remember, we’re always here to help and answer questions, so feel free to reach out to us at info@shoptlcbd.com.