CBD and Nutrition

CBD and Nutrition

If you are conscious about your health and nutrition and trying to figure out where CBD can fit in, you are in the right place. Some will say that good CBD oils contain phytonutrients and that the carrier oil is a good source of healthy fats but the real benefits of CBD oil from a nutritional standpoint is the effects it has on appetite.

In this article, we’ll delve into the potential benefits of incorporating a modest amount of CBD into your daily routine to aid in achieving your nutritional goals.

What does Nutrition mean?

Nutrition refers to the nutrients that make up food, and involves the processes that occur in the body after we eat, assimilation and digestion of nutrients by the body. The more you take in, the more you will absorb. Nutritionalist will always recommend a balanced nutritional diet, but that still can be vague to most people. 

We refer to food intake in relation to the dietary needs of the body. To achieve good nutrition, it is essential to have a healthy and balanced diet and to mix foods up daily. Science has shown that having a steady stream of new and different foods daily can “trick” the body into thinking it needs to absorb more nutrients from the “new” sources.

Combining physical activity daily also allows the body to enter a state where it will absorb more nutrition from food. You should aim for at least 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity a day.

How to have a balanced diet?

A balanced diet must contain sufficient amounts of nutrients for optimal growth and development of the body at each stage of life, as well as to prevent nutritional deficiencies or excesses. A healthy diet provides carbohydrates, proteins and fats – in addition to vitamins and minerals – in adequate proportions to maintain an optimal state of health and reduce the risk of diseases.

It is not as difficult as many people think. Just try to eat something new every night for a week. Then, repeat that same menu the next week but substitute one new meal in place of another one. After about a month, you will have a large meal plan where you can filter out the things you love and get rid of the stuff you didn’t.

One great diet type to pull inspiration from is the Mediterranean Diet.

Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet is based on the traditional cuisine of the countries of the Mediterranean Sea. Although there is no single definition of the Mediterranean diet, it is usually rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds, weekly consumption of fish, poultry, eggs and, of course, olive oil.

The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends this diet as an example to have a healthy life. It points out that the Mediterranean diet is directly associated with a lower mortality rate, thanks to its effects on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cognitive diseases, type 2 diabetes and cancer, among others.

Healthy Fats – Essential Fatty Acids

The fats that we get from food are an important source of energy and help our body absorb vitamins and keep it healthy. However, it is important to consume them in moderation. Not all fats are good, some are bad. Let’s see the difference.

When we talk about healthy fats we mean:

Essential fatty acids that can be found in oily fish, walnuts, hemp seeds, etc.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, that can be found in foods such as avocado, nuts and seeds, olive oil, peanut butter, etc.

When we talk about unhealthy fats we mean:

Saturated fats: they increase the levels of LDL in the body (“bad” cholesterol) and increase the risk of suffering from heart disease.

Trans fats: they are liquid oils transformed into solid fats during food processing, which are used to extend the shelf life of a product. They lack nutritional value and cause damage to health. These types of fats have a harmful effect on health because they increase LDL (“bad” cholesterol) and reduce HDL (“good” cholesterol).

What are essential fatty acids?

Essential fatty acids are the ones that our body cannot produce itself, we have to obtain them through food.

Fatty acids such as omega 3 or omega 6 are known for their healthy properties, like preventing cardiovascular diseases byreducing triglyceride levels in the blood.

When a vegetarian diet is not followed, omega 3s are obtained mainly through fish, but in the case of plant based diets, we find them in dried fruits such as walnuts and chia or flax seeds.

Our CBD oils are rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, which makes it a great nutritional supplement, both for meat consumers, vegetarians and even vegans, providing them some extra essential fatty acids.

What is CBD?

CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of the most studied compounds of the more than 100 known cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. Unlike other compounds like THC, CBD is not psychoactive. This non-psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant has been extensively studied for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects.

The endocannabinoid system plays an important role in the regulation of many biological processes. In relation to diet and food, it helps control appetite, food intake and energy balance.

Does CBD interact with appetite?

This topic can be confusing. You may have probably heard that CBD can reduce appetite, but also that CBD increases appetite, so what hypotheses are we left with?

In order to dig in the subject, we first have to highlight the difference between appetite and hunger. When we talk about hunger, we refer to the physiological need to eat, while when we talk about appetite, we are talking about a desire to eat, normally linked to the food tastes of each person.

Studies suggest that CBD’s ability to stimulate appetite could stem from its influence on serotonin receptors, and therefore CBD could help increase appetite by reducing symptoms of a stomach ache. 

On the other hand, we have heard about the possibility that CBD oil can reduce appetite. Again, it seems that this is not so much related to the cannabinoid directly affecting the mechanisms involved with appetite, but rather to the calming effects of CBD. We must bear in mind that psychological factors greatly influence our appetite, since many people cling to food as a defense mechanism to face various situations.

How to incorporate CBD into our diet?

Like many medications, vitamins, and supplements, we always recommend taking CBD oil with or after a meal, as food increases bioavailability. This affects because CBD is a fat-soluble compound, which means that it dissolves in fats. This way, CBD is broken down into smaller molecules that the body will absorb more easily.

It is becoming more and more common to see foods that contain CBD, especially sweets. The reason why sweet foods are often used is because it is precisely this flavor that helps camouflage the natural and peculiar flavor of cannabis.

One way to incorporate our CBD oil into the diet is to add it to our coffee or tea, mix it with our açai bowl, and incorporate it into recipes like our healthy CBD guacamole. We can also add CBD oil to our favorite healthy cooking oil (such as olive oil or coconut oil) and drizzle it over meals. It is especially good in salads.

Organic CBD 

Before you buy CBD online, make sure the company you buy it from has lab reports that can assure you the CBD is certified organic. 

All our products are Bio Suisse Certified organic, which means the product you will get is 100% natural, pure and organic. 

If you have questions about the appropriate dose of CBD you need, or need more information on the subject, do not hesitate to contact us through our contact page or social networks.