Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Why CBD Oil Is Basically a Scam

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, Mike Matthews here from Muscle for Life and Legion Athletics, and welcome to another episode of the Muscle for Life podcast, which is going to be about CBD. And I'm sure you've heard of this because it is hard to go anywhere nowadays without hearing about the many benefits of CBD or cannabidiol, often sold as an oil. CBD oil is what most people I hear from are asking about because this stuff is all over the internet. Celebrities are endorsing it left and right, and it has made its way into everything from lattes to sports drinks to sex lube. Yes, seriously, you can buy CBD and THC laced anal lube. Look it up. Sales of this stuff, sales of CBD are already thought to be in the range of about 350 to $400 million per year. And some analysts are predicting that sales are going to surpass $1 billion by 2020 per year. Yes. Now, proponents of CBD say it's fantastic. They say that while this is a drug that comes from the same plant as marijuana, it doesn't get too high. It doesn't have to be

Starting point is 00:01:41 inhaled. So there's no lung damage. And it's also kind of sort of legal. And of course, we'll be talking about that in this podcast. The purported benefits include alleviating anxiety, drug addiction, and epilepsy, accelerating post-workout recovery, curing chronic pain, and even cancer, and helping with many other psychological and physiological conditions and ailments. And some people are even going as far as claiming that CBD has healing properties that are going to help you just generally live a longer, healthier, and happier life. It also gets to tap into the desire that many of us have to indulge in social taboos, and in this case, drug use, and particularly with young people. That's one of the reasons why CBD and marijuana things in general are particularly appealing to young people. Now, on the other hand, CBD isn't without detractors who

Starting point is 00:02:47 claim that it is an unproven, understudied, and potentially dangerous new health fad. According to the naysayers at best, CBD is not all that it is cracked up to be, and at worst, all that it is cracked up to be, and at worst, regular use can lead to major long-term health complications. So who is right? Well, as you can guess by the title of this podcast, the answer is we don't really know. As you're going to learn, parsing the research on CBD is about as easy as combing your hair with a broom, and in the end you are left with far more questions than answers. The short story, though, is that while CBD may have some benefits, it is being wildly overhyped and oversold, and it most certainly poses at least some serious health risks. This is where I would normally plug a sponsor to pay the bills, but I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally

Starting point is 00:03:54 use and believe in. So instead, I'm just going to quickly tell you about something of mine, specifically my fitness book for men, Bigger, Leaner, Stronger. Now, this book has sold over 350,000 copies in the last several years and helped thousands and thousands of guys build their best bodies ever, strong, and healthy body that you truly desire, and if you want to learn the simple science of building the ultimate male body, then you want to read Bigger, Leaner, Stronger, which you can find on all major online retailers like Amazon, Audible, iTunes, Kobo, and Google Play. Now, speaking of Audible, I should also mention that you can get the audiobook 100% free when you sign up for an Audible account, which I highly recommend that you do if you're not currently listening to audiobooks. I love them myself because they let me make the time that I spend doing stuff like commuting, prepping food, walking my dog, and so forth, so much more valuable and productive. So if you want to take Audible up on this offer and get my book for free, then simply go to www.bitly.com slash free BLS.

Starting point is 00:05:28 And that will take you to Audible. And then you just click the sign up today and save button, create your account and voila, you get to listen to Bigger, Leaner, Stronger for free. Alrighty, that is enough shameless plugging for now at least. Let's get to the show. All right, so where shall we begin? Let's start with what is CBD? So CBD is an acronym that stands for cannabidiol, which is a chemical found in cannabis plants, including marijuana and hemp. And CBD oil in particular is just what it sounds like. It is CBD that has been dissolved in oil to make it easier to consume. Now, CBD is made by growing cannabis plants, drying them out, crushing them, and then mixing the crushed plants with ethanol. This separates the CBD from other compounds, allowing it to be isolated and purified. The end product then is a white powder that should be 99 plus percent pure CBD, which is referred to as CBD

Starting point is 00:06:35 isolate. You may have also seen mention of full spectrum CBD, which refers to CBD that also contains other chemicals. The problem here is there is no agreed upon definition of the term, so it's more of a marketing buzzword than anything else. Now, CBD belongs to a class of chemicals called cannabinoids, and there are at least 113 of these substances in marijuana in particular. The most famous is THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the main active ingredient in weed that causes a long list of effects in the body, both good and bad, including pain relief, relaxation, euphoria, anxiety, paranoia, sleepiness, short-term memory loss, dizziness, confusion, reduced coordination, and slurred speech. it purportedly offers some of the positive effects of THC, such as pain relief and relaxation, without the negative effects like confusion, paranoia, anxiety, and so forth. In other words, many people see CBD as a safer, milder, non-intoxicating alternative to THC and weed,

Starting point is 00:08:00 a kind of weed without the high. And there is some truth here. As you will learn in this podcast, CBD may be able to slightly reduce pain and anxiety and the frequency of seizures in people with specific medical conditions. Scientists aren't sure just yet as to why, but it may have to do with the fact that both CBD and THC trigger the same receptors in the brain. Now, to understand how that works, you first need to understand how the body's endocannabinoid system functions. So here is the gist. Your body produces chemicals called endocannabinoids that enter special receptors in various cells and cause many different effects, ranging from increased appetite to reduced pain and improved mood. you can think of it as a cellular lock of sorts that only accepts certain keys or certain chemicals with specific structures. Once a key, once a chemical, is accepted in a given lock, in a given receptor, a specific physiological change or series of changes occurs in the cell. So for example, androgen receptors are designed to accept steroid hormones like testosterone and reject others. And when such a chemical

Starting point is 00:09:36 enters an androgen receptor, it activates various processes, including muscle and hair growth, red blood cell creation, fat loss, and a deepening of the voice. Now, sometimes chemicals not produced by the body are similar enough to those produced by the body to trigger receptors in the same way. This is the case with CBD and THC. Both of these chemicals stimulate the CB1 receptor, which is an endocannabinoid receptor found in the brain. And this receptor seems to be responsible for many of the effects that are associated with weed. That said, although CBD and THC fit into the same receptor, they have different effects in the body. Now, scientists aren't sure why this is, but research does suggest that it may be because CBD simply isn't as effective at

Starting point is 00:10:35 stimulating the receptor as THC. There's also evidence that CBD interacts with several other receptors, such as one called CB2 and another called 5-HT1A. And this is one of the reasons why CBD is so difficult to study. It affects the body in incredibly complex ways. So to summarize, CBD is a compound found in cannabis plants that affects the brain in similar yet weaker ways as THC, which is the chemical in cannabis that gets you high. Hey, quickly, before we carry on, if you are liking my podcast, would you please help spread the word about it? Because no amount of marketing or advertising gimmicks can match the power of word of mouth. So if you are enjoying this episode

Starting point is 00:11:30 and you think of someone else who might enjoy it as well, please do tell them about it. It really helps me. And if you are going to post about it on social media, definitely tag me so I can say thank you. You can find me on Instagram at MuscleForLifeFitness, Twitter at MuscleForLife, and Facebook at MuscleForLifeFitness. All right, so now let us talk benefits. What are the benefits of CBD? Well, if you surf around

Starting point is 00:12:01 the net a bit, you will inevitably hear that CBD can mitigate or even heal just about every type of ailment ranging from plausible like pain to the absurd like cancer and acne. Now, instead of examining every one of the many claims, let's focus in on the most common ones used to sell these products, which are anxiety, pain, epilepsy, drug addiction, and cancer. Let's start at the top with anxiety. One of the main reasons people take CBD is that it is supposed to help reduce anxiety. And this is also why many people say that they smoke weed. So it makes sense that CBD is associated with the same benefit. What does the scientific evidence say, though?

Starting point is 00:12:51 Well, it doesn't say much, actually. Specifically, there are very few studies on how CBD affects anxiety, and the few that have been done don't really give us anything to get excited about. have been done don't really give us anything to get excited about. A good summary of the research can be found in a review conducted by scientists at the University of Nottingham, which looked at eight rat studies on CBD and anxiety. Three of the papers analyzed showed a reduction in anxiety, one showed an increase, and five showed no significant changes. Four of the studies also found that CBD impaired the rat's short-term memory. Now, we humans are not big rats though, so what about us? Well, one of the few human studies on CBD and anxiety was conducted by

Starting point is 00:13:41 scientists at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, and the researchers had 60 men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 perform a two-minute public speaking assignment. The scientists split these people into five groups that took either a placebo or dosage of CBD two and a half hours before speaking. So group one took 100 milligrams of CBD. Group two took 300 milligrams. Group three took 900 milligrams. Group four took clonazepam, which is an anti-anxiety drug. And group five took a placebo. Now before, during, and after the speaking gig, the researchers also had participants rate their anxiety levels and measured their blood pressure levels and heart rates as potential

Starting point is 00:14:32 indicators of nervousness. In the end, the team found no change CBD, but the groups that took 300 milligrams of CBD and clonazepam did experience statistically significant decreases in anxiety. Thus, the researchers concluded that CBD may help reduce anxiety at around the 300 milligram level, but taking less or more than this amount might not offer any benefits. In other words, 300 milligrams of CBD may be a sweet spot of sorts for reducing anxiety or not. An alternative explanation is that the positive results from the 300 milligram dosage were more or less a fluke because normally increasing the amount of a drug increases the effects, or at least doesn't decrease them. For example, 300 milligrams of caffeine will give just about anyone a nice buzz and 900 milligrams would never produce anything less.

Starting point is 00:15:47 Now, CBD and caffeine are not similar at all, of course, but it is still odd that 900 milligrams of CBD appeared to produce no results while 300 milligrams did. Another study conducted by the same lab at the same university found a similar reduction in anxiety with about 400 milligrams of CBD, but in this case, the trial only included 10 people, so it is of limited value. And the reason why is as the sample size of a study, as the number of participants decreases, the chances of random findings increase. Now, one other study worth discussing is a review of the CBD literature that was conducted by researchers at New York University. And they found that high amounts of CBD, 10 to 20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day, may slightly reduce anxiety in some people. So for a 180-pound man, that works out to about 800 to 1,600 milligrams of CBD per day, which is far more than most everyone could practically and affordably obtain

Starting point is 00:17:11 through your average CBD product. For example, the company New Leaf Naturals sells a bottle of CBD 240 milligrams of cannabidiol for $38.50. Then there is an online retailer that is quite popular called the CB Distillery, which sells 500 milligrams of CBD for $45. And another, CBDMD, which sells 300 milligrams for about $28. When you average it out, CBD currently costs about $9 to $16 per 100 milligrams, making it prohibitively expensive to use at clinically effective levels for reducing anxiety. What it boils down to is the 300 milligram dosage, that's the minimum amount shown to have any effect in this regard would cost anywhere from 300 to $500 per month. And if you wanted to take the highest doses found in the literature, you'd have to fork over a few thousand dollars per month. And let's not forget

Starting point is 00:18:21 that no matter how much CBD you take every day, you may or may not even feel any better for it. So keep that in mind and keep those dosages in mind in particular the next time you see a $9 latte with 10 milligrams of CBD, because you would need at least 30 times that amount to make it worth anything if you are trying to reduce anxiety. So that is the long and short of CBD and anxiety. You have a handful of inconclusive rat studies, and you have a couple of lackluster human trials that haven't been replicated by other labs. Thus, I think it's fair to say that while CBD may be able to slightly reduce anxiety in some people, the results so far have been unimpressive and it is definitely not a cheap

Starting point is 00:19:15 solution. Okie dokie, let's move on and talk pain because a big selling point of CBD is that it is a natural, safe, and non-addictive painkiller. This is bolstered by a growing body of anecdotal evidence online from people who claim to use CBD to reduce pain, especially chronic pain caused by old injuries, illnesses, arthritis, migraine headaches, and so forth. We also have opioid abuse rampant and becoming more and more common. So scientists and sufferers alike are looking into marijuana and its derivatives as potential substitutes. Now, the problem is there is very little research on CBD and pain. And while a few studies provide glimmerings of hope, most of them have been done on animals in unrealistic conditions or on isolated cells. And what this means is that scientists then can only speculate as to how things might work in live healthy humans. For example, one study that was conducted by researchers at the University of Kentucky found that CBD gel was able to reduce pain and inflammation related to arthritis in rats. Now this paper in particular is often cited as conclusive evidence that CBD helps reduce

Starting point is 00:20:45 arthritis pain in humans. But remember, rats are not perfect biological stand-ins for humans. We are not big rats. The arthritis in the rats was artificially created by injecting their joints with an irritant. It was not real arthritis. And also, the experiment only lasted a week. So it's really hard to say how the results would apply to a chronic condition.

Starting point is 00:21:12 A 2017 report published by the National Academies of Sciences is also worth mentioning because it states that there is conclusive or substantial evidence that cannabis can reduce chronic pain. That's cannabis, though, which includes THC and other chemicals, so it is unclear if CBD is effective on its own for the same purpose. Another bit of research often promoted by CBD proponents and sellers is a 2008 review conducted by a researcher on behalf of GW pain. But when you dive into the details, you discover that all of the compounds that were reviewed were modified or synthetic forms of THC, not CBD. So what the review actually found is that THC can help reduce pain, but the review did not include a single study showing that CBD offers similar benefits. And what of the many people who claim that CBD has helped reduce their pain? They're not all lying, of course. And in some cases, these benefits are almost certainly due to high levels of THC present in the products that they are using.

Starting point is 00:22:50 And yes, that includes CBD products. We will get to that soon. And in other cases, the results are almost certainly due to the placebo effect rather than the CBD itself. Now, if that placebo point seems to be a stretch to you, if the idea that tens of thousands of people's minds are playing tricks on them sounds preposterous, don't be so sure because research shows that placebos are powerful. They work even when people know they're placebos. And the more someone believes their placebo of choice will work, the more

Starting point is 00:23:26 likely it is to produce at least short-term temporary benefits. So the bottom line here is while it is possible that CBD may be able to help reduce pain, there is very little scientific evidence to support such a claim. All right, moving along, let's talk epilepsy, which is a condition in which abnormal brain cell activity triggers unpredictable seizures. And there are many different kinds of epilepsy with different causes and manifestations, but often the cause is totally unknown. Now, Eastern cultures have been using cannabis for various brain-related illnesses like epilepsy for hundreds of years now, but it wasn't until the 19th century that it received formal attention in the West. Some of the first official research on the medical use of cannabis was performed by an

Starting point is 00:24:27 Irish soldier and physician named William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, who was stationed in India in 1843. Now, one of his first major breakthroughs came when he found that resin from the cannabis plant could reduce the muscle spasms caused by the tetanus bacteria and the rabies virus. Scientists have been studying cannabis off and on ever since then, but several discoveries in the past decade or so have sparked major interest in its effects on epilepsy in particular. Now, as far as CBD goes, studies on rats show it can effectively reduce the frequency and severity of seizures, although it isn't exactly clear just yet how it works. A handful of human studies have also found a reduction in seizures, but most of them didn't include proper controls, which is why a review conducted by scientists at Geisinger Medical Center and published in 2017 concluded that, quote, no reliable conclusions can be drawn at present regarding the efficacy of cannabinoids as a

Starting point is 00:25:46 treatment for epilepsy. That changed soon after, however, when three studies were published that found that CBD effectively reduced seizures in two rare drug-resistant forms of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. All three experiments showed that CBD reduced seizures in people with these conditions by about 40 to 50 percent compared to just 20 to 30 percent with a placebo. Now, while those results are significant, a major problem with those trials is the participants didn't just take CBD. Instead, CBD was added to their existing regimen of epilepsy drugs. Thus, some researchers have pointed out that the results may have been due at least in part to an interaction between CBD and these other drugs and not a direct effect of CBD itself. Another problem with these studies is that none of them lasted more than 14 weeks. So we don't know if these positive effects would

Starting point is 00:26:59 have continued over a longer period. And that is an important point as well, because a common thread among stories of people who have tried CBD for epilepsy is diminishing effects and the return of seizures over time. Nevertheless, these studies did lead to the FDA approving a pharmaceutical version of CBD called Epidiolex for the two rare forms of epilepsy that I mentioned. This doesn't mean, however, that CBD will also be helpful for the vast majority of people who don't have these conditions. It means that a combination of CBD and other drugs may help control seizures in people who have one of two rare forms of epilepsy. Many CBD lovers do not let that get in the way of their fanaticism though, which is why you will often see people touting the FDA announcement as definitive proof that

Starting point is 00:28:01 CBD is the best natural cure or natural treatment for epilepsy around. Okay, so now let's talk about CBD's effects on drug addiction. Now, when someone is addicted to drugs, one way to break the habit is to gradually replace their drug of choice with less addictive substitutes. For example, a common treatment method for heroin addiction is to give people a synthetic, less powerful opioid called methadone. Now, this often works better than simply having someone stop taking heroin cold turkey, but methadone has a relatively high risk of addiction, abuse, and overdose as well. So for many people, it is a chemical equivalent of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Some scientists, however, think that CBD could be an effective

Starting point is 00:28:53 alternative to methadone and other drugs like it because it affects some of the same receptors in the brain as opioids, but isn't saddled by the significant health risks. An interesting study conducted by scientists at Mount Sinai School of Medicine tested this theory on rats. Researchers trained 155 rats to give themselves heroin by pumping a lever and then measured how often the rodents did it to establish a baseline measurement of their level of addiction. The scientists also trained the rats to associate heroin with a cue, which was a small light that would turn on whenever the lever was pressed. Now, after the scientists determined that the rats were thoroughly addicted to the drug, they divided them into three groups that

Starting point is 00:29:47 received different amounts of CBD in addition to their smack. One group received an injection of a placebo, so there was no CBD. Another group received an injection of 5 milligrams of CBD per kilogram of body weight per day. And another group received an injection of 20 milligrams of CBD per kilogram of body weight per day. Now, what were the results? Well, the researchers found that neither of the CBD doses had any effect on how much heroin the rats gave themselves. That said, after a two-week detox where the rats were weaned off heroin, the ones that received CBD were less likely to take heroin again after being exposed to the light cue, which was to remind them of the availability of the heroin. In other words, CBD didn't curb the rat's addiction,

Starting point is 00:30:46 but it appeared to reduce their risk of relapse. Two other studies have also shown that CBD may help reduce withdrawal symptoms in morphine-addicted rats. Now, what about humans? Well, a review that was conducted by scientists at the University of Maryland found that CBD may be slightly beneficial for reducing the risk of relapse among formerly addicted people, but not for helping them kick the habit when hooked. Now, what about CBD's effects on addiction to a milder drug like nicotine? drug like nicotine. Researchers from University College London wanted to see if CBD could help people stop smoking, and the results were surprisingly positive. What the scientists did is divide 24 smokers into two groups, and the first group was given an inhaler that contained CBD, while the second group was given an inhaler that contained a placebo solution. Both groups were told to use the inhaler whenever they had the urge to smoke. And after one week,

Starting point is 00:31:53 the group that used the CBD inhaler smoked 40% fewer cigarettes than before starting the experiment. And there was no difference in cigarette smoking in the group that used the placebo inhaler. Now it's worth mentioning that this study did have a small sample size and it only lasted a week, but the results are promising and definitely warrant further investigation. Until then, however, we can only guess as to how effective CBD really is for helping people to stop smoking. So the bottom line here is that CBD may help reduce the risk of relapsing into drug use and may also help reduce cigarette smoking, but it does not appear to help break drug addiction. All right, so the last point on our list that we started with in this section of the podcast is cancer, because another common claim made about CBD is that it can

Starting point is 00:32:54 help fight cancer. And this one is pretty simple. There is no evidence that this is the case, and the arguments for it usually consist of prattle about the drug's antioxidant effects. And while it's true that CBD does have some antioxidant properties, so do every other plant. And it is downright fraudulent to say this means CBD helps fight cancer. And that's what the FDA thinks too, which is why they wrote warning letters to four CBD companies or companies selling CBD products, Green Roads Health, Natural Alchemist, that's Natural Marketing and Consulting, and Stanley Brothers Social Enterprises, LLC, telling them to stop claiming that CBD and other cannabis derivatives can help treat reverse or

Starting point is 00:33:45 even cure cancer. No studies have proven that CBD can do any of that. And the US government is going after people who claim that it can. All righty, let's move on to another question many people have about CBD and that is, can you get high from it? And the simple answer to that is no, that is, can you get high from it? And the simple answer to that is no, not from pure CBD at least. CBD does not cause the same hallucinogenic mind-altering effects as THC, so it is not possible to get high from it. And this is where it actually gets kind of scary because reports abound of people sending CBD products to independent labs for testing and discovering that they often not only contain very little or in some cases no CBD, they also can contain high levels of THC. In fact, a series of tests conducted by the FDA found the same. Many CBD products contained no or just trace amounts of CBD and significant amounts of THC.

Starting point is 00:34:48 For example, despite claiming to contain anywhere from 1 to 35%, CBD by weight, six of the products analyzed contained zero cannabinoids of any kind. 11 of them contained less than 1% by weight. And the product that contained the most CBD at 2.6% by weight were pills for dogs. The worst offender in the FDA's investigation was Sanite Premium Oils, which advertised their CBD oil as containing 25.2% CBD by weight. And in reality, it tested at just 0.0017% CBD and 1.3% THC. And for comparison, marijuana is generally between 3% and 30% THC by weight. Now, it is shenanigans like these that has spurred some states like Texas to pass laws aimed at standardizing the quality of CBD products produced within their borders. But many states do not even have laws like that, and those that do are not strictly

Starting point is 00:36:05 enforcing them and really the same goes for the federal government in the agricultural act of 2014 the u.s government says that all forms of industrial hemp must not contain more than 0.3 thc this is not being enforced however so there's really no way for consumers to know which companies are complying and which ones aren't. So the bottom line here is that when you consume a CBD product, you are trusting the manufacturer is on the up and up and many are not. In many cases, the products contain a little or no CBD and sometimes higher than allowed and higher than desirable for most people levels of THC. And that is a good segue into safety. Let's talk about the safety of CBD. While CBD itself appears to be relatively safe when we are talking about just CBD in its pure form.

Starting point is 00:37:07 There are no long-term studies on its use, but there's also not much evidence that it is dangerous. What could be dangerous, though, are other substances that are often found in CBD products. As the tests from the FDA have shown, many CBD companies put little to no effort into their quality control and government regulation is basically non-existent. And so what this means is there is really no way to know what the hell you are ingesting with these products unless you have independent lab tests to review first. And another problem with the safety of CBD products stems from how cannabis plants suck up chemicals from the soil. Now, all plants absorb heavy metals, toxins, and other chemical pollutants

Starting point is 00:38:00 from the soil through a process known as bioremediation. And cannabis plants seem to be particularly effective at this. So while there are no studies that have looked at how this might affect CBD products, there is a study that was conducted by scientists at the College of Natural Sciences that found high amounts of lead and cadmium in cannabis leaves collected from four different regions in Ethiopia. It is entirely possible then that unhealthy amounts of these poisons are present in many CBD products, but most companies don't test their raw ingredients for such compounds and quite frankly could care less. Okay, so now let's talk legality. Is CBD legal? And technically, no, it's not. And this is the

Starting point is 00:38:53 case regardless of whether it comes from hemp or marijuana plants, which of course raises the question then, how are these companies openly making buku bucks from selling an illegal drug? And the answer is what I touched on just a minute ago. The federal government has more or less given up trying to enforce the laws against these products and has also permitted states to pass local laws that allow the sale and use of CBD under certain or any conditions. For example, 30 states allow cannabis for medical purposes, and these laws include CBD products as well. And several other states like Texas have laws that allow the use of CBD for specific conditions like epilepsy. Now, some CBD companies try to sidestep this point of legality by calling their products dietary supplements, but the reality is that the CBD parade, let's talk better alternatives.

Starting point is 00:40:06 Because if you were listening to this with your hopes held up high and now you are feeling let down, I understand. I wish I could say otherwise. But if you are looking for an easy over-the-counter cure for epilepsy, cancer, or drug addiction, you are currently out of luck. Those drugs don't exist yet. However, if you are just looking for a safe, natural way to take the edge off anxiety or pain, you do have some worthwhile options that have been proven to work. For example, there is good evidence that exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, practicing yoga, cutting back on alcohol, and making some rather simple changes to your lifestyle can produce dramatic reductions in anxiety. And if you want to read more about that, head over to Muscle for Life and search for relax,

Starting point is 00:41:00 and you will find an article I wrote called 10 Proven Ways to Relax Your Muscles and Mind. And you can read all about those strategies and more there. Now, as far as reducing pain goes and joint pain in particular, exercising regularly, taking proven joint pain supplements, which you can learn about at legionathletics.com. If you just search for joint pain and also resting strategically to avoid exacerbating problems or old injuries are all effective methods. One of its main selling points is that it offers some of the benefits of weed, such as pain relief and relaxation, without the unwanted negative side effects like confusion, old injuries, headaches, and even muscle soreness, or just to feel better. And there is strong evidence that CBD can help reduce the frequency of seizures in two rare forms of epilepsy, and it may also be able to slightly reduce anxiety and help curb cigarette smoking. On the other hand, there is little evidence that CBD can reduce pain and zero evidence that it can treat cancer or any disease other than epilepsy for that matter.

Starting point is 00:42:38 Now, CBD does not cause the same hallucinogenic mind-altering effects as THC, so it is not possible to get high from it. But many CBD products also contain large amounts of THC, so it is possible that what you think is just CBD oil can make you high and fail a drug test. And although pure CBD does seem to be safe, at least in the short term, it is hard to know what you are buying and ingesting. THC content is not the only problem. It is also very possible that many CBD products also contain large amounts of toxic metals and pollutants such as lead and cadmium. So all things considered, I think it's fair to say that CBD is just another overhyped fad. And considering the potential long-term health risks, the lack of benefits, and the high cost, it is a fad not worth participating in. CBD does currently have some

Starting point is 00:43:42 valid uses, mostly medical, but there is little reason to believe that it is good for anything else. Furthermore, even if many of these trendy CBD products like lattes, milkshakes, and muffins contained as much CBD as they claim, it still wouldn't be enough to produce any physiological effects whatsoever. These products definitely contain enough to jack the prices out of the roof though. And if you did, and don't mind doing me a favor and want to help me make this the most popular health and fitness podcast on the internet, then please leave a quick review of it on iTunes or wherever you're listening from. This not only convinces people that they should check the show out, it also increases its search visibility and thus helps more people find their way to me and learn how to build their best bodies ever too. And of course,

Starting point is 00:44:45 if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then just subscribe to the podcast and you won't miss out on any of the new goodies. Lastly, if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email at mike at muscle for life.com and share your thoughts on how you think it could be better. I read everything myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback. So please do reach out. All right, that's it. Thanks again for listening to this episode and I hope to hear from you soon.

Starting point is 00:45:14 And lastly, this episode is brought to you by me. Seriously though, I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead I'm going to just quickly tell you about something of mine, specifically my fitness book for men, Bigger, Leaner, Stronger. Now, this book has sold over 350,000 copies in the last several years and helped thousands and thousands of guys build their best bodies ever, which is why it currently has over 3,100 reviews on Amazon with a

Starting point is 00:45:46 four and a half star average. So if you want to know the biggest lies and myths that are keeping you from achieving the lean, muscular, strong, and healthy body that you truly desire, and if you want to learn the simple science of building the ultimate male body, then you want to read Bigger, Leaner, Stronger, which you can find on all major online retailers like Amazon, Audible, iTunes, Kobo, and Google Play. Now, speaking of Audible, I should also mention that you can get the audio book 100% free when you sign up for an Audible account, which I highly recommend that you do if you're not currently listening to audiobooks. I love them myself because they let me make the time that I spend doing stuff like

Starting point is 00:46:31 commuting, prepping food, walking my dog, and so forth so much more valuable and productive. So if you want to take Audible up on this offer and get my book for free, then simply go to www.bitly.com slash free BLS. And that will take you to Audible. And then you just click the sign up today and save button, create your account and voila, you get to listen to Bigger, Leaner, Stronger for free.

Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Why CBD Oil Is Basically a Scam

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