Now more than ever, our country is in need of some serious TLC. With the stresses of the world being put on our shoulders, we’re all searching for ways to help us relax and decompress at the end of the day. Vitamins and supplements, as well as certain lifestyle choices, can definitely reward us this relaxation, but we’re also looking into cannabinoids like CBD to see how its therapeutic benefits can help us during uncertain times like this. 

Though our evidence is limited, many people’s individual experiences have led us to believe that CBD may be a great way to help us decompress naturally and healthily, typically without any negative side effects, either. Because of this, and myriad other reasons, CBD products are becoming widely popularized to help us de-stress and unwind. 

How CBD Can Help Us Relax

Studies have started to demonstrate that CBD may have soothing benefits for our mind and body, one of those being an anti-anxiety property. In fact, anxiety is one of the most common reasons people turn to consuming CBD in the first place, and most find it successful. This is because cannabidiol, or CBD, is able to directly work with our body’s endocannabinoid system and cannabinoid receptors to help our brains control the production of certain enzymes. When our anxiety is on high alert and our thoughts are racing, these enzymes are firing off at rapid (and uncomfortable) speeds. Through clinical trials, we’re seeing that CBD is able to control the production of these molecules, allowing our thoughts to be clearer, more rational, and calming overall. 

Not only has the compound shown anti-anxiety properties that could help our minds decompress, but it can also assist in pain relief to let our muscles relax, too. CBD has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties of various types; from alleviating pain in joints and muscles to reducing inflammation in the skin and within our digestive tract, most pains don’t stand a chance against this cannabinoid. For shallow aches and pains, CBD topicals can be ideal, as they’re directly rubbed on the area of discomfort for almost immediate relief. For more chronic pains that can’t easily be reached, consuming CBD oil, CBD edibles, or even smoking CBD flower can help create the relief you need to feel your best. The better we feel, the more relaxed we’re able to become. 

When our brain and body feel their absolute best, we’re practically unstoppable. We can accomplish whatever we need to accomplish and feel satisfied and decompressed at the end of the day. No matter what we experience throughout our daily lives, adding a bit of CBD can make regular stressors feel more manageable and our bodies feel more prepared for whatever gets thrown our way. 

Vitamins and Other Health-Promoting Supplements

CBD isn’t the only thing that can help us decompress. In fact, when cannabidiol is paired with other vitamins and supplements, your body is receiving the ultimate dose of happiness and healthiness. 

Adding a bit of omega-3 into our lifestyles can add a lot to our health and wellbeing. These fatty acids have been proven to help with depression and anxiety, as studies have shown that those who consume omega-3 regularly are less likely to be depressed overall. Like CBD, omega-3 is also a key player in reducing inflammation, and it is even great for sleep. All of these benefits have been backed by science, allowing us to confidently enjoy the properties it brings. Taking omega-3 supplements, and also occasionally enjoying some CBD, can allow us to decompress on a daily basis, with everyday stressors not phasing us at all. 

Other supplements like L-theanine have been found to naturally promote relaxation without leaving you feeling drowsy or fatigued. It’s organically found in black and green tea leaves, though you can buy supplement versions of it at your local drugstore. Many turn to L-theanine specifically for its relaxing properties, helping even the most wound-up person unwind before starting (or ending) their day. 

Magnesium, Valerian root, and B complex are all other great sources of nutrition that can get you feeling more naturally relaxed than ever before. These vitamins and nutrients, along with some CBD, may provide you the ability to tackle every day with a more positive, calm mindset; they might be able to remind you that life just really isn’t that serious sometimes. 

Lifestyle Choices that Promote Decompression

While CBD and other supplements can give you boosts towards natural, daily decompression, lifestyle choices like meditation or regular exercise can grant you this as well. When your body is happy, your brain is happy; making healthy lifestyle changes can leave us feeling great and looking even better. 

Choosing to exercise on a daily basis not only gives us motivation, but it helps us unwind after a long day, week, or month (we’ve all been there). Even though we’re working our muscles, afterward, they’re able to relax and heal, as long as we let them. This healing time gives us a chance to decompress and feel proud of what we’ve accomplished-- not to mention, it can help you sleep at night, too. To combat muscle soreness, try rubbing a CBD cream on points of pain and let your body--and the cannabidiol--handle the rest. 

CBD and You

Making the choice to improve your life for the better is a big one. But, actually doing it doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it sounds. Chemical compounds like CBD, as well as vitamins and healthy lifestyle changes, can all give us the extra boosts we need to allow us to shrug off the bad stuff and embrace all things good. 

If you find that CBD may be the missing link you need to feel your absolute best, check out Medical Mike’s CBD products. We carry high-quality CBD products ranging from full-spectrum oils to hemp-based salves and everything in between. To help you wind down and relax after even the most hectic day, or put you in the mindset you need to tackle your workload, Medical Mike’s CBD products are crafted with the hope that they’ll do all that and more. Check our selection out today and give your mind and body the decompression it deserves.

With the explosion of the cannabidiol (CBD) market over the recent past, a myriad of CBD products have been developed and made available to consumers. But which type of product is best suited for you? At Medical Mike's we want to help simplify the process of finding and choosing the right CBD product that is ideal for your particular situation. This guide will help educate you on the type of products we offer so you can make a more informed decision on which one to choose.

Farm to Bottle Hemp CBD products

Like most consumer goods, not all products are created equal. At Medical Mike's we're proud to say that our CBD oils are unlike much of what you see on the market today. More specifically, our product line features "farm-to-bottle" products, which means there's no complicated supply chain before our products end up on our virtual shelves. Instead, our CBD comes directly from the hemp farms, so we know exactly where it's coming from and can be confident marketing our CBD oils as the cream of the crop.  

We work exclusively with small local hemp farmers in the northeast that grow organic hemp plants and practice sustainability. Hemp  farmers use farming and harvesting methods and are highly familiar with the climate, soil, and their hemp crops, helping them grow the best hemp plants possible. Consumers who are conscious of the foods they eat and supplements they consume will appreciate the farm-to-bottle approach that Medical Mike's brings to the table. Our farm-to-bottle products are specifically designed for your needs using the highest-quality, organic ingredients that are locally sourced.

To ensure that we only put out the best and safest products out there, Medical Mike's uses independent and unbiased third-party laboratories that thoroughly test our CBD products to ensure the highest quality. As a consumer, you want to be fully educated about the products you consume, which is why third-party lab results are a critical component of any CBD product on the market. Knowing the potency of the CBD product you're consuming and whether or not any contaminants may have been present during the extraction process is crucial for making an informed purchasing decision, and each and every product in our lineup comes with a comprehensive lab report for your convenience. 

Choosing From Our Product Line For the Best Results

Everyone has different needs when it comes to achieving optimal health and wellness. The types of symptoms you may be suffering from and their level of severity will be much different from someone else's. That's why Medical Mike's offers a variety of potency levels to help all our clients customize their experiences. We offer:

• 500mg CBD Full Spectrum Oil - For those seeking to achieve and maintain general overall wellness, our 500mg products are the perfect match. These CBD oils contain approximately 8.5mg CBD hemp extract per 0.5mL per serving.    
• 1,000mg CBD Full Spectrum Oil - Anyone looking for something a little more potent to help alleviate symptoms such as anxiety may find our 1,000mg products helpful. These contain approximately 16.7mg CBD hemp extract per 0.5mL per serving.
• 1800mg CBD Full Spectrum Oil - Poor sleep can wreak havoc on overall health and wellness, but our 1,800mg CBD products may help improve your sleep so you can wake up feeling well-rested. These contain approximately 30mg CBD hemp extract per 0.5mL per serving.
• 300mg CBD Full Spectrum Salve - Our topical products are perfect for those looking to target localized pain or heals dry, irritated skin.

What About Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)?

While CBD is not associated with inducing any psychoactive effects in the body, there are some CBD products that may have THC levels high enough to have some sort of effect on the mind. For those who are simply looking for the therapeutic effects of CBD without the mind-altering effects of THC, Medical Mike's CBD products are ideal. All of our products are made using hemp-derived CBD, which means they have less than 0.3% THC, the maximum legal level of THC from a federal perspective. As such, you can rest assured that our products won't alter your mind following consumption, and are legal in all states. 

Final Thoughts

CBD's therapeutic effect continues to be studied, and both science and anecdotal evidence supports the cannabinoid's impact on the world of health and medicine. At Medical Mike's, we strive to create the highest-quality CBD products that consumers will find helpful and effective. We invite you to explore our line and ultimately choose a CBD product that can help you achieve optimal health and wellness.

Consumers who are interested in adding cannabidiol (CBD) to their regimen have a number of options when it comes to the available products currently on the market — and, CBD distillates and full-spectrum crude oils are some of them. 

At Medical Mike's, we focus on full-spectrum CBD oils that feature all of the beneficial compounds of the hemp plant without leaving any behind. While there are CBD isolate products available, we believe that CBD working in conjunction with other cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids in the hemp plant can produce a more enhanced and therapeutic effect in those who consume it. In this article, briefly observe the difference between full-spectrum crude oil and distillates.

What Are Distillate Oils?

Sometimes referred to as broad-spectrum hemp oil, distillates begin as a full-spectrum oil, but are then further refined to remove certain cannabinoids, like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). They generally contain as much as 80% CBD, with the remainder comprised of other minor cannabinoids, terpenes, and other plant oils. Distillates can be refined even further to create CBD isolates, which are purified CBD crystals that are made up of nearly all CBD.      

There are a few different methods to extract CBD and other compounds of the hemp plant. Distillate oils are run through a more intensive and lengthy extraction process in order to break it down into broad-spectrum or CBD isolates, which essentially leaves behind a product that contains a higher CBD level. But since CBD distillates still contain other cannabinoids, they are sometimes considered full-spectrum products and can contain significant levels of other cannabinoids.

There are pros and cons of distillates, including the following:

Pros 

• More potent form of isolated CBD.
• Versatile (may be used on their own or added to edibles or topicals).

Cons

• Contain very few terpenes that work synergistically together to create the entourage effect.
• Typically contain a lower content of cannabinoids and other bioactive chemicals.

What Are Full-Spectrum Crude Oils?

Crude CBD oil is also known as full-extract or full-spectrum CBD oil and is considered true hemp oil with all its compounds.

"Full-spectrum" CBD means that all cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids— including CBD and other bioactive compounds — are extracted from the hemp plant instead of just the CBD alone. Studies suggest that when all cannabinoids are ingested together, they work in harmony to provide an even greater effect in the body. This phenomenon is what scientists refer to as the "entourage effect." 

More specifically, the entourage effect is based on the notion that each individual cannabinoid can create a more powerful effect when they work together compared to what they are able to do on their own. For this reason, many consumers may prefer consuming full-spectrum oils over isolates.

Like distillates, full-spectrum CBD oil has its perks and drawbacks, including the following.

Pros

• Offers the full benefits of all compounds in the hemp plant.
• Less processed than CBD isolates.

Cons

• May have a strong flavor.
• May contain higher levels of THC, which is less than 0.3% by law.

There are over 100 known cannabinoids, of which CBD and THC are the most abundant and well-known. But there are plenty others that are worth noting because of their potential therapeutic effects and role in the entourage effect in the body. There are also many terpenes in the hemp plant as well, which also deserve their credit for the medicinal properties they may have.

Other cannabinoids that would be present in full-spectrum CBD oils include cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), which we will get into more detail below: 

CBG - A cannabinoid not typically abundant in hemp and usually comprises less than 1% levels in most plants. However, when it works synergistically with other cannabinoids in full-spectrum hemp oils, it can offer a number of health benefits, including alleviating pain, inflammation, nausea, and potentially reducing eye pressure caused by glaucoma. 

CBC - Sharing the same origins as THC and CBD from cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), CBC is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that may be associated with neurogenesis, alleviation of pain and inflammation, and calming of skin issues. CBC may even have antidepressant properties. 

Final Thoughts

While there’s certainly the argument that CBD isolates and distillates can be beneficial because of the high concentrations of CBD contained within them, there's also the potential for more heightened effects with full-spectrum crude CBD oils. 

By allowing all beneficial cannabinoids and terpenes to work together, the effects may be more pronounced and powerful compared to the consumption of CBD alone. We invite you to try any one of our high-quality CBD oils to experience the therapeutic potential of full spectrum extracts.