Does CBD Upset Your Stomach?

In the past decade, we have seen a fair share of medical products touted to solve most of the health issues people suffer from today. Often CBD oil gets lumped in with other natural supplements. Now, scientists are hard at work to prove that it works efficiently to help people. However, the main concern from consumers is not the effectiveness but rather what side effects cannabidiol might have. Many famous solutions failed to live up to expectations despite the high promises. And their unwanted side effects were often the reason. Will this also be the case for CBD?

According to anecdotal evidence, one of CBD’s main side effects is stomach upset. Yet, many users report no such problem. In this article, we’ll explore: does CBD upset your stomach? Read on to find out.

What Is CBD?

Before we get to the answer of does CBD upset your stomach, we need to talk about CBD itself first.

CBD, otherwise known as cannabidiol, is one of the many cannabinoids found inside cannabis and industrial hemp plants. For many years, CBD, alongside other cannabinoids, was part of many home remedies. Their apparent effectiveness is linked to the fact that these compounds interact with and stimulate the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). That is the system that balances bodily functions and helps preserve homeostasis within our bodies. More specifically, it regulates a variety of reactions such as stress, bad moods and anxiety, among others.

People have been using CBD and other cannabinoids by consuming the cannabis plant for many decades. However, CBD’s modern commercialization began in 2018 when the US government legalized its use. Since then, the market has been booming.

The fact that CBD comes from the cannabis plant does not mean it will make you ‘high’ as smoking regular cannabis does. In order to commercialize it, CBD must have a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of 0.3% or less. THC is, by the way, the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis and the reason why you feel high after consuming it.

Having such little THC content means CBD will not impair you with psychoactive effects like cannabis would do. All high-quality manufacturers of CBD make sure to only leave THC traces below the required legal level. In order to build trust with the consumer, they have third-party labs run tests on each batch of the product to certify its indeed compliant. The best manufacturers have their certifications on their websites and indicated on the product label as well.

How Does CBD Work?

The endocannabinoid system is a network of complex cell receptors and neurotransmitters. Cannabinoid receptors are found all over the body, with most of them being in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The ECS controls a wide variety of bodily functions such as sleep, mood, temperature, immune response, pain reception, fertility, memory, and appetite. This system works like a balanced seesaw. Whenever something wrong happens, the balance is lost, and it tips towards either side.

Once this happens, the ECS deploys endocannabinoids, the body’s natural cannabinoids, to attempt and restore the balance. However, this process takes some time, and, in some cases, the natural cannabinoids might not be enough to restore the balance effectively. CBD is a phytocannabinoid because it comes from plants. It can step up and help this process when consumed. It may boost the work of natural cannabinoids to help balance the affected bodily functions back to normal.

Potential Benefits Of CBD

Most of the potential therapeutic benefits of CBD oil relate to the bodily functions controlled by the endocannabinoid system.

Some of these possible benefits include:

• Relieve pain.
• Reduce anxiety and stress.
• Alleviate chemotherapy-related symptoms.
• Helps acne sufferers.
• Neuroprotective properties.
• Help regulate blood pressure.
• Antipsychotic effects.
• May delay diabetes.
• Anti-nausea properties.

Does CBD Have the Same Effect on Everyone?

Different people report different effects when using CBD. Some wonder why they do not feel more relaxed after taking a few drops. You might ask yourself does CBD upset your stomach? The lack or presence of some side effects does not mean the product is defective; rather, they tie to some individual factors.

The factors that affect the way your body reacts to CBD include:

• Genetic factors
• Gender
• Weight
• Age
• Metabolism rate
• Type of CBD
• Dosage taken

The key thing to keep in mind when you want CBD to work for you is figuring out the dose your body best reacts to. There is a method of figuring it out with precision that includes some of the factors mentioned.

Why Does CBD Upset Your Stomach?

The matter surrounding CBD oil and stomach upsets is fascinating. Mainly because one of the lesser-known benefits of CBD oil is actually that it may improve those upsets for some people.

First, understand that a stomach upset due to CBD oil does not happen very often. Yet, there’s a significant percentage of CBD users who report feeling sick after using CBD. Another side effect associated with taking more CBD than your body can handle is diarrhea.

What happens here is that CBD oil does not necessarily have to be the reason for stomach upsets. Other ingredients in the product could be to blame.

CBD oil is not a fantastic flavor for your taste buds in its purest form. Most vendors mix it with carrier oils to make it a bit more palatable. After all, who likes sour-tasting supplements?

Scientific studies show that CBD is more likely to help you with stomach issues than to make them worse. When the cannabinoid binds with the CB1 receptors in the ECS, it may inhibit intestinal inflammation, reduce excess gastric acid, improve blood flow to the stomach lining, and lower gullet to reduce reflux. Such an effect indicates that CBD oil actually may help prevent stomach issues; however, studies are still ongoing.

Due to those effects, it is essential to look at what kind of CBD oil you are using if you are experiencing stomach issues. This is one common problem with most health supplements. The ingredients’ quality and source determine the kind of side effects they will give you.

The carrier oil is the main suspect here, as it makes up a significant percentage of the whole product. Some of the common carrier oils used include MCT oil, emu oil, hemp seed oil, coconut oil, grapeseed, and olive oil.

How to Avoid Stomach Upsets When Using CBD Oil

If you want to ascertain whether CBD oil upsets your stomach, try to see if you can nail the problem yourself. First, look at the ingredients of the specific CBD oil you took. Do an online search to see if any of them, carrier oils especially, have a history of giving people stomach upsets. MCT oil, for example, seems to cause such issues in other supplements that feature it as an ingredient.

If the specific brand of CBD oil you are using has a carrier known for causing stomach upsets, try another product. For example, if you are using CBD oil with MCT oil as the carrier, switch to one with olive oil as the carrier.

It doesn’t hurt to try out a few other carrier oils and see how your body reacts to them. Chances are you might end up feeling no stomach issues with another product that uses another carrier oil. Thus, the main issue is not if does CBD upset your stomach; it’s whether your CBD’s carrier oil will upset your stomach.

On the off-chance that all carrier oils end up upsetting your stomach, there are other options. Try changing the way your body receives CBD oil. If you are taking CBD oil on an empty stomach, then it could be the reason behind the stomach issues. Ideally, take some protein and ensure your stomach is full to help the body absorb CBD oil better.

Additionally, you can try taking other presentations of CBD different than oil. Today, retailers sell CBD in various presentations, such as capsules, edibles, and balms. Try one of these out to see if they fit what you are looking for.

Another thing to keep in mind is that consuming an excessive amount of CBD can cause diarrhea. Thus, once you know your ideal dosage, keep it constant and stick by it.

Lastly, if your stomach upsets keep happening with almost every other CBD product you try, contact your physician. They will make a thorough diagnostic to determine whether it’s something else related to diet or illness than the CBD itself.

Does CBD Upset Your Stomach? –  The Takeaway

CBD oil is a promising compound with many potential benefits. If you wonder, does CBD upset your stomach, the above-described steps will let you know for sure. You might end up finding out it’s something else unrelated to the CBD itself, and you can take measures to keep enjoying it as much as you like in a way that it does not upset your stomach. Don’t take too much of it, though. Remember, diarrhea!