The month of June is more than just the official start to summer. It’s also the time that we turn our attention to men’s health. This month-long effort aims to raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. In celebration of Men’s Health Month, we’ll explore some of the benefits of CBD for men’s health.
Did you know?
- Men are dying an average of 5 years younger than women and lead 9 out of 10 of the top causes of death.
- Men have a higher suicide death rate than women. Men account for 92% of fatal workplace injuries.
- Men do not see physicians for a physical exam nearly as often as women and they are more likely to be uninsured than are women.
This is why it’s so important to have dedicated times of the year to bring awareness and attention to issues and opportunities surrounding men’s health. Let’s explore how CBD for men’s health is a powerful natural therapy for men of all ages.
Get to Know CBD for Men’s Health
CBD comes from the Cannabis Sativa species of the cannabis plant. Cannabis Sativa is further broken down into subspecies: cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. Strains that contain less than 0.3% THC are considered ‘hemp’ strains, and they are legal to grow and cultivate in the United States under the Farm Bill of 2018. These are the strains that CBD is derived from.
Since the hemp variety of the cannabis plant contains little to no THC. THC is the ingredient in cannabis responsible for the “high” some people experience. CBD is considered safe for use as an alternative natural therapy without producing any psychoactive effects.
To get the benefits of CBD for men’s health, CBD can be enjoyed in a variety of forms. This includes edibles such as gummies, topicals that are applied to the skin, capsules, and CBD oil you take by mouth or sublingually (under the tongue) for better absorption.
Your Endocannabinoid System: The Master Regulator
To understand why CBD works so well to help with so many wellness issues, look no further than the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). This is a system in your body that was discovered about 30 years ago, and it helps to keep most of your key bodily functions in the proper state of balance, including:
- Pain Responses
- Sleep-Wake Cycles
- Metabolism
- Digestion
- Immune Responses
- Memory
- Reproductive Function
- Muscle Formation
Your ECS is made up of:
- Chemical signaling agents called endocannabinoids.
- Key receptors called CB1, located mostly in the brain, and CB2, located mostly in the body. Endocannabinoids interact with these receptors to help regulate your mind-body responses.
- Enzymes that break down the endocannabinoids when their job is finished.
Just like your body’s endocannabinoids, CBD is considered a cannabinoid. That means that when your natural endocannabinoids become depleted, such as can happen from inflammation, injury, stress, or environmental factors, CBD can help give your ECS the boost it needs to keep you in a balanced state of health.
5 Benefits of CBD for Men
A 2019 Harris Poll + Quartz Survey found that men report using CBD most for relaxation, sleep, stress, and anxiety relief, and to help alleviate muscle and joint aches and pains. Let’s explore these in more detail.
1. Better Pain Management
Because CBD has several ways it assists in reducing pain in the body, men turn to it for relief from life’s many stressors, such as injuries from heavy lifting or discomfort from short and long-term health conditions. Its ability to assist in regulating pain via your ECS is well-documented, and it was even used for pain management during ancient times!
More recently, a 2019 Project CBD Survey of over 3,500 people found that 33% of men who use CBD report taking it for pain and to better manage the secondary symptoms of pain, such as insomnia and mood issues. CBD is also used by doctors and nurses in medical facilities to treat nausea for those undergoing cancer treatments and has even been reported by patients to work better than some traditional medications for the relief of chemotherapy symptoms.
2. Reduced Inflammation for Lowered Risk of Chronic Illness
The perfect storm in your body is called a “cytokine storm”. This is when normal inflammatory responses don’t shut off properly. Foods and plant compounds that contain antioxidant properties – including CBD – help to calm this storm. This is just one of the ways CBD helps reduce harmful inflammation in your body.
It also works to activate, deactivate, and bind with various receptors to curb runaway inflammatory responses and reduce swelling from injuries or overexertion.
Why is this so important? Besides getting you back on your feet faster and helping alleviate nerve pain from swelling, CBD’s ability to help regulate inflammation can curb your risk for major health conditions.
This is because chronic inflammation is considered one of the main underlying causes of many of the diseases that are the most debilitating to men, including diabetes, obesity, cancer, autoimmune disorders, and cardiovascular disease.
According to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, effectively managing your risk for these conditions can save you thousands of dollars each year and extend your life significantly.
3. Greater Flexibility and Faster Muscle Recovery
Whether you’re doing yard work, home maintenance projects, or heading out for a weekend of camping, fishing, hiking, or golfing, physical flexibility is key to feeling good. CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties help alleviate swelling of your joints, muscles, and ligaments and promote greater flexibility in completing all your to-do list tasks to get you back to doing what you love faster.
The most recent research has bolstered earlier evidence that CBD is a great option for men’s muscle recovery. A 2020 case study highlights how 23 CBD users cut down significantly on their muscle recovery time when they took the natural remedy immediately after exercising, compared to control groups.
4. Better Sleep, Relaxation, and Sexual Wellness
Achieving 7-9 hours of sleep each night is one of the most important healthcare tools men can utilize. This is because men who lack sleep show increases in body fat and blood sugar levels. Poor sleep habits can also decrease libido and growth hormone production. In fact, men who sleep just 4 hours a night were shown to have a 60% lower testosterone level than those who sleep 8 hours a night. Lack of sleep also leads to slower muscle recovery and memory loss.
It’s understandable that insomnia runs rampant in today’s fast-paced, competitive world. Worries and anxieties about work deadlines, to-do lists, and money can make a good night’s rest seem hard to come by. CBD’s success in assisting with sleep and relaxation has been well-documented for at least 30 years.
A 1993 study found that participants taking either 300 or 600mg of CBD had decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol during sleep, with fast sedative effects. More recently, a 2019 analysis highlighted that about two-thirds of those taking 25mg of CBD for either anxiety or poor sleep habits said they experienced improved sleep during that month.
This is great news for your to-do lists, your cognition levels – and your sexual libido.
5. Reduced Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issues in the United States today, and they affected nearly 15% of adult males over the past year. Men have some telltale signs and symptoms they commonly exhibit when experiencing anxiety, including substance abuse, bursts of anger, worries over status, and tension in relationships.
CBD has been shown to assist with feelings of anxiety in similar ways to how it helps with pain, positively interacting with receptors of the “happy chemical” serotonin. CBD also helps reduce the uptake and breakdown of the endocannabinoid anandamide, also known as the “bliss molecule”.
Anandamide has been shown to positively affect a part of your brain called the amygdala so that you can process trauma and fear better. This may be why the same case study that showed positive sleep outcomes among those with insomnia also showed decreased anxiety levels in 79.2% of the participants after taking CBD for a month.
Top Allvane CBD Products for Men
Allvane CBD Topicals
We designed a trio of natural topicals with pain, flexibility, and inflammation in mind. Start with our CBD Recovery Lotion to nourish your skin and protect it against acne and free radical damage.
For tough aches and pains, try our deeply penetrating, Pain Relief Cooling Roll-On that provides refreshing cold therapy comfort, with a burst of healing menthol.
If you prefer thermal comfort, our CBD Warming Salve combines soothing chamomile, peppermint, lavender, and eucalyptus for a great joint and muscle massage. All our topicals provide you with the added bonus of CBD’s well-documented skin-replenishing, anti-inflammatory, and protectant properties.
Allvane CBD Relax Bundle
Our Relax CBD Bundle includes the CBD Oil Unwind Formula that’s custom-crafted with a broad spectrum of healthy cannabis compounds, including aromatic terpenes like myrcene to aid you in falling into a natural, relaxed sleep. Plus, we help you save while you heal and strengthen your muscles and joints by bundling in our delicious CBD Gummies, made from organic ingredients.
This mouthwatering mix of flavors is perfect for at-home projects, plus it’s discreet enough for on-the-job snacking. These fun munchies take effect within one to two hours to provide you with the perfect balance of calm, focused energy for easing anxiety and worry.
Allvane CBD Oil
Pain Formula CBD Oil
With our specially-formulated CBD Oil Pain Formula, your sore, inflamed, aching, or injured joints and muscles will enjoy the full benefits of the ‘entourage effect‘, where the medicinal effects of each individual cannabis compound have been shown to increase when combined together with other healthy elements of the plant.
We infuse our CBD pain blend with anti-inflammatory hemp terpenes like pinene, BCP, and cineole to work in optimal synergy with your Endocannabinoid System for potent, powerful relief.
View our full line of THC-free CBD products, sourced from U.S. hemp and crafted with high-quality, brain and body balancing ingredients that work together to provide you with natural alternative therapy for life’s toughest health challenges.