The majority of women don’t think about menopause until just before it strikes, leaving us unprepared to deal with its aggravating symptoms until later on. But the sooner you notice and react to these changes within your body, the better, and CBD for menopause might be the answer.
Unfortunately, today’s medical system lacks the support women need in peri – and postmenopausal years, so like many women, you may be turning to natural resources for assistance.
TL;DR – CBD cannot do anything except for help you manage some of the symptoms that come along with menopause. Some of these issues are anxiety, pain, mood swings, and potentially sleep issues.
How Are Women Affected by Menopause?
The levels of estrogen in our bodies fluctuate less each year for the years leading up to menopause (peri-menopause). There is a slew of hormones that go through fluctuations along with estrogen, all of which are intended to keep the body operating in an organized manner.
As a result, these hormones impact some molecules in your body that they influence. For example, the immune system is activated, and the neurochemistry of your brain changes as well.
The inner clockwork of our bodies is affected by menopause, with changes in brain function, bone resorption, and lipid accumulation. And each woman’s experience of menopause is unique.
What is CBD? What Does CBD Stand For?
CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it is a chemical found in cannabis and plants that does not make you high. CBD is unlike THC, another well-known cannabis component that makes you high, in this regard.
People use CBD for a whole lot of different reasons, because of the wide variety of benefits it offers us.
Benefits of CBD For Common Menopause Symptoms
CBD has a long list of potential benefits, which can provide genuine assistance to women going through peri-menopause and menopause.
Related: How Many CBD Gummies Should I Eat?
CBD, in particular, has been discovered to aid with joint and muscle discomfort, anxiety, and sleep quality. Because those are all typical midlife- or menopausal-related problems, we wanted to learn how CBD oil could specifically help with menopause symptoms.
How Menopause Affects Women’s Health
Menopause is a natural, biological process that all women go through as they age. Many women experience menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, weight gain, and mood swings.
However, the physical symptoms and emotional symptoms of menopause can be very disruptive. For some women, these symptoms are mild and last only a few months. Others may have more severe symptoms that persist for years. In addition to the physical symptoms, many women also experience psychological symptoms during menopause, such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
There are therapies that can assist with menopause symptoms, despite the fact that there is no cure. These include hormone therapy, lifestyle changes, and natural remedies.
Related: How Many Drops of CBD Oil Should I Take?
Hormone therapy is often effective in reducing hot flashes and night sweats, while lubricants and moisturizers can help with vaginal dryness. Exercise and healthy eating can also help to combat weight gain and mood swings.
Depression, Anxiety, and Mood Swings
Related: CBD and Depression
During menopause, many women develop anxiety disorders, depression, and mood swings. Estrogen and progesterone control the activity of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain, which has a significant influence on mood. As levels of these hormones plummet, your neurochemistry will alter, causing emotional upset.
CBD products can aid with anxiety in two ways. First, it helps increase the availability of one of CBD’s receptors for serotonin neurotransmission in the brain, which is thought to reduce stress and anxiety.
Secondly, and most significantly, CBD can enhance the neurotransmitter GABA’s binding capacity — which acts as the brake pedal for the nervous system, slowing down neurological activity and assisting us in relaxing when we have an anxiety episode.
Related: Using CBD for Bipolar Disorder
CBD is effective in treating various symptoms linked with depressive disorders, including anxiety and pain. A handful of phase 2 clinical studies are underway evaluating CBD’s effects on numerous types of depression.
Joint Pain and Aches
Do you have more joint pain than you used to? Don’t jump to the conclusion that it’s because you’re getting older – our bodies make more significant amounts of inflammatory chemicals without estrogen. Low estrogen indicates that arthritis symptoms may increase during menopause—more than 60% of women aged 40 to 64 experience muscular and joint aches.
It’s more vital than ever to reduce inflammation in your body during menopause, and CBD could help. Cannabidiol has been proven to have anti-inflammatory effects in mice. CBD is anti-arthritic, protects cartilage from inflammatory damage, and lowers levels of inflammatory cytokines in mice. Although in a fight against inflammation, you can use CBD oil as a supplement, low-impact exercise and dietary modifications are also valuable resources.
Related: Taking CBD for Muscle Pain
Osteoporosis
Bones obtain calcium and other minerals from our bodies daily. The net effect of this is bones resorption (where more bone is lost than formed) as we approach peri-menopause, lowering bone density and increasing the likelihood of fractures.
We’ve all heard that calcium and exercise are important for preventing osteoporosis. Still, new research suggests that inflammation caused by arthritis or other illnesses may be one of the primary causes of bone loss. Inflammatory TNFα is particularly effective at prompting your body to produce more bone loss.
The anti-inflammatory characteristics that distinguish CBD oil as a widespread cure for arthritic problems may also be helpful for bone health. For example, CBD reduces TNFα levels and prevents oral bone loss in rats with periodontitis.
However, there is no human evidence for this use, and we recommend you utilize all available medical resources if you’ve been diagnosed with low bone density. Resistance exercise also lowers TNFα levels, possibly explaining why it can assist in the prevention of bone loss.
Night Sweats and Hot Flashes
Cannabinoids, like other natural therapeutics, can help reduce the frequency of hot flashes by suppressing their biological action. For example, hot flashes are most effectively treated with HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), but their common causes may be relieved with cannabis.
These symptoms are caused by abnormal chemistry in the hypothalamus, serving as the body’s thermoregulator. In other words, your body’s cooling capabilities, including sweat response and vessel dilation, are activated too frequently.
The body’s temperature rises by only 1.5 degrees when menopausal women have hot flashes. In contrast, those who haven’t gone through menopause generally maintain a constant body temperature unless their temperature goes up by almost 3 degrees.
CBD may assist with this. Although there has been no study looking at CBD and its role in hot flashes, it may be one of the reasons why some women use it to interact with the body’s serotonin system.
Can CBD Balance Hormones?
Hormones, like cortisol, have a significant impact on many levels of our bodies, including metabolism. Our bodies don’t burn as many calories as before the plunge — even while sleeping — without estrogen. So even during exercise, you may notice that you burn less fat.
Even if you eat fewer calories and maintain weight, the continuous hormonal shifts instruct your body to trade lean muscle mass for abdominal fat. Unfortunately, this method of storage exposes you to a slew of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and insulin resistance.
According to population research, adults who use cannabis daily had lower insulin levels and smaller waist circumferences.
CBD may help activates PPAR-γ receptors, which increase our metabolism. CBD also aids in the production of natural endocannabinoids, including 2-AG, which can help reduce insulin resistance, especially during menopause.
Sleep and Insomnia
Many perimenopausal and postmenopausal women struggle to get a restful night’s sleep. Sleep deprivation can seriously drain people, causing tiredness and many other health problems. Menopause may affect your sleep in various ways, including night sweats, anxiety or depression symptoms, and even insomnia.
Before troubleshooting the most effective solutions, you must first identify the major roadblocks keeping you from getting a good night’s sleep. Then, if you need assistance, keep track of your sleep or seek help from your doctor.
Something like CBD gummies for sleep help people of all genders and ages sleep better. However, whether or not CBD can assist you in getting a good night’s sleep is determined by the source of your problems.
CBD’s impact on neurochemistry and anxiety may assist women with insomnia or persistent sweating at night to sleep better.
Genitourinary Syndrome
Estrogen promotes the health of the pelvic region by ensuring that adequate blood flow is maintained to the sexual organs and urinary system. In a nutshell, it keeps things flexible and healthy.
These features become easily disrupted in females during menopause, resulting in a slew of uncomfortable symptoms, including inflammation, muscular tension, and sensitivity.
If this happens, it is recommended to utilize a topical CBD lotion that contains CBD or THC. Both these cannabinoids are potent vasodilators, which can help your body divert more blood to the pelvic region – moistening the vagina canal. CBD can also help relieve pain, relax muscles, and relax the nerves in the vagina.
How Does CBD Oil Help Menopause Symptoms?
CBD oil is gaining popularity as a natural remedy treatment for various health issues, including menopause symptoms. While research into the effectiveness of CBD oil for menopause is still in its early stages, early studies suggest that it may help relieve hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, muscle aches, and other menopause symptoms.
CBD oil is believed to work by regulating the body’s endocannabinoid system, which manages many menopause-related symptoms.
Hemp CBD products are typically broad-spectrum, meaning they contain a variety of cannabinoids and terpenes in addition to CBD. This can help to maximize the product’s therapeutic effects.
As more and more women turn to CBD oil for relief from their menopause symptoms, more research is being conducted into the efficacy of this natural treatment. So far, the results are promising, and it seems likely that CBD oil will continue to grow in popularity as a safe, effective, and natural way to manage the symptoms of menopause.
Things to Keep in Mind When Buying CBD Oil for Menopause Symptoms
One of the most common reasons that women use cannabis products is to cope with menopause. However, the hype surrounding hemp-derived CBD oil for reducing peri- and postmenopausal symptoms isn’t based solely on personal experience — researchers also believe cannabidiol (CBD) could help with menopausal symptoms.
Not all CBD oils are made equal. There is a wide range of disparities in the quality of different CBD oil products. If you’re taking this supplement for menopausal symptoms, go for the highest quality approved nonprescription CBD products, preferably in a medium to high potency.
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Here are some things to think about while shopping for CBD oil to ease menopause symptoms:
Hemp Source
Hemp is a type of cannabis plant that has, historically, been cultivated primarily for its seeds and fiber. The source of hemp used to make your CBD oil is crucial since it determines the quality of the extract.
Hemp is a bio-accumulator, meaning it absorbs everything from the soil in which it’s grown. As a result, hemp produced in contaminated soil will have low levels of CBD and other pollutants. Such hemp-derived CBD products will also be tainted with all contaminants present in that environment.
On the other hand, when grown organically, hemp contains lower levels of contaminants. As a result, it’s recommended to buy CBD oil from companies that obtain their hemp from local farmers and employ organic growing methods.
Extraction Method
Another critical distinction between hemp and marijuana is the extraction technique. Therefore, one of the most important things to consider when picking a CBD brand or variety is the extraction method.
Related read: The Art of CBD Extraction
Reputable businesses use CO2 extraction since it produces a clean and potent product. In addition, CO2-extracted oils are light orange, which indicates their high quality.
Extracting a CBD tincture is somewhat different from that of regular oil drops, which utilize high-proof alcohol to remove the cannabinoids and nutrients from hemp. However, when a firm uses butane, propane, or other powerful solvents in extraction, it’s best to avoid their goods. Instead, only purchase CBD supplements from manufacturers who follow the United States controlled substances act to ensure that you get high-quality CBD products.
Cannabinoid Spectrum – Broad Spectrum vs. Full Spectrum
I suggest using complete-spectrum extracts for menopause since they contain all of the natural compounds found in hemp. These molecules form unique synergy and are more powerful together than individually.
This is why we recommend broad spectrum CBD and full spectrum CBD over an isolate. While isolates provide a form of pure CBD due to the extraction process, they lack all other cannabinoids and terpenes within cannabis. You will miss out on the possible benefits from these other plant chemicals if you go with an isolate.
You Don’t Need the Strongest CBD
CBD oil is available in a range of dosages, ranging from 100mg to 5,000mg per bottle. Your ideal dosage will be determined by various things, including your body weight, disease severity, metabolism, and past experience with CBD. The strongest CBD products aren’t always what you need.
In fact, the goal is to take the least amount of CBD possible, while still getting benefits. If your menopause symptoms are minor and you’ve never taken CBD before, it’s preferable to start low and slow. For beginners, it’s recommended to use a serving of .25mg of CBD per pound of bodyweight.
However, if your symptoms negatively impact your daily productivity, you may need higher dosages. However, keep in mind that more significant amounts of CBD can cause drowsiness and make you feel dizzy due to lowered blood pressure.
Make sure you talk to your doctor before using any CBD product while taking any medication, primarily if medication is being used for pain relief. Cannabidiol interacts with various drugs and can cause their levels to rise in your system.
Summary
CBD for menopause is a topic that is being talked about more and more these days. Menopausal women are looking for ways to find pain relief from their symptoms, and CBD is one option that is gaining popularity.
Is CBD legal? Yes, in many states, but not all states.
CBD has provided some relief from pain, anxiety, and depression and has anti-inflammatory properties that help fight off heart disease. Some studies have even shown that CBD could help to improve sleep quality. With so many potential benefits of CBD, it’s no wonder that CBD for menopause is becoming a popular topic of conversation among menopausal women.
