CBD for footballers

CBD is the latest craze that everyone is talking about. CBD products are popping up everywhere and it’s the food supplement that everyone’s dying to try out. So we thought we’d give you the rundown on this popular food supplement and give you all the facts, answer all the questions, and look at the benefits of CBD for footballers so you can decide whether it’s worth taking.

So read on to find out exactly what is CBD, what does it do, and is CBD good for footballers to take?

What is CBD?

Cannabis plants naturally contain over 113 compounds called cannabinoids. CBD (short for cannabidiol) is one of the main cannabinoids accounting for around 40% of its extract.

Is CBD marijuana?

No. CBD isn’t marijuana. Cannabis is a plant that has 2 specie; Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Indica. Hemp is a variety of Cannabis Sativa, whilst marijuana is a variety of both Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Indica.

The main difference between hemp and marijuana is their chemical makeup and the amount of THC they contain. Hemp naturally has high amounts of CBD but only very small amounts of THC, whilst marijuana has high amounts of THC.

Since hemp has high amounts of CBD but little THC, CBD is extracted from hemp and used to make the CBD products available in the UK. 

How does CBD work?

Our body has a system called the endocannabinoid system (ECS) that controls pretty much everything. It’s the largest biological system in the body and connects all 11 main physiological systems, including mood, pain, memory, reproduction, and appetite. In fact, it’s so crucial to our health that it’s been described as “the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health“.

The ECS is constantly working to maintain an internal balance called homeostasis which plays a vital role in ensuring we stay healthy. Without homeostasis, our body’s cells don’t have the proper conditions to function properly and so we get sick.

The ECS maintains homeostasis using cannabinoids. The body produces its own cannabinoids but you can also boost your level with naturally occurring cannabinoids such as CBD.

What does CBD do?

If the body’s natural endocannabinoid system cannot maintain a balance called homeostasis then you’ll notice certain symptoms related to the 11 main physiological systems it controls. Symptoms can include anything from insomnia, pain, depression, anxiety, stress, and nausea.

CBD helps the ECS maintain homeostasis which puts the body and mind in its optimum state of health and wellbeing and will alleviate any ECS-related symptoms. This is why people often attribute CBD for making them feel less anxious, less stressed, less nauseous, less pain, and just feel better overall.

Does CBD make you high?

We know what you’re thinking – if CBD comes from cannabis will this make me high? Sadly the answer is no. CBD isn’t psychoactive so you won’t get high.

One of the other notable cannabinoids in cannabis plants is called THC (short for tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is psychoactive so is responsible for making you feel “high”.

Therefore, you can happily take CBD products and you won’t experience any psychoactive affects. You can still continue to drive, work, play sports, and function as normal.

Is CBD safe to take?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) conducted research and they concluded that CBD is completely safe for both humans and animals and CBD has absolutely no negative effects on our health.

Is CBD addictive and can you overdose?

The World Health Organisation conducted more research and they found that CBD is 100% not addictive and it has no potential for either abuse or dependence.

To break it down, something is defined as addictive when your brain releases dopamine (the feel good chemical) when taking it. This is what happens when taking addictive substances such as nicotine and alcohol. CBD doesn’t contain anything addictive so the brain’s dopamine-based reward system isn’t triggered when taking it.

And to make this even better, if you stop taking CBD you won’t have any withdrawal symptoms either.

Benefits of CBD for footballers

Ok so now we’ve covered what CBD is and what it does, how specifically will CBD benefit you as a footballer?

Pain relief and anti-inflammatory to speed up recovery

Any exercise, particularly playing a football match, causes microscopic damage to the body’s muscles and tissue. Dr. Alan Beyer explains that this process causes inflammation, which allows the body to repair itself and build stronger muscles and tissue.

Inflammation is why we tend to feel sore and ache after a workout or match. Too much inflammation that’s not properly treated can contribute to muscle damage and ineffective workout results.

People often opt to treat inflammation through anti-inflammatory measures such as taking ice baths, using anti-inflammatory medication (such as ibuprofen), and eating food with antioxidants.

Scientific studies have found that CBD has significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic (painkilling) effects. This makes CBD a very effective natural anti-inflammatory method.

Mental health

The pressure, stress and anxiety that comes with playing football at any level is hard to avoid.  Whilst struggling with mental health can greatly effect our desire to and our ability to maintain an active, healthy lifestyle. But CBD can help!

Depression and anxiety are classified as motivational disorders, and scientific research indicates that CBD can help. One study found that “results from a growing number of preclinical and clinical studies identify a novel treatment application for CBD in disorders of motivation, including drug addiction, anxiety, and depression ”

Further human studies have found that “CBD significantly reduced anxiety”, reduces stress, and induces a sense of calmness.

Sleep

After a match it can often be difficult to settle down and fall asleep. It doesn’t help if you add a helping of anxiety to the mix and you have a recipe of sleepless nights. Luckily our good mate CBD comes to the rescue!

Several scientific studies have found that taking CBD resulted in “a steady improvement in the quality and quantity of the patient’s sleep.”, “appears to increase total sleep time, in addition to increasing sleep latency in the light period of the day of administration.”, and can be “used as a specific therapy for sleep disorders”.

Will CBD show up in drug tests?

If you play football at a level where you’re drug tested you can still take CBD without being penalised. 

In the UK, CBD is not classed as a controlled substance so it’s legal to sell, buy and consume. THC, however, is an illegal compound so can’t be sold, bought or consumed.

Drug tests will typically only test for illegal compounds so they’re designed to pick up levels of THC. The Home Office has stated that CBD products that come from hemp are 100% legal providing they contain less than 0.2% of THC. These levels of THC are too small to be detected so you won’t have a problem passing a drug test. 

How do I know which CBD is good?

Not all CBD is the same. CBD products in the UK vary a lot in quality, purity and potency. Choosing a high-quality CBD product not only gives you more effective results but also gives you the best product for your money.

Here are some things to look for when selecting which product is right for you. And remember that the CBD industry isn’t regulated so it’s important to know what’s in the product you’re taking. You should find the answers to these on a legitimate CBD company’s website. If you can’t find any answers then assume the worst and avoid that CBD product.

Extraction method

CBD oil is extracted from hemp and there are two main extraction methods; CO2 and ethanol.

Ethanol extraction is the cheapest method but involves using toxic chemicals. This can often leave impurities in the resulting CBD oil and it also tends to strip the chlorophyll and flavours which leaves a bitter tasting product.

CO2 extraction is more expensive but it’s the cleanest method and creates a purer CBD oil.

Hemp source

High-quality hemp is crucial for high-quality CBD. Hemp plants are farmed outside and will absorb anything that’s in the ground where it’s farmed.

Hemp that’s grown on land that contains impurities, heavy metals, toxins and pesticides, will absorb these materials and pollute the CBD oil.

You want to look for hemp that’s grown using organic farming practices on good-quality land. Organic farming will ensure the soil is free from toxins and pesticides and will produce a high-quality CBD oil. Hemp that’s farmed in the US is typically favoured because the law requires US farmers to get certified by state departments of agriculture.

Full spectrum or CBD isolate

CBD products can either be labelled as full-spectrum (whole-plant), broad-spectrum, or CBD isolate. Full-spectrum CBD contains CBD and all of the other beneficial cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids that are present in the hemp plant. Broad-spectrum is the same except it doesn’t contain THC. CBD isolate just contains CBD.

Full-spectrum CBD is considered to produce stronger results than CBD isolate because of a concept called ‘The Entourage Effect’. This is where the body responds better to all the compounds working together .

Products with CBD isolate are cheaper to produce but they’re now illegal to be sold in the UK under EU law. However, many companies get around this by simply using CBD isolate and incorrectly labelling it as full-spectrum CBD. So how can you identify whether it’s CBD isolate? That brings us nicely onto our next point.

3rd party lab results

A reputable company will always have their CBD products checked by a third-party and will have the lab results publicly available. The lab results will identify all of the cannabinoids that are present in the CBD and will confirm the high levels of CBD, low levels of THC and no impurities. This is where you’ll be able to see if the product is CBD isolate and has been incorrectly labelled as full-spectrum.

The lab results will also verify the potency of the CBD product so double-check that the number  matches the level of CBD claimed.

CBD product type

There are so many ways to enjoy CBD and so many different types of products to choose from that it ultimately comes down to personal preference.

The most common way of taking CBD is with CBD oil drops or sprays where the CBD oil is held under the tongue. This method can be messy, be inaccurate to determine the dose and isn’t great for flavour since CBD oil tastes like hemp (think an earthy, grassy taste).

CBD edibles are therefore much more preferable if you don’t like the taste of hemp. CBD edibles are a tasty, convenient and enjoyable alternative to the CBD oil drops and tend to be a more accurate way of determining how much CBD you’re taking.

Other ways of taking CBD include taking CBD capsules , CBD-infused vape liquids, and CBD lotions.

Our favourite CBD product

Over the past year CBD has grown massively in popularity in the UK and loads of new companies have popped up. I’ve personally tried a lot of CBD products over the year. This started off out of curiosity as to whether CBD would work and whether it really was the ‘miracle’ everyone was claiming it to be.

I’m happy to say that in my experience CBD isn’t just a gimmick and it does work! I’ve found that it’s been particularly great for muscle pain and soreness after playing a particularly brutal football match and if I get DOMs from a decent gym session.

As mentioned, CBD products really do vary in quality and it’s particularly noticeable if you tried a lot back to back. I found fairly early on that I hated the taste of hemp so CBD oils weren’t great and I hate swallowing pills so that ruled out the capsules (which tended to be quite large).

As a guy who loves anything sweet I tried a lot of edibles – everything from gummies, to popcorn, to chocolate, to cookies. I even tried a CBD-infused bread stick at one point.

My favourite edible by a mile were the CBD-infused dark chocolate balls from Good Soul. These little beauties just taste amazing like a really nice chocolate with no hemp flavour at all. And there’s 200mg of CBD per box so you get a lot for your money. Check them out and thank me later!

*Disclaimer. We have NOT be paid, sponsored, or gifted to recommend anything. All views in this article, as always, are genuine.*