When we talk about “health,” we talk about all sorts of different things. Sometimes, discussions on health centers around doctor’s visits and professional healthcare. Other times, health is all about what you eat and drink.
Some discussions of health are all about exercise, and other versions present health as the absence of something: We need to quit smoking, quick drinking so much alcohol, and so on. With all of these different visions of health, it can be tough to know how to best address our health needs.
The trick, of course, is that health is all of these things. So say experts who specialize in , a form of medicine that combines the traditions of the medical discipline with an appreciation for holistic health, and therapy (and even some natural products and what we might call alternative medicines).
These various things can form complementary medicine to all of the regular check-ups and wellness priorities that patients are already used to. The idea of integrative medicine is to treat the whole person, not just a portion of the body or the mind. With the help of an integrative medicine practitioner, patients can improve their whole health and their overall quality of life.
We can learn something from this. When we focus on one part of our health at a time, we don’t get as much out of our health strategies as we ought to. Without holistic approaches, our health will suffer. Which brings us to another part of our discussion: CBD.
What CBD Means for Holistic Health
You’ve almost certainly heard of CBD already, even if you’re not a big fan of the famous herb it is derived from. Just in case, let’s recap the basics. CBD is a —essentially an “active ingredient” in the all-natural marijuana plant.
When isolated from fellow cannabinoids like THC, CBD is non-psychoactive, which means that it won’t get you high. That’s good, though, because it essentially means that at least one of the potential side effects of marijuana-based medicine is out of the picture; you don’t have to get high to enjoy CBD’s health benefits.
And those health benefits are numerous. CBD can help everyone from anxious young professionals to cancer patients suffering from terrible pain. The biochemistry and the science are quite clear, though there are still many health benefits left to research, explain the pros at , a website that specializes in CBD, jade bloom oil, essential oils, and much more.
Health Benefits of CBD
CBD’s multi-dimensional benefits make it a great fit for our subject. With CBD, it’s easy to see how the different areas of our health interact. For example, obesity is unhealthy. CBD doesn’t necessarily help with obesity—or does it? CBD cuts down on anxiety symptoms, which could help stress eaters avoid their temptations.
Eating less will help such people lose weight, which will make them feel more energetic, less anxious, and less depressed. They can get moving more often and get even healthier in body and mind. Pretty soon, we’re looking at whole-health benefits—the kinds of benefits we’d expect from integrative medicine’s .
This is not to say that CBD is a cure-all, of course. The whole point here is that it’s not; it’s just one part of an overarching approach that takes every aspect of health into account. CBD can help reduce your anxiety, but you’ll still need to eat well and follow your doctor’s advice. Vitamins and other FDA-approved supplements are still important. Traditional medicine is absolutely essential (you won’t be curing your flu with CBD).
Nothing in health should stand on its own. From CBD to your next medical appointment, make sure that you’re tackling all of the different aspects of your health—and make sure that you understand that they are all connected.