Did you know anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the United States with over 40 million adults being affected? Additionally, one-half of those diagnosed with anxiety also have depression. Many are reaching for plant-based options to relieve some of their symptoms, a popular choice being CBD. Through research, CBD has demonstrated great therapeutic potential to combat the symptoms patients experience, and emerging research is showing its precursor, CBDA, has greater therapeutic potential to help patients with anxiety disorders and depression. Let’s take a deeper look at why the science community is heavily focused on the superiority CBDA provides when compared to CBD.
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What is CBDA?
First, what is CBDA? CBDA is an acidic cannabinoid that is primarily sourced from hemp plants, though can also be found in small traces in cannabis plants. CBDA is the precursor to CBD.
This means when CBDA is decarboxylated, or exposed to heat, it converts to CBD. This poses a problem when extracting the acidic cannabinoid, as the majority of extraction methods must utilize heat in the process for sufficient cannabinoid extraction. This causes a conversion of the majority of CBDA to CBD, leaving little of the acidic cannabinoids left for consumers to enjoy. Due to the vast number of benefits CBDA holds, global solution providers have created new extraction methods that do not utilize heat, allowing for the extraction of acidic cannabinoids, including CBDA and CBGA, at a mass scale.
Like CBD, CBDA is non-psychoactive and will not induce any euphoria in those who consume it. CBDA has a wide range of benefits including acting as an anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory.
How can CBDA help patients with anxiety and depression?
Research has found CBDA activates the 5-HT1A or serotonin receptor. Activation of the serotonin receptor is a crucial component in anti-psychotic, anti-anxiety, and anti-depressant medications. The receptor has many functions including helping in the control of mood, cognition, memory, and modulating the response to stressful stimuli. By activating the receptor, CBDA shows great potential in helping patients with both anxiety and depression. There have been numerous studies demonstrating the effects, as well as comparing CBDA’s anti-anxiety effects to those of CBD. In 2017, one research study found CBDA demonstrated anti-anxiety effects on mice on doses 10,000 times lower than CBD.
Additionally, CBDA is 19x more bioavailable than CBD. This means when an equivalent amount of CBDA and CBD is ingested, the body is able to absorb more CBDA. This allows for lower doses of CBDA to experience the therapeutic benefits, and also makes it have greater therapeutic value for a variety of instances, including reducing anxiety and depression, and combating nausea.
There are many medications available for patients with anxiety and depression to try to alleviate their symptoms. However, they only help an average of 60 to 70 percent of patients, often coming with an array of unwanted side effects, including memory loss. Both CBD and CBDA are plant-derived options that have demonstrated great therapeutic potential through research.
Though CBD’s benefits are well documented, the research on CBDA is showing it has great advantages to help patients with both anxiety and depression, working even better than CBD. With so many suffering from these illnesses, it is prominent more research is being done to create more options to relieve the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Always consult a healthcare professional prior to adding any health and wellness products into your routine.
