Published on February 22, 2022
There’s a lot of hype surrounding CBD for diabetes. Following the recent legalization of Cannabis, Cannabidiol’ numerous health benefits are drawing all the attention.
Recent studies have revealed tangible effects of CBD on diabetes, founding that CBD may help lower blood sugar levels, increase insulin production, and reduce cholesterol. CBD is also proven to have relaxing, calming, anti-stress, sleep-aiding, and strong pain-relieving properties, which indirectly helps manage diabetes better.
Let’s take stock of the situation and take a look at what we know today about CBD and diabetes. Can CBD really lower blood sugars? Does it help produce more insulin? Does Cannabidiol effectively relieve diabetic neuropathy pain? What are the best CBD oils for diabetics?
Having said that, CBD could indirectly help lower blood sugar levels for type 2 diabetes patients. The proven relaxing, calming, sleep-aiding, and pain-relieving effects of Cannabidiol can play an important part in improving diabetes management and blood sugar control.
If CBD has not been proven to directly lower blood sugar levels, its anti-stress, tranquilizing, calming, and relieving effects are now firmly and scientifically corroborated. By lowering your stress levels, reducing your anxiety, increasing your sleep quality, relieving your pain, or simply improving your overall emotional health, CBD can noticeably help keep your blood sugar levels in range and lower your average HbA1c.
CBD is not a treatment for diabetes and it should not substitute your diabetes medications. CBD alone can’t control your blood sugar levels. It can help achieve a better diabetes management when taken in addition to the treatment put in place by your medical team. Whether you’re on Metformin, insulin, or any other diabetes drugs, never stop taking your medications without your doctor’s advice.
Another great benefit of CBD for diabetics is its strong pain-relieving properties for those who suffer from diabetic foot pain caused by peripheral neuropathy. About 50% of diabetics suffer from some kind of neuropathy. Symptoms such as tingling, burning, sharp pain, or numbness can be incapacitating and the pain is often unbearable.
Regrettably, pharmaceutical treatments often fail to deliver relief from neuropathic symptoms. Well, CBD is THE newest natural ingredient found to effectively relieve the pain caused by damaged nerves.
There are more research and scientific results available on CBD for neuropathy than on CBD for blood sugars. Recent studies have shown that CBD effectively helps reduce nerve pain caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
In the most important study, “The effectiveness of topical cannabidiol in symptomatic relief of peripheral neuropathy“, 15 patients were placed in the CBD group and were topically administered Cannabidiol-infused creams on the painful areas. 14 patients were placed on a placebo group. After 4 weeks, the results showed that there was a “significant reduction in intense pain, sharp pain, cold and itchy sensations in the CBD group when compared to the placebo group”.
CBD is a natural and non-addictive way to manage nerve pain. It’s often much less expensive than pharmaceutical painkillers and has very few side effects.
There are several effective ways to take CBD for neuropathy. You can take pure CBD oil orally or sublingually. You can also apply topical CBD creams or gels directly on the areas affected by nerve pain (usually the feet and hands). You can also find sugar-free CBD gummies for pain that are great for diabetic neuropathy.
There is no guide to how much CBD you should take for diabetes, blood sugar control, neuropathy, or any other condition. Every person reacts differently to cannabinoids. To safely begin with CBD, you should follow a stepwise dosing procedure and be sure about the actual CBD concentration of your product.
Due to FDA regulations, advising on specific CBD dosage for a particular condition such as diabetes is illegal. Besides, people respond very differently to cannabinoids and terpenes. While some would feel strong effects with a low dosage, others might need 10 times the same dosage to feel something. To give you a general idea, diabetics most commonly use anything from 2.5 mg to 100 mg of CBD per day.
If your doctor is open to discussing cannabis and CBD for diabetics, ask for his advice first. If not, you can book an appointment with a Holistic cannabis practioner who will help you start using CBD for diabetes within a safe and medical environment.
You can also safely start your CBD treatment without supervision if you follow a stepwise dosing procedure. Start with a low dosage and gradually increase until you reach the desired effect and find the dosage that works best for you.
The same goes for neuropathy pain. There’s no CBD dosage officially recommended for nerve pain relief. You should either ask for your doctor’s advice, consult a holistic cannabis practioner, or follow the stepwise dosing procedure starting with the lowest strength and gradually increasing potency until you find relief from neuropathy pain and symptoms.
For example, according to Mydosage.com, the recommended CBD dosage for chronic neuropathy pain for a 55 years-old woman of 60 kilos, newbie to CBD, who rates her pain level at 5/10 is 11 mg of full-spectrum CBD per day or 6 mg twice a day. For a 70 years-old man of 120 kilos, already familiar with CBD and who rates his pain level at 10/10, the recommended CBD dosage for neuropathy pain is 21 mg per day or 11 mg twice a day.
Whether in oils, capsules, edibles, or creams, CBD dosage is always expressed in milligrams (mg). You can find anything from very low-potency products with as little as 2 mg of CBD per serving to high-potency ones with more than 200 mg per serving. Most of the time, the packaging specifies the mg of CBD per serving (drops, capsules, gummies, tea bag, etc.) so it’s easy to calculate how many servings you need to get the dosage you want.
But sometimes it’s a bit harder to calculate, especially with CBD oils and tinctures. If the packaging does not specify how much CBD is in a drop, you’ll need to figure it out yourself. Divide the total amount of CBD in the bottle (usually 250 mg, 500 mg, 1000 mg, 1500 mg, or more) by the number of drops in the bottle. One drop is 0,05 milliliters (mL), so a 10mL bottle contains 200 drops, and a 30 mL bottle contains 600 drops.
For example, in a 10mL CBD bottle with 1000 mg of CBD, you have 1000 mg / 200 drops = 5 mg of CBD per drop. If your dosage is 20 mg, you would need to take 4 drops of that CBD oil.
Besides CBD potency and dosage, you must also choose between three different forms of CBD: isolate, broad-spectrum, or full-spectrum.
If you have diabetes, you must also pay attention to other ingredients found in CBD oils. Stay away from CBD products that contain added sugars, artificial flavors, or unhealthy additives. Prefer simple products with clean formulas.
PureHemp CBG + CBD Full-spectrum Oil – Natural Flavor – 1000 mg
Full-spectrum / 500 mg CBD + 500 mg CBG / Organic composition / No additives / Natural flavor / Sugar-free
CBD isolate / 1500 mg of CBD / Apple Cider Vinegar / Clean composition / Sugar-free
This is a unique product combining Cannabidiol with raw unrefined Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to help diabetics lose weight, control blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, and improve overall health and wellness.
Several studies have shown that taking Apple Cider Vinegar during meals helps reduce post-meal blood sugar levels, and taking it before bed may help reduce morning blood sugars in type 2 diabetics. If drinking ACV won’t have a tremendous impact on your sugar levels alone, adding it to your healthy diabetes management routine can definitely help.
Regarding CBD, this tincture from Zatural is infused with 1500 mg of pure CBD isolate to relieve pain and inflammation and reduce stress levels. It’s 100% sugar-free and can be taken alone, mixed with water and drinks, or incorporated into your favorite recipes.
Full-spectrum CBD / 500 mg – 6000 mg / CBN terpene complex / Solvent-free / Sugar-free
If you’re looking for a CBD oil for stress, anxiety, or depression, search no more! CBD FX, one of the leading CBD companies in the USA, has recently come up with this new version of CBD Oil enhanced with CBN.
Cannabinol (CBN), commonly known as the “relaxation cannabinoid”, is another compound of the cannabis plant which is drawing a lot of attention lately. Recent studies have revealed that CBN has strong sedative and relaxing properties, as well as great pain-relief ones. The same studies have shown that health benefits were greater when CBD and CBN were used together than when used separately.
CBD FX CBD + CBN oil blends combine full-spectrum CBD with high-potency CBN. It’s the most effective CBD oil you can find to decrease stress levels and anxiety levels, which ultimately considerably helps improve diabetes management. They come in various strengths from 500 mg to 6000 mg. The composition is organic and clean. There’s a nice natural citrus taste, and it’s 100% sugar-free (contains Stevia).
Broad-spectrum CBD / 1000 – 4000 mg / CBN / Melatonin / Sugar-free
Many people suffering from sleep disorders turn to CBD making it the most popular sleep-aiding natural ingredient known today. But CBD FX has created more than just a CBD Sleep Oil. Not only does the Sleep Tincture formula contains a high dosage of broad-spectrum CBD (THC-free), but it combines it with relaxing CBN, sleep terpene complex, and the sleep hormone melatonin (5 mg per serving).
This CBD oil provides such an “ultimate deep sleep experience” that the company warns you about possible drowsiness or sleepiness and advices you not to drive after taking it. It’s available in different strengths and is naturally sweetened with Acacia gum (zero sugar content).
CBD isolate / 1500 mg / Organic / Natural flavor / No additives / Sugar-free
If you’re looking for the purest form to take CBD for diabetes, Pure Hemp 100% pure CBD isolate is your best choice. It’s also a great option for those who begin with CBD and who want to slowly start experimenting with the impact of CBD on their blood sugars, emotional health, sleep quality, or diabetic foot pain. You use this oil sublingually, add a few drops to your meals or drinks, or apply it topically to massage painful areas of your body.
This CBD isolate oil is available in two strengths (500 mg or 1500 mg). Both strengths come in a 30 mL bottle. You get 0,5 mg of CBD per drop if you choose the lowest strength, and 1,5 mg of CBD per drop with the highest strength. It’s the cleanest composition you can find with 99% pure organic CBD isolate. You can choose between the flavorless version or a mint-flavored one.
Ultra broad-spectrum CBD / 50 mg per dose / 30 liquid capsules / Sugar-free
Some people don’t feel comfortable dosing CBD oil from bottle droppers and others simply don’t like the taste of CBD oil. The Ultra Broad-spectrum CBD liquid capsules from MedTerra provide you with the same benefits as CBD oil. It might take a bit more time before you start noticing the effects of CBD because of the digestive process, but the results are the same.
MedTerra is a leading CBD company in the USA and distinguishes itself by its super clean formulas. No additives, no artificial flavors, no chemicals, no nothing but CBD. Each Ultra Broad-Spectrum liquid capsule contains 50 mg of broad-spectrum CBD enhanced with additional cannabinoids and compounds found in the hemp plant. It’s 100% THC-free, and it was one of the most popular CBD products in 2021!
About the Author
I’m Laura. Type 1 diabetic. Mother. Traveler. Writer. Researcher. I started this blog 5 years ago to investigate diabetes-related topics and share different views on the subject. I hope you find it useful! You can contact me here, and read my partner diabetes organizations around the World here.
SweetTrip is reader-supported and I sometimes use affiliate links. When you buy a product through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed are my own.
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