CBD and Your Pets: Why it Matters
Most experimental science is done on animals before it’s done on people. We use rats because they’re remarkably like humans in physiology and social habits. We all know about primate research (and the sometimes questionable things done to other primates) but many people are unaware of the fact that dogs are often used in research as well. Our feelings about that fact aside, the benefit is that we know more about the effects of cannabinoids on dogs than we do people.
History of Hemp
Until the 1940s, cannabis and hemp were just a part of our food supply. Hemp seeds were pressed for oil, hemp leaves were fed to cattle, hemp fibers were used to make rope and clothing, hemp pith was used to make paper and other composites. It was just a part of daily life. After the reefer-madness push of the 1930s, there was a concerted effort to undo that history on the basis that cannabis, and by extension, hemp, would kill every man woman and child in the world if not stopped. This, despite the 10,000+ year recorded history of cannabis and hemp use in medicine and cordage, became the official line. Only recently have more rational voices made headway.
This irrational and non-scientific approach to the plants is correlated to the rise in all manner of chronic, metabolic diseases.1 While correlation is not the same as causation, it’s no coincidence that medical studies focused on the endocannabinoid system and the effects of these plants keep turning up evidence that shows the effects of cannabinoids on chronic, metabolic conditions.
Your Best Friends
What this has to do with our pets is fairly simple. If it’s good for us, it’s good for our pets. We all share certain mammalian traits in common.2 One of those traits is the endocannabinoid system. For those not aware of this system, allow us to explain. All mammals (and many other life forms) have a regulatory system that produces cannabinoids which perform metabolic tasks. That is to say, our bodies produce and use cannabinoids; chemicals very similar in structure to the ones found in hemp and cannabis. They perform functions such as programmed cell death (apoptosis), mood stabilization, pain management, and many others.
Mood stabilization and apoptosis are incredibly important aspects to these compounds. Anxious pets can be a challenge. CBD supplementation can have a remarkable effect on anxiety. Apoptosis, while it sounds bad, is one of the most vital aspects of health. When cells refuse to die at the end of their useful life, they tend to become cancers. The natural signal comes to an old cell by way of the endocannabinoid system. On occasion, this signal is ignored by a cell. CBD sends a signal that these old cells find much more difficult to ignore which is why the data indicates that CBD may be effective against certain types of cancer.3
The takeaway
With pets, cancers are on the rise. There are certain breeds of dogs and cats which are extremely prone to cancers. We owe it to our pets to do what we can to prevent these cancers. We feed them the best foods, we take them to see the best veterinarians, and we buy them nutritional supplements. CBD is an important part of this process.
Check out our Pet Formula CBD Tinctures.
Can one use CBD oil that is used by humans for their pets? In other words, if I am using a 600mg 30ml bottle for myself can I adjust dosage and use that for my dog as well??
Yes. One cannot overdose on CBD. This includes pets. If one we’re to ingest too much, the excess would be flushed or stored in fat tissue for later. Taking more than one needs harms nothing but the wallet.
Animals sometimes have a problem with flavors, though.
Is anyone here in a position to recommend Shorts? Thanks xx
I’m not sure what you mean.
what happens it you heat cbd oil
That depends on how hot. If you heat it to a low cooking temperature, say, below 175°C (350°F), not much. It gets heated in certain preparation steps up to about the boiling point of water but not much more. It can evaporate under high heat which means that if you bake with it, it will lose some potency through evaporation but lower temperatures do not harm the molecule.