If you are reading this, you are probably hungover, looking for a cure and wondering what to do to prevent a hangover in the future. Can CBD prevent a hangover or cure one? Certainly not! But there are certain areas in which CBD may be able to help with hangovers and make them less painful and agonizing.
Is CBD good for hangovers?
There are certain areas in which CBD may be able to help with hangovers and others where it will not. It’s therefore important to understand how various alcohol-related effects can be related to CBD and the human body.
Headaches, nausea, aches and pains are among the most common symptoms of a hangover.
What causes the hangover?
At first, alcohol consumption causes a spike in your blood sugar and glucose, a simple sugar (or carbohydrate) that is the main form of energy for your body, circulates through our blood – hence the term, “blood sugar” – and it is regulated by two different hormones known as insulin and glucagon. When your blood sugar levels become too high under normal life circumstances, the pancreas can secrete insulin to lower glucose levels in the body. When you drink alcohol, however, it can inhibit glucose once the body begins to process and break down the alcohol you have consumed.
This could also be compounded in a couple of ways: one of the primary means of obtaining glucose is through the foods we eat, and it is common to either not eat while drinking, or eat foods that are lacking in actual sustenance. Alcohol may also affect your body’s normal secretion of insulin, further impacting its relationship with glucose and its ability to regulate itself.
How CBD helps the body
While it does not have direct properties that will regulate your blood sugar, CBD can help regulate your endocannabinoid system. A better-regulated endocannabinoid system could facilitate conditions that help the body recover, bringing with it the potential to help with those awful hangover symptoms.
Dehydration and CBD
If you are eliminating water and not replenishing it at an equal rate, what happens? Dehydration, that’s what. Alcohol dehydrates you on its own but neglecting to drink water while consuming alcohol can only increase the problem. You see, that guy that says he is “hydrating” with a light beer in between his other beverages is not really hydrating. Surely, you know this? If not, well, now you do.
CBD cannot counteract symptoms of dehydration, but just knowing that dehydration is one of the main causes of a hangover can enable you to take the steps necessary to either mitigate or downright prevent one by consuming as much, if not more, water than you do alcohol while drinking.
Can CBD prevent hangovers?
Taking CBD as a one-off cannot directly prevent hangovers. But just because taking CBD oil is not going to make you immune from a hangover, or make one go away, doesn’t mean CBD is completely useless in this instance. Taking CBD regularly may contribute to a more balanced endocannabinoid system.
Does CBD cure hangovers?
There are countless remedies claiming to cure a hangover, like this Bloody Mary Jane, but are any of them worthwhile? Just like with hangover prevention, CBD should not be relied upon as a spot treatment for hangovers. Yet, taking CBD regularly may help maintain the balancing properties of the body when its receptors are activated.
Final thoughts
If you are looking into taking CBD for hangovers, or literally any other reason, make sure you are buying organic, third-party lab-tested CBD oil. The CBD market is unregulated, and a lot of products may not contain their advertised amount of CBD. Even worse, these products may contain harmful toxins that could actually cause headaches. Always make sure your CBD company can provide lab results from an independent source so that you can give your body what you intend to.
