Can CBD help regulate cholesterol?

More and more benefits are being associated with the use of cannabinoids as a natural medicine. Among all these benefits, the question has arisen whether CBD can regulate blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a common health condition that affects a large number of people.

Many consider the appearance of high cholesterol to be a common part of the aging process. In the meantime, doctors around the world advocate drugs that lower cholesterol levels in the body.

Natural treatments for high cholesterol, on the other hand, have gained popularity in recent years. Many people are now wondering if combining the potential health benefits of CBD oil with exercise and a balanced diet will help them naturally lower their cholesterol levels.

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What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a widely known substance that, no matter how much of it you have, can be detrimental to your health. Paradoxically, cholesterol is also an integral component of a healthy human body.

In fact, cholesterol is present in even the healthiest people. It is an integral part of cells and without it, cells could not survive. It is basically a molecule that is used to create various molecules in the body, including hormones. It is present in all cells and is essential for their proper functioning.

Although the exact concept of cholesterol may be difficult to understand, its actual function is much simpler. In other words, to stay healthy, our body needs cholesterol, because in this way it can “manufacture” vital components. It also contributes to temperature control. It is even important for cell growth and maintenance to remain stable.

However, when it comes to cholesterol in the diet, things get a little trickier. This is because humans and animals have the same level of dietary cholesterol. Therefore, if we ingest too much cholesterol, (usually from animal products), our cholesterol levels can become dangerously high.

What can we do in this scenario? CBD oil for cholesterol seems to be the answer.

CBD oil for cholesterol

Thanks to the positive benefits of CBD, its potential to reduce high cholesterol is often mentioned. Research has shown that CBD has some potential health benefits, although at the moment, studies are in the early stages. Is it possible that CBD oil can regulate cholesterol?

Currently, in most countries there is no control over CBD products sold over the counter. The CBD-based drug Epidiolex is known to be licensed to treat a rare type of epilepsy. This is the only condition for which CBD treatment has been approved. However, is there any evidence that CBD lowers cholesterol levels in the body?

What does the science say about whether CBD can regulate cholesterol?

Cannabidiol (CBD), is one of the products whose ability has been proven to treat a number of ailments. Cholesterol is one of the oldest problems considered by those who consume cannabinoids. In addition, some research indicates that CBD oil can help lower cholesterol and improve overall cardiovascular health.

In fact, CBD and cholesterol may work well together, according to several research studies. CBD can help improve cardiovascular health, which in turn can help reduce high cholesterol levels, according to research published in 2012.

However, the focus of this research is CBD and cardiovascular health. Therefore, there is currently no clinical evidence that CBD can help lower cholesterol levels. As a result, we cannot assume or suggest that CBD should be used in place of medications used to lower cholesterol.

Does CBD lower cholesterol?

Considering the above, although CBD does not explicitly lower cholesterol, it can aid in the overall improvement of cardiovascular health. This could have a positive side effect of lowering cholesterol and improving overall health.

In other research from 2011, the possible correlation between CBD use and genes related to cholesterol metabolism was analysed. It was found that the use of CBD oil for cholesterol may help modulate cholesterol homeostasis in microglial cells.

Although the results are promising, they don’t really have clinical implications that CBD should be used to control cholesterol.

The effect of CBD on cholesterol

The effect of using CBD to treat cholesterol, was explored in separate 2017 research published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Science. The study found that CBD increased cholesterol levels in wild type rats. However, it did not have the same effect in transgenic rats.

According to the research, the lack of impact on cholesterol in transgenic rats is likely due to the higher cholesterol levels in transgenic rats.

The impact of CBD on hyperglycemia was analyzed. HDL-C concentration was found to increase by 55%. Meanwhile, total cholesterol levels decreased by more than 25% after a 4-week CBD treatment in obese mice. These mice were given 3 mg CBD per kg body weight.

Unfortunately, the research has no impact on the practical use of CBD in humans to further reduce CBD levels. In other words, more research is needed to see if there is a physiological connection between the cannabinoid and cholesterol.