Can CBD Oil improve fertility?
6 May 2022It’s not a given for everyone to have a baby or to conceive. Fertility problems are more common than you might think, but for many people it’s a difficult subject to talk about. Involuntary childlessness can cause stress, anxiety and even depression. Relationship problems between two partners can also arise. How can CBD Oil help? Is it possible that CBD Oil can improve fertility? Read on!
What are fertility problems?
What does it mean when you have ‘reduced fertility’? The term ‘sub-fertility’ is the inability to conceive within one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. 1 in 6 couples are confronted with fertility problems. Either male infertility or female infertility can cause the problem. We’ll review the most common causes:
Female causes
Age
Age is the most important cause of reduced female fertility. Female fertility normally peaks around age 24. After 30 the chances of pregnancy diminish slowly, with pregnancy occurring rarely after 50. Age also strongly affects the quality of the eggs. This means the chance of conception decreases, while the egg quality also diminishes. This can lead to an increased risk of miscarriage.
Menopause usually occurs around the age of 50. From the moment a woman stops ovulating, a spontaneous pregnancy becomes impossible. Unfortunately, menopause starts early in some women. This means some younger women are unable to get pregnant in a natural way.
Other causes
A regular cycle lasts between 21 and 35 days. If your cycle is irregular – so, shorter than 21 or longer than 35 days – it could mean there is an ovulation problem. This can be caused by:
- Hormonal abnormalities
- Early menopause
- Being underweight (BMI <18)
- Being overweight (BMI >30)
- Medical treatments (like chemotherapy or heavy medication)
- Genetic disorders
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Endometriosis
Male causes
The quality of the sperm depends on the amount of sperm cells, their shape and mobility. The quality of the sperm does not determine the chance of a pregnancy, because even low quality sperm can lead to a pregnancy. It could mean that it takes longer to conceive, though. Other causes for reduces male fertility can be:
- Cryotorchidism: when one or both testes fail to descend
- (Partly) absent vas deferens
- A previous inflammation of one or both testicles or epididymides
- Medical treatments (like chemotherapy or radiation)
- Genetic disorders
Unexplained infertility
In around 25% of the couples who are involuntary childless, a medical cause for the reduced fertility is never found. This is called idiopathic subfertility, or unexplained infertility.
Does CBD Oil affect fertility?
CBD Oil and the ECS
CBD Oil collaborates with the endocannabinoid system in our body: the ECS. The most important task of this system is to keep your body balanced. The ECS can do this by ensuring that various psychical and mental processes keep running smoothly.
There are cannabinoid receptors all through the body: in your skin, organs, bones, brains, etcetera. CBD can interact with these receptors. By doing this, CBD can help keeping all important processes in the body balanced.
Can CBD Oil improve fertility?
There are also cannabinoid receptors in the female reproductive system and in sperm cells. This is why scientists and researchers believe it’s possible that CBD Oil can have a positive influence on the reproductive system and sperm cells. Like all the other functions and processes in the body that CBD can stimulate and improve, this could very well be the case in fertility too.
It is thought that the endocannabinoids (or endogenous cannabinoids) can stimulate the functioning of the ovaries and can ensure that the fertility of the sperm cells increase. Because CBD can stimulate the production of endocannabinoids, it may well be that the positive properties of CBD Oil can help you to conceive!
Can CBD Oil reduce fertility?
It is common knowledge that marihuana can have a negative effect on male fertility, but there hasn’t been found any concrete evidence yet that CBD Oil has a positive or negative effect on fertility.
A couple of studies have been done, but more research is necessary. This is what we do know:
A study on mice showed that the hormone anandamide inhibits the development of embryos. CBD Oil stimulates the production of this hormone, which suggests that CBD could have a negative effect on the embryo during the first phase of the pregnancy. It could also mean the hormone reduces the entire fertility. However, none of this has been proven yet.
Another research showed that cannabinoids in general can lead to a reduction of the functioning of sperm cells. Unfortunately, no research has been done into CBD in this matter.
How can CBD help you conceive?
It is important to remember that CBD has a lot of different positive properties. It can have a soothing effect, improve your mood, it can reduce inflammation and relieve pain. If you can’t conceive because you suffer from another condition, CBD Oil may well be able to help you to relieve those symptoms. Of course this goes for both men and women! This way you can both feel better in your own skin and can CBD Oil have an indirect influence on your fertility!
Anxiety, stress and depression
CBD Oil seems to be very effective against stress and anxiety. CBD Oil, together with the ECS, ensures the brain to react different to stress and anxiety. This way, CBD can bring more balance, so you can experience more peace, tranquillity and happiness in life.
Insomnia
CBD Oil has soothing properties. CBD can calm your body and mind, so it gets easier to fall asleep and it can help you to stay asleep throughout the night.
Excess weight
Your body produces a hormone – Ghrelin – also called the ‘hunger hormone’, that sends a signal to the brain when you feel hungry. CBD can block this signal and by doing this, the feeling of being hungry is ‘shut down’. In this way, CBD Oil can support you when you want to lose weight.
(Chronic) pain, hormonal fluctuations en inflammation
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder which influences the ovulation, so a woman suffers from a hormonal imbalance. This can make it very difficult to get pregnant.
In the case of a hormonal imbalance, CBD Oil can, together with the ECS, restore the balance.
Another condition that can get in the way of conceiving, is endometriosis. It’s a disease in which the tissue that normally covers the inside of the uterus, grows outside of the uterus. This can cause scar tissue and inflammation, but also a lot of (chronic) pain.
Our Full Spectrum CBD Oil contains a variety of substances, with a lot of different properties that can help to reduce inflammation. Besides this, the versatile and natural hemp supplements can help to relieve pain!
Consult your doctor!
There are different theories about the relationship between CBD Oil and fertility. More research is needed to be able to make more definitive statements about this relationship.
In this stage there’s no evidence that CBD has positive or negative effects on fertility. The only thing we know is that CBD Oil can help to relieve symptoms or complaints of other conditions, so you feel better in general.
Some doctors don’t recommend CBD Oil to couples who are facing problems getting pregnant. It’s always important to talk to your doctor before you start to use CBD Oil, especially when you’re already using other supplements or medication!
Important: are you pregnant? We advise against the use of CBD Oil during your pregnancy and breastfeeding!
