CBD Oil and blood thinners
28 October 2022CBD Oil seems to be a promising product when it comes to cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure. So, when you’re suffering from these kinds of problems, it may well be that you are considering using CBD Oil. But can you use CBD Oil if you’re already taking regular anticoagulants? Or could that be dangerous? We would like to inform you about combining CBD Oil and blood thinners!
How does blood clotting work?
When you cut yourself or fall and get injured, you’re happy when the bleeding stops. A scab forms on the skin and the wound will heal. This process takes not only place on the skin on the outside, also on the inside some sort of scab will form on the vein wall. To staunch the blood as fast as possible, the damaged vein wall needs to be fixed quickly. The vein contracts and platelets clump together around the lesion. A blood clot is being formed, on the outside skin we would all this the scab, which ensures a quick fix of the damaged artery wall. When the wound is healed, the clot flicks off and your body removes it.
There are substances in your blood that make sure your blood clots, so the wound closes and can heal properly. Your blood also contains anti-coagulants, to allow the clot to break off the vein wall. When this entire system is balanced, it’s smooth sailing. But sometimes the blood clots while there’s no wound at all and without reason a blood clot forms. This could be a very dangerous situation, because the blood clot can grow and clot off a vein completely or partially. This is what we call thrombosis. If the clot breaks off and ends up in your lung, it’s called a lung embolism.
What’s the function of blood thinners?
There can be various causes of thrombosis or lung embolism. For example heart problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and arteriosclerosis. But also smoking, birth control pills and (too) little exercise can lead to blood clots.
Blood thinners are prescribed to people who suffer(ed) from blood clots, after surgery or when they are at high risk because of another condition. These medicines reduce the risk of the emergence of blood clots that could get stuck in a vein or in your lungs. So the term blood thinners actually isn’t entirely correct. Your blood doesn’t get any thinner, it just won’t clot as readily.
When you’re on blood thinners, some side effects will definitely occur. Wounds bleed for longer than usual, you’re more likely to bruise and bleed (like a nose bleed).
Can CBD Oil act as a blood thinner?
It’s not exactly clear yet what the possible effects of CBD Oil are on blood clotting. Scientists think various factors play a role. Firstly, CBD Oil can influence the blood flow by dilating the arteries. That way the blood can flow better and quicker, and the blood pressure gets lowered, so blood clots can’t form that easy. Research has shown that just a single dose of CBD can lower the blood pressure significantly, both at rest and in stressful situations.
Another study looked into the effects of cannabis on blood clotting. Mainly the cannabinoids THC and CBN seem to be very effective as anticoagulant: blood clots needed twice as long to form. Our Full Spectrum CBD Oil contains all cannabinoids from the hemp plant. So also CBN and (a tiny bit) THC!
Can you combine CBD Oil and blood thinners?
Even though CBD Oil is generally very safe for human consumption and only few side effects are known, it is true that CBD Oil can interact with some regular medicines. This can be dangerous, because CBD can ensure that certain medication doesn’t get metabolised right or too slow.
Medication is metabolised by the liver, by an enzyme system called the cytochrome P-450. It turns out that CBD is also metabolised by these enzymes and sort of ‘occupies’ the metabolising system. In this case it can happen that the medication gets metabolised too slow, stays longer in your body and will eventually build up to dangerous quantities. This can cause more side effects, but it could also be harmful.
Not all regular medicines are metabolised by the cytochrome P-450 enzyme system. This means that CBD doesn’t always influence the breakdown of all kinds of medication. Not all blood thinners are the same, so if you really want to use CBD Oil, it could be useful to switch to a different one. Do you want to start using CBD Oil? When you already use medicines, we advise you to consult your doctor first!
Full Spectrum CBD Oil or CBD Isolate?
Our Full Spectrum CBD Oil is made from high quality hemp plants. These hemp plants have been specifically grown and can never contain more than 0,3% THC. This is just a tiny amount, so our oil will never get you high. However, the oil does contain all cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids from the plant. Together they can cause the entourage effect, which means that all these substances can enforce each other, so you can get better results!
Would you rather consume a CBD Product with no THC at all? Totally possible at SupMedi! We have a broad product range of CBD Isolates: products that only contain the cannabinoid CBD. You won’t experience the entourage effect, but you can still enjoy all positive effects of CBD, without the THC!
Check our online shop and choose the CBD Product that suits you best: our special CBD Olie, CBD Tablets or maybe you prefer one of our delicious CBD Snacks?
