DISCLAIMER: This is a transcript of episode 17 – What Can Interact with CBD? from our Full Spectrum Living with CBD podcast. Click here to listen to the episode or click here to watch the video.
Ep17_WHAT CAN INTERACT WITH CBD?
Meredith [00:00:06] All right. Welcome back to this episode of Full-spectrum Living with CBD. I’m your co-host, Meredith, here with our host Jessica and Adriane. And you know, we just came off of doing two great episodes the last time around nutrition. Had a special dietitian guest on the show. And it really reminded all of us of why you guys wanted to create the show in the first place. And it was really because you want to educate people around CBD and you’re encouraging a very holistic approach to to living, to nutrition, to taking care of our bodies and to that end you really believe that CBD is a key component to that and your goal is to educate people around how it works and what it does. And so one of the things that came out of those dietitian episodes was what about CBD interactions? And you’re both asked about those things pretty frequently, right?
Jessica [00:00:57] Absolutely.
Meredith [00:00:59] So, Jessica, what is one of the biggest topics that you get asked about when it comes to CBD interactions?
Jessica [00:01:06] Well, there’s several. But I think, you know, in general, there’s a good chunk of categories of things that you intake that are kind of not quite diet related, maybe more lifestyle choices. So, yeah, just bringing some awareness to what you could expect with CBD in combination with these things. And one of those being nicotine is a big question that we get. A lot of people are trying to cut back on e-cigarettes or regular cigarettes. And so we get the question of, you know, is CBD safe to take with nicotine? Should I mix it in my vape cartridge with my nicotine? Should I you know, will it help with cravings? And basically just to touch on that, yeah, it could certainly help a lot of people. There’s a good body of research that indicates that CBD is very effective in cutting the cravings of nicotine and it can lead to smoking cessation or to just at least consuming less nicotine. And I think overall, the thing to take away from that is it helps with your, your stress management and your anxiety levels, which cravings kind of magnify. So there’s one element. And kind of more specifics there, there’s potential… I was looking to try and find something to cite, but I’ve read, I can’t find anything to cite it, so take it or leave it, but I’ve read that nicotine counteracts CBD and makes CBD less effective. So that’s something to note on this topic. However, again, I could not find the article again to back this claim up, and I didn’t find any research to suggest that either. So maybe it makes the CBD less effective. Maybe it doesn’t, but that’s something to consider as a possibility. And you know, when we get the question of mixing nicotine with e-juice or excuse me, mixing CBD vape with nicotine vape e-juice, I think the best approach there is just to not. Just don’t mix it. If you want to vape CBD and vape nicotine have two different devices because they burn at different temperatures. The juices that they’re in are sometimes different. And for many people, the point being dialing back the nicotine. We’ve found that people are most successful, just from client’s feedback, when they kind of keep that separate. So that’s just a few little insights to the nicotine questions.
Meredith [00:03:34] And probably a lot of questions around that, just with all of the vaping that, you know, information that’s been in the news, I think those are some some things people probably really want to pay attention to. But what other kinds of questions do you guys, do you get around interactions? And I’m sure people probably ask, you know, what about CBD with my prescriptions or CBD with other things I might be doing?
Adriane [00:03:56] Yeah, absolutely. We don’t answer the question with regards to prescriptions specifically. We’re not doctors, but there is definite possibility with an interaction with pharmaceuticals. It’s all in how it’s processed, whether it’s using that enzyme within the liver, the Cytochrome P450, your pharmacist or your physician is going to know that. So they’re the ones that you absolutely want to talk to about an interaction with your pharma and with your CBD. So don’t listen to anything else that you’re reading on the Internet. Don’t listen to us. I will say that CBD is largely, it’s very safe. It is very safe. And typically, some of the issues with the side effects or that interaction, they want to blame it on the CBD. I’d honestly probably blame it on the pharma because those side effects are already part of that long pharma list anyway. It’s just when you take that CBD, it either pushes it through quickly, more quickly. It’s metabolized quickly through the l… through the liver or it is held up in the liver and that’s when that toxicity comes from. Right. So again. But talk to your pharmacist, talk to your physician, and that’s when you can actually maybe start weaning off of those pharmas, with their care.
Jessica [00:05:05] Absolutely, and I would just add to that that the main thing, you know, if you talk to your physician and decide to try it, the main things to look out for is just to see is / are your side effects from your pharmaceuticals becoming more pronounced. Because that can be a big indicator. Often we’ll see people get a little lightheaded or dizziness because their pharmaceutical causes that, and that side effect became more noticeable when they started to take CBD.
Meredith [00:05:35] Super interesting there. So then someone would have to work with their doctor to make a decision whether, you know, what they needed to dial back and all of that. So I think it’s really smart to advise people to work with their with their doctor. There’s so many prescriptions out there. But what other choices are people making that you get questions around interactions?
Adriane [00:05:55] So it’s that nightly glass of wine. Right. I’m definitely a partaker. Right. I’ll have a glass of wine. You know, Jessica mentioned, you know, stress and a lot of people will, at the end of the day, have a glass of wine to kind of distress and relax. There is no interaction between the alcohol and CBD. No studies have shown that. We haven’t heard any consumer feedback with regards to that. There’s actually been studies when it comes to alcoholism and cirrhosis of the liver where CBD’s actually been beneficial in that. And I’ll put that in the blog and actually cite that later on. So you can actually go back and read it. But it was the University of Kentucky here that actually talked about the benefits of consuming CBD for those who have an alcohol addiction. So something to consider.
Meredith [00:06:39] It’s really, really interesting… just sorry, Jessica, there on that, too, because I think there’s still that stigma out there around CBD that it’s going to get me high. Right. And so we’ve all been told, like, you know, be careful if you you know, if you were going to partake in marijuana and then partake in alcohol, that that combined effect is going to make you more intoxicated. And so I’d love for you to address that. You know, just remind listeners that we’re talking about a whole different situation here with CBD, right?
Jessica [00:07:17] Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, the combination of marijuana and alcohol certainly leads to kind of a magnified effect as opposed to like a summation where you’re adding those effects. It largely depends on the person. But you know, because you’re not affecting your brain in the same capacity as you do with marijuana that doesn’t really happen with CBD. I will say there have been a few people who just felt that like their one glass of wine feels like one and a half glasses of wine when they have CBD, you know, so it can lead to just a little bit more of a relaxed feel, I think is the main thing because CBD is very relaxing. If you take them right at the same time, you know, because there’s alcohol in the stomach, you might absorb it faster and you might feel a little more relaxation right off the bat. So that’s possible. But it’s not an effect where like because you took CBD and you had alcohol, you now are, you know, dysfunctional and can’t operate yourself. So, you know, it’s not quite at all the extent of mixing marijuana and alcohol, but it can, for some, just feel a little bit more strong. And the interesting thing, when I was kind of looking some things up for this episode, it does seem like there was one study that found CBD in combination with alcohol led to a lower blood alcohol content, but the same amount of impairment. So whatever that means. I mean, there’s still ongoing studies to really try and understand what that means in real life. But they found overall, when you combine them, your blood alcohol content was slightly lower, but your impairment remained the same as if it were just alcohol. So something to note and then I think it’s something I really want to point out is I’ve had quite a few clients, you know, ask me, is it OK if I have this with my glass of wine? I tell them basically what I just talked about. And then I’ve had a few come back and say, like you, my two or three glasses of wine has turned into truly just one or maybe none, because I’m able to deal with my stress better at night. And I just I don’t crave it as much. There’s a rat study where they showed that CBD led to choosing water over alcohol in the rat population that were the equivalent of severe alcoholism, these rats. So, you know, there’s a chance that it could really help with that. And then again, to Adriane’s point, protecting the body. Alcohol is a neurotoxin. CBD is a neuroprotectant. Maybe you’re counterbalancing some of that damage? It may not still be the most ideal, but it potentially could really help some people to protect their bodies from the toxicity of alcohol itself, at least in some way.
Adriane [00:10:18] And I would say you know personally speaking, so if you’ve never combined CBD with alcohol right now, a big trend is CBD in cocktails, at restaurants or at bars. You know, it’s popular here. I know it was popular in California. I think they actually removed it or made, removed that as being a possibility. But it’s happening out there. And so if you don’t know what type of CBD it is, that mixed with the alcohol can have an adverse effect. I know it does on me personally. Jessica and I actually shared a water soluble version of a seltzer. I mean, it was just five milligrams of CBD in this seltzer and we shared it. I think I only had half of my half of the can and my heart was racing out of my chest. I was real irritable. I couldn’t focus. And I was supposed to go on a CBD panel. And so I was really trying to calm myself down. Now, granted, we’d had a coffee earlier in the morning so it could have been a mix of the coffee with the water soluble CBD. When you add these into, your adding all of these ingredients and you don’t know how the CBD been processed or what it is which typically water soluble is what’s being used in the cocktails anyway, because, you know, it mixes a lot easier. You could have an adverse effect. I mean, me personally, that’s the way it will affect me. Others, it may not have that same effect, but you definitely don’t want to try it at the bar. You’d much rather try it at home. Mix it. Take your CBD bottle, you know what it is, mix it in that cocktail if you think it’s a fun recipe. I think that should be the first step before mixing them together.
Meredith [00:11:55] Probably a good idea, right? To make sure that you really understand. And that’s probably true with any of these other, you know, interactions that we’ve talked about so far today to just really make sure that you’re mindful of what’s happening there. So is there any one last interaction that you are asked about frequently that we can talk about today?
Jessica [00:12:16] Well, I mean, I think that leads to caffeine. Adriane mentioned we had had a coffee before that and then we both felt kind of jittery, but also kind of scatterbrained. I’ve had CBD coffee before and I actually personally really like it because for me it’s a focused but calmer energy. So it helps with intestinal discomfort. It helps with not feeling jittery, in my experience with our product in coffee. But like as she mentioned, we had that seltzer just after a coffee before and we both felt wired at the equivalent of two milligrams supposedly or less, which should not have made us feel that way. But it did. We’re not quite sure, you know, who knows what how they made that product, it wasn’t our product. But, you know, I think with some people it can really help with caffeine intake, avoiding headaches or discomfort intestinally or jittery feelings. But with other people, it actually makes it worse or it counteracts the coffee and then they get sleepy after having just had coffee or a headache or, you know, everyone’s different. And I think that’s the main takeaway. But caffeine would be the last thing. And I think if we’re, you know, wrapping up this conversation, I think it’s essential to note that the best way to use CBD is just use it consistently, not in, you know, not in novelty products and infused cocktails and whatever. If you want the benefits of CBD, you take it consistently and be aware of, you know, if you’re also taking in alcohol or nicotine or prescriptions, that it is possible to have some kind of surprising effect in that combination. But in general, just take CBD consistently and be mindful of how it may interact with other things that you happen to be intaking as well.
Meredith [00:14:07] Yeah. And one of the things that you have mentioned, too, that made me think about it was in relationship to sugar. You know, are there are there many pieces of information around that? Because I think we have a lot of people that are kind of hooked on sugar, too.
Adriane [00:14:23] OK. I was looking at Jessica. I thought she was gonna say, no, you’re good. Sugars. Yeah. Absolutely. One of those things that people become, I would say, addicted to. Right. So people can become addicted to coffee, quote unquote, addicted to nicotine. The more you have to have that, I think sugar is absolutely one of those things. And what we’ve seen and what studies have shown and what consumers have reported is that some of those typical sugar cravings that when they’re taking a consistent serving of CBD is reduced by it. So they don’t have that hankering for whatever is causing them to want the sugar, to want the candy. Remember, sugar is, it’s inflammatory. So one of the reasons why people take CBD is for inflammation. We talked about that in the last two episodes. So anything that’s going to kind of help reduce those sugar cravings like CBD will, is gonna be largely beneficial. And I think over time customers will realize I don’t think they realize at first, but they will later on where oh my snack draw is, I haven’t had to refill it here lately.
Jessica [00:15:24] We’ve had that actual claim. Like I remember talking to a woman who said her coworkers noticed that she was on CBD without knowing that she was you know, they didn’t know it was CBD, but they noticed that changed because she was a constant sugar snack person at work. I mean, just sugary snacks all day throughout the day. And that just totally got cut out. And her coworkers came to her commenting like, hey, you haven’t been eating your M and Ms or whatever. And so we’ve gotten that direct kind of feedback actually from a few people. And one gentleman that I knew in our Lexington location, he was a pretty heavyset fella with a lot of he had considered described it basically as like a binge eating kind of personality and not quite disorder, but that’s how he dealt with stress. And so since he had been taking CBD and noticed a significant decrease in his appetite and had started to shed a few of the extra pounds that he had been carrying around. And he was just feeling really good about that because it just helped him. I think sugar and the cravings there are really very, very similar to cravings for alcohol and nicotine. You become dependent on that chemical. You you want it in response to stressors. You want it because you’re you’re physically craving it. And CBD is just so a way to maybe negate some of that craving.
Meredith [00:16:45] Yeah, awesome. So if someone wanted to know a little bit more information about your specific CBD products or the work that you do. Where’s the best place for them to go and find that information?
Adriane [00:16:55] Yes, absolutely. Check out our website, bluegrasshempoil.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Meredith [00:17:01] Fantastic. Well, for this episode of Full Spectrum Living with CBD, I am your co-host, Meredith, here with our host Jessica and Adriane and we will se you all next time.
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