December 12, 2018
@anthologywellness/Instagram
CBD oil topicals and tinctures at Northern Liberties' new Anthology Wellness shop.
It's Christmastime, and there may be no greater gift to give someone than the gift of peace and calm. Especially when it comes in an oil.
The cannabis compound CBD (cannabidiol) has exploded on the market over the past year and continues to grow for good reason. CBD has been shown to help with a variety of health issues – from anxiety to inflammation. While still not FDA-approved, it has been steadily winning converts looking for relief from joint pain, depression, sleeping troubles, even concentration.
You know that saying, "You can't control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it?" Well, CBD helps with the "react" part.
So, how can you gift the magic of CBD to your friends and family this holiday season? Especially the over-stressed ones?
CBD oil is a classic and easy way to relax. Anthology in Northern Liberties has two, very high quality CBD lines: Wellness and Adaptation. (Adaptation is stronger in potency.) For a CBD newbie, we recommend the 500 mg Anthology Tincture. The NoLibs location (and the online store) has CBD bath soaks, scrubs, and lotions – perfect for all your friends who need to relax after a rough day.
For other CBD beauty products: CBD Soap by LEEF, Nooks + Crannies, is available at Moon and Arrow. The soap line comes in cucumber melon, white tea and ginger, charcoal and clay, and black chamomile. Each bar contains 20 mg of CBD. It can also be purchased online here. Honey Rose Botanicals CBD cream and deodorant are available at Palo Santos Wellness Boutique in East Passyunk.
But maybe you want something a bit more...luxurious? Buy a gift card to a spa that has CBD massages! La Rêve in Rittenhouse offers an optional CBD add-on to any massage service for an extra $30. The spa also offers couples packages that include a 60 minutes CBD aromatherapy massage. Sanctuary on Second in Queen Village also offers CBD as a $20 add-on for massage sessions and $35 for couples massage sessions.
Edibles are also a fun way to eat your way to stress-free living. Lord Jones full spectrum CBD gum drops are a bit of a luxury at $45 for nine drops, but with holiday flavors like mango chili and sugar plum, they're sure to be a hit. LuLu's Chocolate CBD bar, $14, adds extra terpenes to "accentuate the healing powers of CBD." One bar contains 80 mg of CBD. For something perfect to sip on Christmas morning, Glo n' Juice in Rittenhouse sells a pre-packaged CBD juice, "Glo Easy," for $8.95.
We should add that with so many CBD products on the market – and so little federal regulation – picking the right product can be difficult.
And we should underscore that – much like going on a brand new exercise regime – talking to your doctor before using CBD on a regular basis is a good idea, especially for people on medications for depression, anxiety and chronic pain.
Look for CBD products that use the whole hemp plant. These products are referred to as "full spectrum." CBD isolates work just fine, but full spectrum CBD tinctures and products tend to have better and long-lasting effects, as one study has shown.
CBD will also not show up on a drug test, nor will it get you high, as the "THC" levels (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) in these products are so low, less than .3 percent. (It is possible, however, if you are consuming upwards of 1,000 to 2,000 mg a day, to get a false positive from the minute amounts of THC. That's an unusually high dosage, though. Normal doses are within the ranges of 10-35 mg/day.)
Here's to happier holidays.
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