CBD Oil has definitely taken the crown for the next latest and greatest natural health trend. With CBD touting health benefits like reducing inflammation and helping with anxiety, who wouldn’t want to try it out? I certainly have!

With most fads in the holistic health space, there’s potentially more hype and hyperbole than true evidence to support the trend. Often times these health trends are either not worth your time and energy (I’m looking at you, celery juice), or are actually doing us more harm than good.

So where does CBD fall on the spectrum of evidence versus hype?

There’s certainly research to suggest that CBD can be a useful tool in overcoming many health concerns. And I’ve seen first hand in my own practice how using this supplement has benefitted women in a number of ways.

CBD can be used in a variety of ways, such as through consumption, sublingual absorption, and/or inhalation. I’ve even seen it applied topically in lotions and oils.

(Heck, I even saw it added to a cocktail when I was out for my birthday dinner earlier this month!)

Despite the promise of CBD, we need to be empowered and conscious consumers, and not blindly follow each and every health trend as it comes along.

That’s why I’ve made it my mission to give you resources so you can make those choices and feel empowered in your own health and life. To be fearless in your pursuit of health.

I hope these resources will help you to not obsess over health trends and fads that actually aren’t worth obsessing over in the first place.

And my greater mission is to free you from the pattern of fear-based health decisions and dogma, enabling you to live a fearless life in pursuit of your greater purpose!

Can CBD Prevent Amenorrhea Recovery?

That’s why, when a member of my Get Your Period Back program wanted to know whether or not her beloved CBD Oil could be affecting her hormones and menstrual cycles, I started researching.

Keep reading to learn what I found about the impacts CBD Oil can have on our periods. I’m going to dig into everything that I found, from hormone production, fertility, and even PMS symptoms.

What is CBD Oil?

Before we dive into how CBD Oil can affect your period, let’s take a closer look at exactly what CBD Oil is and why it’s so popular.

CBD, or Cannabidiol, is the second most prevalent cannabinoid found in the cannabis (or marijuana) plant.

You may be more familiar with the other cannabinoid, THC. This is the substance that is responsible for the psychoactive “high” people get with marijuana use.

But CBD is not THC. And it won’t get you high.

CBD Is Not Marijuana

CBD actually works in a completely different way in our bodies than THC from marijuana. This different mechanism of action is mainly why it comes with all those potential therapeutic benefits and less of the problems that THC can cause.

CBD has very little affinity for our cannabinoid receptors, unlike THC. Instead, CBD works in non-cannabinoid receptors and channels. This enables it to exert its physiological effects and potential medical benefits. This keeps it from producing the psychoactive, mind-altering effects of THC.

Essentially, CBD offers many of the benefits of marijuana – mainly relaxation and stress reduction – but without an altered mental state.

Plus, it comes with a long list of potential medical uses. These potential benefits make CBD extremely popular in alternative health communities. It’s especially popular with people who would prefer to avoid cannabis/marijuana but still desire the potential health benefits.

Did you know that most CBD Oil on the market is actually derived from hemp, not cannabis? And when CBD comes from the hemp plant, it contains no THC. This absence of THC is why it’s able to be sold legally across the United States.

CBD Oil Benefits

CBD Oil comes touting a long list of potential health benefits. And while the majority of its health benefits are not yet backed by hard science, we can’t discount the clinical evidence that this supplement can actually work.

Below, I’ve compiled a list of just a few of the studied benefits of CBD Oil use.

I’ve included links to peer-reviewed journal articles for each proposed health benefit. Just click on the blue underlined text if you want to dive into the research on that specific topic.

Some potential health benefits of CBD include:

• Reducing inflammation
• Relieving nausea
• A potential seizure treatment in epilepsy
• Reducing anxiety
• Reducing the incidence of diabetes (in non-diabetic mice)

As is common with any new health trend, most of these studies have only been completed in animals. Not humans.

Getting approval for animal studies is a lot easier and less time consuming than approval for human subjects. It’s typical that the first studies on any newly researched topic are done on animals.

And while animal studies are better than no studies at all, we have to be aware that these health benefits may not translate to humans.

Does CBD help YOU Sleep better?

The woman who asked about CBD oil was concerned that her sleep improvements from using CBD would disappear if she stopped taking it.

The question is, why was CBD necessary for this woman to sleep in the first place? What else could be helpful for sleep that doesn’t have the same hormonal impacts as CBD?

It seems natural and intuitive that using CBD Oil could help improve sleep. Research has shown CBD can reduce anxiety and help you feel calm. Using this supplement to improve sleep quality is just a natural assumption to make from there. (One that I have definitely tested myself!)

I’ve even talked to several women in my Fed and Fearless Society on Facebook and my online program Get Your Period Back, who have tried CBD Oil to help improve their sleep, often with no success.

In my research for this article, I uncovered a few studies (this one and this one) that show CBD use can actually make you more alert. This is the exact opposite of what you want when you’re trying to sleep! (THC is actually the compound in cannabis that makes you sleepy.)

Why Might CBD Help With Sleep?

That being said, CBD may be beneficial for alleviating insomnia by sedating the body, but rather by combatting the causes of insomnia like stress and anxiety. This could be why some people find that using CBD helps them sleep better, while others notice no benefit at all.

This doesn’t mean that CBD Oil will never help anyone sleep better. Obviously, the post I shared above showed that the woman in question was experiencing a benefit.

But the science to support the use of CBD for better sleep is mixed. This explains why there’s so much individual variability in its effects.

At the end of the day, anything that could help reduce stress in this woman’s life would likely be an appropriate replacement for CBD if she was concerned about hormonal side effects. This shows the importance of doing your own research and being an educated consumer when it comes to health trends.

Sometimes we want to take the easy way out and use a supplement rather than changing our habits. But as you’ll learn in just a moment, using CBD oil isn’t without risks. And it may not be the best choice in all situations, even if it does indeed help with sleep!

How CBD Oil affects Your Period

Now, let’s take a look at how using CBD Oil can impact your monthly period. If you’ve read my blog for any time, you know by now that our hormones work in a very delicate balance in our bodies.

The slightest disruption, like from a stretch of poor sleep or working out too intensely, can completely throw our hormones out of whack. We women have to be careful about making too many major changes at once.

The same can be said for introducing a new supplement or diet change into our routine. And CBD Oil is no different.

When it comes to trying new supplements or products, I always err on the side of caution until I’ve done my research and educated myself on any potential risks.

If you’re interested in using CBD Oil, keep reading! I’ll share with you what the research says about how using CBD Oil can affect your period, from ovulation to PMS.

How CBD Oil Can Affect Ovulation

Ovulation is a significant marker of a healthy menstrual cycle. It’s what enables women to get pregnant or to have a “real” period. (Not just a drug withdrawal bleed.)

Ovulation occurs when one of your ovaries releases an egg every month. This phenomenon results from a surge in two hormones, Luteinizing Hormone (LH), and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH).

LH and FSH closely regulate the levels of our primary sex hormones. And LH and FSH are regulated by Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH), yet another hormone that comes from our pituitary gland.

GnRH is basically the master hormone when it comes to orchestrating our menstrual cycles and reproductive health.

Without enough GnRH, we won’t produce enough estrogen, progesterone, LH, or FSH. And without these hormones at their optimal levels, we can’t have a healthy, ovulatory menstrual cycle. And we may even stop ovulating altogether.

How CBD Affects Amenorrhea

This is where the use of CBD can potentially come into play.

Research shows that the use of cannabinoids indirectly modifies GnRH secretion.This change to GnRH secretion can cause hormone disruption in both females and males.

In females specifically, chronic exposure to cannabinoids has been shown to delay sexual maturation, cause menstrual cycle disruption, depress ovarian follicular maturation, and reduce serum concentrations of LH and sex hormones. These disruptions can lead to reduced levels of estrogen and progesterone and potentially even cause anovulatory cycles.

This is not what we want to see happening in women with amenorrhea!

Now, most of the research links marijuana use and specifically the cannabinoid THC to these changes in our reproductive hormones, not CBD. But CBD and THC are two very similar compounds. So even though there are no studies that currently show THC-free CBD oil from hemp affects ovulation, these results do warrant some caution.

If you’re using CBD and not getting a period or experiencing unexplained infertility, it’s a good idea to take a step back and stop using it for a little while.

I’d recommend working with a trained practitioner (like me!) to figure out why you aren’t getting a period in the first place. We can then determine if CBD Oil is something that would be beneficial in your health and wellness routine.

Did you know I’ve developed a FREE training dedicated to helping women regain normal menstrual cycles naturally? CLICK HERE to register and watch!

How CBD Oil Can Affect PMS Symptoms

When it comes to reducing the common symptoms of PMS, evidence for the use of CBD is much stronger. (And more positive!)

Inflammation is the primary driver behind the pain and discomfort many women experience around the start of their period. And there are several studies that show CBD has a positive effect on reducing systemic inflammation.

CBD Oil may also be able to help reduce those mood swings, irritability, and anxiety that make getting our periods that difficult to endure.

CBD has been shown to act on various receptors in the brain to produce calming, restful, and anti-anxiety effects in animal models. And while we can’t directly translate the results of animal studies to humans, research like this can give us an idea for how CBD might affect our own moods.

There are no studies directly looking at the use of CBD Oil for PMS yet. Go figure, right?

But the studies that are out there are substantial enough to show that using CBD Oil can potentially help relieve some common period symptoms.

That’s why companies like Maxine Morgan are now offering CBD products specifically designed to help with the pain, cramping, and discomfort commonly associated with PMS.

For me personally, after testing this new Maxine Morgan CBD product during my menstrual cycle, I did notice a significant decrease in cramping pain. And I really only had to take it for 1-2 days to get the benefit.

Getting to the Root of Your PMS Symptoms

Using CBD Oil around the start of your period has the potential to give you relief from many PMS symptoms. And if you’re like me and have a history of PMS, this can be a big blessing.

However, these PMS symptoms, as frustrating as they are, are signals from our bodies trying to tell us something about our hormones.

PMS symptoms like mood swings, cramps, or night sweats could actually be a sign that your hormones are imbalanced. I know in my case, my PMS gets far worse when I’m under a lot of stress, not eating well, not sleeping enough, and/or exercising too little or too much. I’m not perfect, but I definitely try to practice good awareness when I’ve let my healthy habits slip!

Don’t Miss The Big Picture

Using CBD Oil to reduce these symptoms may seem like a gift from God. And I’m 100% on board with taking products to help with symptoms in the short term. I do it myself.

But in the long run, there are better solutions for PMS. Especially the type of PMS that debilitates you for a day or two (or more) every month.

Getting to the root cause of why you’re having PMS symptoms in the first place will give you the freedom to be your healthiest self without relying on supplements.

Using supplements like CBD Oil to help with your period symptoms is fine in the short-term. Working with a trained practitioner to get to the root of these symptoms can help banish your PMS for good.

My Recommendation for CBD Oil

Jumping on natural product health trends can fun and exciting. Trust me, I’ve been there myself! I love when I get to try free samples that get sent to me from innovative new companies.

But the truth is, many of these hot new products are generally not well studied. And many of the companies selling them are often making unsubstantiated claims about their effectiveness. This leaves us having to make guesses about whether or not something will be safe or effective for us. Or take a “try and see” approach.

THC-free CBD Oil is a relatively new product on the market. This could be why there aren’t that many studies performed on both its effectiveness and potential side effects. Particularly in humans, and especially women, who are notoriously under-studied.

Should You Use CBD?

When it comes to our periods and the health of our hormones and fertility, using CBD Oil should be done with caution.

A good quality CBD product might help some common symptoms of PMS when used in the short term. We definitely have evidence that CBD offers more than just a placebo effect. And as a PMS-prone woman myself, I’m very happy to have products that help me feel better in the short term.

Taking CBD for a couple of days at the start of your period could help you have a more manageable level of symptoms. Using it once in a while to help you sleep could also be part of your healthy lifestyle.

But the fact is, chronically relying on supplements or quick fixes is not the best method for long-lasting success. In any area of our health.

Instead of consistently relying on CBD Oil, or any supplement for that matter, to manage your symptoms or help you get through the day, you need to dig deeper.

Working to uncover the underlying cause of why you’re experiencing those symptoms in the first place will be so much more valuable than stopping at simply masking the symptoms.

And once you know why those symptoms are happening, you’ll be more empowered to make the lifestyle changes required to help resolve those symptoms at the root.

Living a Fearlessly healthy Life (With or Without CBD)

When it comes to CBD Oil, the jury is still out on whether or not it has negative effects on our periods. In some cases, it may help, and in other cases, it might hurt. We just don’t know for sure how this product is going to impact our hormonal health over the long run.

My recommendation? If you’re using CBD Oil on a regular basis and not getting your period, taking a break from using CBD is a good idea.

And if you’re using CBD to help reduce symptoms of PMS or other potential hormonal imbalances, getting to the root of those symptoms will serve you so much better in the long run.

It’s fine to use CBD here or there when necessary, but don’t forget to assess why you might be having more significant PMS in the first place. I’m preaching to the choir here, but we can’t just ignore the reasons why our body is out of balance hormonally.

My mission with this platform is to help you get to a place in your health and fitness journey where you don’t need to rely on trendy health supplements or fear-based decision making to feel your best. So I don’t want you to be afraid of CBD, or for that matter, obsessed with it either!

I want you to be able to view true health as so much more than trendy products and quick-fixes. And I want you to use your health habits as a tool to pursue your bigger purpose and make a meaningful impact in the world!

If CBD oil helps you live your best, healthiest life, that’s great! There is potential for CBD to be a useful, healing product for many people. But use caution if you’re not sure how CBD might be impacting the full picture of your health. We just don’t know for sure how CBD will impact each of us individually.

And don’t let a quick-fix product like CBD oil stand in the way of you discovering true healing of your body, mind, and spirit. You need a complete approach to self-care. And a big part of that is exploring what your body truly needs to be healthy.

Now I want to hear from you. Have you tried CBD Oil? Did you notice any health changes, good or bad, while taking it? Let me know your experience with this popular product in the comments below!