The World Anti-Doping Agency just gave Olympic athletes the green light to use CBD products — or cannabinoids — to manage their pain.
And it only took 2,800 years. More on that in a moment…
The ancient Greek physician
Pedanius Dioscorides wrote extensively about CBD and cannabis in his
five-volume medical text.
This is huge news for people who depend on their bodies to perform at peak levels day in and day out.
But it’s also big news for my patients at the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine.
You see, living where I do in South Florida, I have a lot of patients of retirement age. And they moved to this area so they could enjoy their days outdoors playing golf and tennis all year round.
But the aches and pains that go along with getting older sometimes keep my patients from doing the things they love.
My patients want natural solutions to treat their pain. And that’s what I offer them. But now, I have a new tool in my arsenal that’s highly effective, natural and safe — CBD.
You see, my patients know that Big Pharma’s painkillers are not a good long-term choice. By now, everyone is aware of the opioid epidemic in our country. But even over-the-counter pain meds are dangerous…
- Low-dose aspirin is toxic when taken too often. Regular use increases your risk of bleeding, getting ulcers, developing hearing loss and having liver and kidney failure.1 Even conventional doctors and the FDA have stopped recommending that everyone take a low-dose aspirin daily because they finally get that the risks outweigh any benefit.
- Acetaminophen, or Tylenol, is marketed as the world’s safest drug. But recent studies found it can increase blood pressure, double your risk of certain cancers, lead to broken bones and cause liver damage.2,3,4,5
- NSAIDs increase your risk of heart attack and stroke — within just one week of consistent use. And the more you use, the more your risk goes up.6
Cannabis-based remedies were one of the world’s leading medicines for thousands of years.
The two oldest forms of medicine — Ayurveda and Chinese — used CBD oil to treat everything from high blood pressure and cancer to sexual dysfunction and pain. And the ancient Egyptians wrote extensively about it in the world’s oldest medical textbook, the Ebers Papyrus.
And as it turns out, the very first Olympians, back in 776 B.C., used CBD oil to treat a variety of illnesses and ailments.
Years later, the ancient Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides, wrote extensively about it in his medical text De Materia Medica.
In this five-volume pharmacopoeia, he said that “[cannabis] is a plant of much use in this life” and that its uses include… “the treatment of inflammation and [arthritis],” as well as the “twisting of the sinews,” or tendons.7
CBD was also widely used extensively in America until the 1930s. In fact, it made up half of all medicines prescribed and sold.
But then the government got involved and declared this lifesaving drug illegal. Luckily, they’ve reversed course in recent years. Today, CBD products are legal in some states.
That’s a relief for a lot of my patients because CBD is leading a pain-relieving revolution we haven’t seen since the invention of aspirin. And today’s research backs up what 10,000 years of use has found.
A 2012 study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine found that CBD significantly suppressed chronic inflammation and pain in animals without causing either tolerance or addiction.8
In a separate study, researchers applied CBD oil to severely arthritic rats for four days. Their research reported a significant drop in inflammation and pain, without side effects.9
A third study followed 2,700 cancer patients in severe pain for six months. After using CBD oil, almost every single study participant reported that their chronic pain was cut in half — with none of the side effects they got from their prescription medications.
If severe pain were all that CBD treated, I’d still recommend it. But this miracle oil has also been proven to treat cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and heart disease. Look for more on that in a future letter…
Knock Out Pain with These 3 Herbal Remedies
- Take the original aspirin. White willow bark contains salicin, the same compound found in aspirin. It comes from a tree native to Europe and Asia. Hippocrates had his patients chew on white willow bark to reduce inflammation.
Studies show it not only relieves arthritis pain but also increases mobility in the back, knees, hips and other joints. And a study in the American Journal of Medicine found it extremely effective for lower back pain.
I recommend 240 mg per day.
- Try the “golden miracle.” That’s what I call curcumin. This South Indian spice has 619 health benefits that are supported by nearly 7,000 studies. But curcumin is best known as a powerful anti-inflammatory. In fact, studies show it reduces arthritis joint pain by 60% and joint swelling by 73%. Another clinical trial found it was more effective than prescription strength NSAID.
Look for a supplement that contains piperine. This black pepper extract boosts absorbency by 2,000%.
I recommend 400 mg to 500 mg twice a day.
- Use this “NSAID substitute.” That’s how researchers at the University of Miami refer to ginger. In their study, they compared a ginger extract to a placebo in 247 patients with osteoarthritis. The ginger reduced pain and stiffness in knee joints by 40% over the placebo.11 And a second study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that ginger reduce pain in both muscles and joints by as much as 25%.12
Ginger contains 12 different compounds that fight excess inflammation. Some block the enzyme which triggers it. Some lower pain-receptor and nerve-ending sensitivity. Together they work as well as any over-the-counter remedy you can find.
I recommend you take 750 mg of liquid ginger extract a day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
P.S. I’m currently working on my own CBD product to release in the next couple of months. With my decades of experience searching for natural herbal cures around the world, this seemed like the obvious next step.
The studies and research I’ve read have been incredible. And I can’t wait to share this new powerful no-prescription-required treatment with my patients. Stay tuned!
1. Harvard Health Letter. Weighing the risks and benefits of aspirin therapy. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/weighing-the-risks-and-benefits-of-aspirin-therapy. November 2017. Accessed on August 17, 2018.
2. Harvard Health Letter. Acetaminophen may boost blood pressure. February 2011. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/acetaminophen-may-boost-blood-pressure. Accessed May 8, 2018.
3. Walter RB, et al. “Long-term use of acetaminophen, aspirin, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of hematologic malignancies: results from the prospective Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) study.” J Clin Oncol. 2011;29(17):2424-2431.
4. Williams LJ, et. al. “Paracetamol (acetaminophen) use, fracture and bone mineral density.” Bone. 2011;48(6):1277-1281.
5. FDA U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Can an aspirin a day help prevent a heart attack?
6. Harvard Health Publishing. FDA strengthens warning that NSAIDs increase heart attack and stroke risk. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-strengthens-warning-that-nsaids-increase-heart-attack-and-stroke-risk-201507138138. Updated August 22, 2017. Accessed on August 17, 2018.
7. Pedanius Dioscorides. Full Text of De Materia Medica. https://archive.org/stream/de-materia-medica/scribd-download.com_dioscorides-de-materia-medica_djvu.txt. Accessed on August 17, 2018.
8. Xiong W, et al. “Cannabinoids suppress inflammatory and neuropathic pain by targeting α3 glycine receptors.” J Exp Med. 2012;209(6):1121-1134.
9. Hammell DC, et al. “Transdermal cannabidiol reduces inflammation and pain-related behaviours in a rat model of arthritis.” Eur J Pain. 2016; 20(6): 936-948.
10. Chandran B and Goel A. “A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.” Phytother Res. 2012;26(11):1719-1725.
11. Altman RD and Marcussen KC. “Effects of a ginger extract on knee pain in patients with osteoarthritis.” Arthritis Rheum. 2001;44(11):2531-2538.
12. Ozgoli G, et al. “Comparison of effects of ginger, mefenamic acid, and ibuprofen on pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea.” J Altern Complement Med. 2009;15(2):129-132.