https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/best-cbd-oil

Since its UK legalisation in 2018, CBD has become ubiquitous in beauty and wellness products alike. It’s with good reason: the hero ingredient boasts many therapeutic properties, from soothing skin to easing aches and calming a restless mind. A holistic approach to improving wellbeing, the best CBD supplements promise benefits for all kinds of ailments, but are uniquely advantageous for troubles of the mind. And, let’s face it: in an era where we’ve seen every crisis bar an alien invasion, we all have plenty of those.

CBD oil may well be the cure for our collective dread, but if you’re not clued up, knowing where to start can be confusing. What CBD oil is best for anxiety? What is a good CBD strength? And, going back to basics: what is CBD? Here, we speak to Hayley Dawes, founder of Dreem Distillery, to answer your questions on the super ingredient. Read on for her expert advice, plus the best CBD oils to buy for wellness in 2023.

What is CBD?
“CBD is one single chemical from the hemp plant,” Hayley explains. Derived from the same plant, but not to be confused with the drug cannabis, she shares that “because it doesn’t contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) it won’t make you feel funny, high, or intoxicated. CBD stands for cannabidiol, one of over 120 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids that have been identified so far in the cannabis plant. It is found in high concentrations in the flower or bud of the plant, with small amounts in the stalk.”

What are the different types of CBD oil?
CBD oils are available in three types, categorised by the number of other cannabinoid compounds in their blend.

CBD Isolate: Pure CBD extract containing no other natural compounds from the cannabis plant.

Broad Spectrum CBD: Oil with various cannabinoid compounds and plant terpenes included for their benefits, but with THC filtered out.

Full Spectrum CBD: Oil containing all the natural compounds from the plant including psychoactive THC. Depending on the percentage of THC present, this type of CBD induces a “high”, will produce a positive result on drug tests and is not legal in the UK.

“There are a huge number of CBD products on the market and most come in the form of CBD isolate,” according to Dawes. “Dreem Distillery uses broad-spectrum CBD; the significant difference being with isolate is that [isolate] doesn’t contain some of the key relaxing terpenes, which makes a high-quality CBD more powerful.”

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To find the best version for you? First and foremost, make sure it’s one that’s legal in your region, but besides this, the type you opt for is largely down to preference. CBD isolate is concentrated, often more affordable and – since it contains none of the plant’s earthy flavonoids – mild in taste and smell. Many users choose broad-spectrum oils for the entourage effect of their ingredients, and to get the full range of benefits from the plant.

What are the benefits of CBD oil?
Hailed for its ability to relieve pain, aid relaxation and improve sleep, early studies show CBD also has potential in the management of neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes and addiction. While more research is needed in these areas, there’s plenty to suggest CBD is an effective tool for wellbeing – including its presence in medical cannabis products like Epidyolex, currently prescribed for certain illnesses by the NHS.

“CBD oil can be an amazing preventative medicine tool,” Dawes adds. “Thanks to its potent anti-inflammatory and stress-reducing properties, it may even help prevent health issues that arise due to unchecked chronic inflammation and stress, the perfect botanical helper for modern life. CBD is an effective wellness tool, a serious medicine and can aid insomnia, anxiety, stress, and pain.”

Best CBD Oils at glance:
Best CBD Oil for insomnia: Dreem Distillery CBD Night Drops, £160
Best spray bottle CBD oil for easy use: FourFive CBD Oil, £45
Best daytime CBD Oil for energy and focus: OTO Power Drops, £56
Best CBD Oil-infused gummies: Naturecan Fruit Flavoured CBD Gummies, £59.99

https://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/article/psilocybin-microdosing-retreat

Magic Truffles And Me: Can Psilocybin Make The Brain Young Again?

An hour after checking out of Field Trip Health, a very particular kind of wellness clinic in Amsterdam, I texted a friend: “Apparently in my unconscious mind, I am a horse-heart eating Khaleesi. Who knew?” I felt gently disoriented as I tapped out the message, but otherwise quite fine given that I had spent the last five-plus hours riding wolves, bathing in blood, burning down forests, and alternately hysterically crying or laughing – sometimes both at the same time.

I had felt my late father’s hand on my shoulder as he spoke to me clear as a bell, and made karmic oaths to my former step-kids, all watched over by a something like a sentient pink totem pole. Thankfully for Field Trip’s cleaning budget — there are a lot of ivory Berber rugs and sheepskins in their sunny HQ in the Eastern Docklands — all of this happened in my mind. In a private room with the look and feel of Soho House, nary a statue of Ganesh to be found, with a trained counsellor by my side and a nurse on call in the next room, that morning at 9am, I took 25 grams of psilocybin truffles [a derivative of magic mushrooms] with the express purpose of experiencing something akin to temporary ego death. It was wild, like nothing else I’ve ever known, and I am already making plans to go back and do it again in a year.

The point wasn’t just to watch a surprising, long internal movie or have an emotional release, though it was both of those things. Nor was it to see colours and giggle. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but you generally ingest two to three grams for your typical Glastonbury experience. You’ve probably also heard of microdosing, which is when you take fractions of a party dose of a drug like psilocybin, LSD or ketamine. Clinical research is slower to come than anecdotal evidence. People say that it helps them focus and snaps them out of bad moods, and early lab results in this direction are encouraging, if still inconclusive. (Do exercise caution when dipping into anything. For my part, last year a friend in LA handed me some psilocybin gummies dosed with 200mg each; chewing one made me cheerful for a few hours, but not much more.)

Magic Truffles on Littlebiggy.com now https://littlebiggy.com/link/EQZzq2