Cannabidiol (CBD) is increasingly becoming popular among professional athletes and sport enthusiasts due to its many benefits that increase physical and mental performance. Businesses like West Coast Ventures Corp. (OTC: WCVC) take this opportunity to educate people on CBD through their high quality CBD-infused food and beverages.
When we think of cannabis, we are generally referred to as the stereotype of the “joint smoker”, and the athletic type is not really the first thing that comes to mind. The truth is that today, consumers of legal cannabis products come from all walks of life, and have all kinds of activities and interests – sport is obviously one of them.
CBD for athletes
Cannabinoids present in the Cannabis plant, and more particularly Cannabidiol, reduces tension during stressful events – such as competitions or extreme sports. It improves concentration and encourages risk-taking, allowing athletes to overcome bad memories and injuries more easily.
Through its relaxing and soothing properties, CBD also allows athletes to achieve a better quality of sleep – which has an indirect and positive impact on their performance.
The consumption of Cannabidiol is therefore very useful for sports practice, both after exercise and just before it is practiced.
Cannabidiol not only for athletes
Cannabidiol has important antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Among other things, they improve muscle relaxation and reduce pain during the recovery process after exercise.
Jim Nixon, the CEO and Founder of West Coast Ventures Corp. (OTC: WCVC), discovered the healing properties of CBD, when he saw significant changes in his son suffering from multiple sclerosis. Since then, he decided to make it part of his company’s mission, to educate people on the benefits of CBD.
WCVC’s restaurants in Denver, Colorado, Illegal Burger and Illegal Pizza in Lauderdale, Florida, serve CBD-infused menus, including their famous Illegal Brands CBD water, as a fixed position of their offer. The business is a huge success, the IB CitiSet is on track to exceed $700,000 in sales in its first year of operations and The IB Writer Square, located in Downtown Denver, is also on pace to exceed $1 million in sales by the end of this year. This small cap publicly traded company has also recently become America’s first CBD restaurant stock.
The virtues of Cannabidiol
Cannabidiol has been proven to have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects on many occasions. Since most athletes suffer injuries at some point in their careers, it is only natural that the use of the CDB should be an interesting option for recovery. After all, when the alternative for treatment is a powerful and more addictive pharmaceutical analgesic, it is understandable that Cannabidiol is perceived as a healthier option.
Intense sports training increases oxidative stress at the cellular level – and therefore inflammation. The consumption of antioxidants is the best option to remedy this situation and preclinical research has found that Cannabidiol – present in CBD oil in particular – is a stronger antioxidant than vitamin C or E5, present in kiwi, oranges or blueberries.
Given the effects mentioned above, it is not surprising that many athletes add CBD to their diet. Indeed, Cannabidiol is increasingly popular with people who undergo intense sports training – such as MMA fighters, American football players or extreme sports enthusiasts – to reduce pain, inhibit inflammation or provide faster wound healing and better quality of sleep.
Some concrete examples
Tanner Hall is the first professional athlete to be sponsored by a cannabis brand – Black Rock Originals. This young skier will undoubtedly have made his mark on the history of his sport, since he is the only male athlete to have won 7 medals during the X Games. He is one of the most influential Freestyle skiers of his generation.
Like many extreme sports enthusiasts, Tanner Hall has suffered severe injuries during his career, including fractures of both ankles, fractures of the tibial trays and rupture of the cruciate ligaments in both knees… Rather than using addictive opioid analgesics, Tanner decided to treat himself with Cannabidiol and never concealed his use of Cannabis.
In UFC, many fighters admit and even openly defend the fact of using CBD for muscle recovery and pre-match focus. Nate Diaz and his brother Nick, Chris Camozzi, Cain Velasquez, etc. are just a few of the many fighters in the world’s best MMA league who use Cannabidiol to improve their performance.
Football is a very physical sport in which many violent contacts occur that can lead to physical trauma. As a result of these repeated shocks, late career professional players – such as Jim McMahon or Ricky Williams – often suffer from memory problems, headaches, arthritis and chronic neck and shoulder pain. To treat these traumas, players are often prescribed addictive and dangerous painkillers. That is why there is currently a battle in the United States – between players and the federation – for the NFL to allow cannabis to be used as a pain reliever.
How to consume Cannabidiol in sports?
Vaping – Using a vaporizer helps to avoid the negative effects of combustion. As cannabis is heated to lower temperatures, no carcinogens are released. It should also be noted that inhaling Cannabidiol allows the effects to be obtained more quickly compared to ingestion, which means that many athletes turn to this type of consumption.
Food and Oils – Food and oils do not pose a risk to your health and are therefore an obvious choice for most seniors. By eating, you reduce the amount of cannabinoids absorbed by 10-20% but, as they are transformed by the liver, the duration of the effects is doubled and generally more intense. CBD oil may be the best option – the small, discreet vials go with you everywhere and two drops per dose are enough to feel the positive effects of Cannabidiol.
Creams and ointments – Creams and ointments with CBD extracts are very popular with athletes. By their use, these products are very similar to the balms and pomades that athletes use to relieve their pain – such as muscle aches or bruises. There are products derived from Hemp of all kinds, such as healing creams and pain relief creams.