#various herbs and such being used as medicines before their actual effective molecules were isolated and reproducible in labs? totally

[oceandiagonale]

breaking news: historians have theorized that this friendly neighborhood merchant and this mysterious stranger were Very Good Friends 

[kacydeneen]

Interested in CBD? Here's What You Should Know

You’ve probably seen it and perhaps struggled to understand the craze. CBD, or cannabidiol, a cannabis extract, has made its way up to food, drinks and dietary supplements almost everywhere. The hype has significantly grown in the U.S. in the last five years. However, its legality and benefits remain in a gray area and debated in the country, where 33 states have legalized medical marijuana and 10 have legalized recreational pot.

Last December, a federal farm bill removed hemp-derived products like CBD from the list of controlled substances but the Food and Drug Administration still hasn't cleared CBD for use in foods or for making health claims.

Marijuana Health Claims Lure Patients as Science Catches Up

On May 31, the FDA held a hearing in which its Acting Commissioner, Norman Sharpless, said that “CBD and THC cannot lawfully be added to a food or marketed as a dietary supplement.” The agency has opened a public docket for people to comment on how to regulate CBD products until July 2. 

Meanwhile, companies like Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid are selling CBD products in some states and the Vermont-based company Ben and Jerry’s is looking to bring CBD-infused ice creams to the market.

Pets Are Cannabis Customers for Pain, Thunderstorm Anxiety

Here’s what else you need to know about CBD:

What is CBD?

Ben & Jerry's Hopes to Make CBD-Infused Ice Cream

CBD, or cannabidiol, is an extract that comes primarily from the hemp flower but can also derive from marijuana plants.

“Cannabis is a broad term referring to the herb that can be grown with various composition/ratios of over 100 biologically active chemical compounds called phytocannabinoids,” said Dr. Tyler Gaston, a neurologist from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Epilepsy Center.

CBD is the second-most known cannabinoid after tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

CBD products are usually categorized as "isolate," "broad spectrum" or "full spectrum." Isolate means that the cannabidiol molecule has been separated from the other compounds. Broad spectrum contains all the cannabinoids except THC and full spectrum has all the cannabinoids, including some trace amounts of THC.

Does CBD get you high?

Neither version of CBD products get you high. “It has no psychoactive or high producing effects,” according to Gaston. The “high” effect is caused by THC.

So what does CBD do?

In the last five years, as CBD products have proliferated, claims from consumers who use it for its “properties” have increased too. Many products labeled as “CBD-infused” also claim to improve people’s general wellness.

The executive director of the National Hemp Association, Erica McBride, said that CBD “is good for all sorts of wellness issues like pain management, neuropathy, and it has anti-inflammatory properties.”

But a consensus in the scientific and medical communities does not exist due to the lack of regulation from the FDA, which has only approved one medicine, Epidiolex. The prescription medicine is used to treat seizures associated with two particular epilepsy syndromes that are typically diagnosed in childhood -- Lennox Gastaut and Dravet Syndromes.

In Europe, Sativex, a product containing CBD, has been approved to treat spasticity in multiple sclerosis.

“While there are significant interest, large amounts of anecdotal data and many studies underway for these other conditions, the only high quality scientific data we have currently is only for this one particular product (Epidiolex) in the treatment of seizures in those two particular epilepsy syndromes,” explained Gaston with the University of Alabama.

For 31-year-old Omar Pérez, an urban planning PhD student in Southern California, CBD has helped him "survive."

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Pérez started using CBD to treat his anxiety shortly after starting his doctorate studies and after Hurricane Maria obliterated Puerto Rico, where his family lives, in September 2017. But he kept using it to relieve his pains and inflammations.

"I recommend CBD to everyone. Your body feels loose, relaxed and without pain when you use it. It's like walking out of a nice and warm jacuzzi," he told NBC.

How is CBD consumed?

CBD comes in many shapes and forms. From oil to dietary supplements, creams, tinctures and as additions to coffee and cocktails, the variety is rich. The most popular, according to McBride with the National Hemp Association, are infused drinks and edibles. And restaurants are taking notice.

The National Restaurant Association and the American Culinary Federation surveyed 650 chefs and found that 3 out of 4 considered CBD-infused food as a hot trend for 2019.

CBD isolates are used in drinks because they are water soluble.

Tinctures and oil extracts, meanwhile, are oil based and, therefore, not water soluble.

Typically, people who use CBD tinctures add a few drops under their tongues or to their food and drinks, while CBD oils are consumed through vaporizers.

Will CBD show on a drug test?

The isolate molecule does not have THC at all. “Therefore, there is no risk for consumers who are taking an isolate product to ever fail a drug test,” McBride explained.

“Full spectrum is considered to be more effective because all the cannabinoids work together in the body and result in the entourage effect, whereas just isolating the CBD molecule may not provide the same benefits as a full spectrum product,” McBride said.

Full spectrum products contain THC, but McBride said they have no more than 0.3% of it, the legal limit of this cannabinoid in a product.

Still, McBride said that if a person were to consume a full spectrum product every single day for a year at some higher doses, "it's conceivable that enough THC builds up in the body to be detected in a drug test."

Is CBD legal?

This is where the discussion turns gray. CBD is currently unregulated, although it has really become popular in the last five years with the passage of Congress’ 2014 Farm Bill that allowed states to pass hemp legislation and conduct hemp trials. “That was the start of the blooming industry that we see today,” McBride said.

With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp and its derivatives on a federal level were taken off the list of controlled substances.

But regulation at a federal level is still lacking, with rules and laws a "long way out," according to Doug Farquhar the director of the environmental health program at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

"The states are much more able to react to these nuances, but right now it makes it a little bit more difficult because they can't react to regulation that's just not there," he said.

Mindy Bridges, a policy specialist also with the NCSL, said that since the 2014 federal farm bill, the USDA is trying to catch up with some states that are already growing hemp. However, "the USDA will not come up with a regulation plan at least until the fall," she said.

Bridges said that state and federal laws, including the FDA and the USDA, "are trying to catch up with each other."

Since CBD laws and regulations vary from state-to-state, travelers are paying the consequences.

Back in April, Hester Burkhalter, a 69-year-old grandmother from North Carolina, was arrested in Disney World after a guard found a bottle of CBD oil in her purse at a security checkpoint. She also tested positive to THC and was detained for 15 hours.

Burkhalter, an arthritis patient, uses the product as recommended by her doctor in North Carolina. 

Meanwhile, in Texas, Lena Bartula, a 71-year-old grandmother and artist, was arrested at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after police officers found CBD oil in her travel bag. She spent two nights behind bars before a grand jury decided to drop her case.

Bartula, still affected by those two nights in jail, says she'll never pack CBD again when she travels and is advising every CBD user she knows to do the same.

"I have warned everyone I know, because most people my age, with my kinds of aches and pains, do take this," she told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. "They rely on it."

The FDA has said CBD is not legal for use in food, drinks and supplements until they figure out a system to regulate the products.

Again, the only approved CBD product is Epidiolex, which is available by prescription. And yet, the FDA can’t authorize a dietary supplement to be in the market if the active ingredient is already a prescription drug, McBride said.

“The time is now for them to figure out the regulatory path forward," she said.

McBride said the industry as a whole is supportive of and in need of regulation.

Both Dr. Gaston and McBride agreed that there are two main issues in the discussion on CBD: the lack of regulation that makes the situation vary from state to state and the inconsistency in content and labeling of these products, where what is listed on the label is different from what it is actually in the product.

“There have been two studies published on artisanal products and their content. In one of these studies, only 40% of the online-purchased CBD products were correctly labeled for content. This obviously has huge potential implications,” said the neurologist. 

Last February, NBC Miami's investigators purchased 35 CBD products from seven different companies and had them tested in a laboratory. The investigation found that 20 out of the 35 had less than half of the amount of CBD advertised on the label, and some had no CBD at all.

Chris Martinez, the president of Evio Labs, which ran the tests, told NBC Miami that "patients are being duped."

Where to buy CBD?

Given the unregulated market and the wide variety of products out there, CBD-infused products are easy to find since they’re almost everywhere.

For this reason, the executive director of the National Hemp Association tells consumers to be skeptical and informed before purchasing any product. “Unfortunately, this is the challenge. It’s tremendously difficult for consumers to be able to differentiate a quality product from a non-quality product, which is part of the reason regulations are desperately needed,” McBride said.

She made the following suggestions for consumers who want to buy CBD-infused products:

Buy from trusted stores or retailers.

Ask these stores or retailers for the product’s certificate of analysis.

Look for a product that’s been made in the United States. That helps to ensure it’s a quality product.

If buying online, many retailers make the certificate of analysis available. Look for the source of the product.

McBride understands the biggest problem is that a lot of products don’t contain as much CBD as they claim to and the problem is more a matter of what the consumer is paying for rather than an issue of safety.

“Certainly, it’s an unregulated industry and consumers need to be mindful of where they’re purchasing their products,” she added.

Photo Credit: Adam Berry/Getty Images Interested in CBD? Here's What You Should Know published first on Miami News

[easyweight101]

Focus Formula Review: Don’t Buy Before You Read This!

What is it?

Focus Formula is a homeopathic ADD remedy and mental performance booster. Its advertising claims that it can help increase focus, attention span, and overall mental performance in both children and adults.

They say that their blend promotes blood flow to the brain, increasing its access to oxygen and nutrients. They recommend Focus Formula to parents of hyperactive children, students looking to boost their grades, and professionals that are trying to get an edge at work.

The most reliable nootropic on the market is Memotenz. It has been shown in multiple trials to dramatically increase memory and cognition in its users, who also have seen growth in their abilities to problem solve, stay focused, and remain happy and productive. Click here to read more about what goes into the manufacturing of Memotenz.

Do You Know the Best Brain Enhancement Supplements of 2017?

Focus Formula Ingredients and Side Effects

The ingredients in Focus Formula are all prepared in accordance with traditional homeopathic methods, which involve using the whole herb, not just extracts, and putting it through a complicated dilution process. The herbs are crushed, mixed with alcohol, diluted, and tumbled against seashells, which subscribers to homeopathic methods say releases the “natural energies” of the herbs.

This process often tends to dilute the mixture so much that the end tincture barely contains any molecules from the original herb. Homeopaths would say that the “water has a memory” of the presence of the herbs, however there are no accredited scientific studies that support this belief.

Focus Formula is a tincture made from a combination of homeopathic solutions made from the following ingredients:

Ginkgo Biloba Skullcap German Chamomile Gotu Kola

Ginkgo Biloba: One of the most commonly used mental performance aids worldwide. Ginkgo trees were cultivated originally in China, however they are now grown worldwide.

Ginkgo biloba is used primarily to enhance memory, but it is also a helpful circulatory aid. It increases blood flow to the brain, which both improves cognition and helps prevent age-related mental decline.

Skullcap: A small, flowering plant somewhat related to mint. Skullcap is used in various home remedies and in Chinese traditional medicine, however there is very little clinical data that supports the idea that it has any therapeutic value.

It is possible that skullcap contains some chemicals that help with dopamine and adrenaline reception in the brain, however there is no data that shows any boost to attention or mental performance in relation to skullcap consumption. It is also not known how safe skullcap is, especially for long term consumption.

German Chamomile: A flowering herb that is frequently used to make a tea. Chamomile is considered a relaxant that can help users deal with anxiety and stress levels. It may also have applications for reducing the symptoms of gastrointestinal distress, however it is possible that these effects are isolated to the tea and may not be seen with oral supplements.

Chamomile is not considered a nootropic by any measure. Its relaxing effects are also considered to be sedating, which is not helpful for overall mental performance. Homeopathic medical texts claim that chamomile may be helpful for ADD, however there is no actual data that backs these claims up.

Chamomile is generally safe, however it comes from a family of flowers that have historically higher allergy rates than other herbs. It is also possible that chamomile may have some negative interactions with estrogen and estrogen medications, so it is not recommended for individuals with hormone sensitivities.

Gotu Kola: A creeping marsh vine that is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Gotu Kola, also known as centella, wassernabel, Indian water navelwort, or white rot, has shown the most usefulness for stimulating circulation, and it may also help with wound healing and inflammation.

Gotu Kola should not be confused with Kola nuts, as the two are in no way related and in fact have very different effects on the body. Where kola nuts are stimulants that are high in caffeine, gotu kola is another herb that’s considered a relaxant and anxiolytic.

Gotu is not considered a sedative, and may actually be helpful for increasing alertness and attention span, however they may just be a function of the decrease in anxiety. While gotu kola may help mood and subjective well-being, it has not been shown to have any kind of beneficial effects on learning, recall, thinking speed and accuracy, or most other traditional measures of a nootropic product.

Gotu kola is generally considered safe in the short term, however there have been some concerns raised recently about its long-term dangers. There have been several case studies that suggest it is possible that gotu kola can cause liver damage after prolonged use, however it is not yet known just how risky it may be.

Click here to read more about which nootropics our team of experts recommends for which issues.

EDITOR’S TIP: Combine this product with a proven brain enhancement supplement such as Memotenz for better results.

Focus Formula Quality of Ingredients

Even if Focus Formula used normal-strength herbs instead of thoroughly diluted homeopathic ones, it would still have an exceptionally weak ingredients blend. The fact that these ingredients are present in such microscopic amounts makes it highly unlikely that they could have any impact on the body, either positive or negative.

Ginkgo biloba is considered one of the top nootropic supplement ingredients on the market according to our team of experts, and they highly recommend products that use full-strength versions of ginkgo leaf extracts. Unfortunately, ginkgo is the only ingredient in Focus Formula that is considered a nootropic at all.

All of the other herbs in their blend are formulated for relaxation and anxiety reduction, not the improvement of users’ mental abilities. Their full-strength versions may be helpful for treating some mood-based conditions, however there is currently not enough data to support those applications either.

All of that is beside the point, however, because of how useless homeopathic preparations render the products. There is absolutely no reason to believe the claims that homeopathic procedures “unlock vital energies,” “create positive vibrational frequencies,” or that “water has a memory.”

Homeopathy is a pseudo-science that has never been able to prove its claims with any kind of scientific methodology. Users are encouraged to avoid all products that claim to be prepared using homeopathic procedures, as they will rarely contain bio-available quantities of their contents.

Follow this link to find out how the top brands of nootropic supplements stack up against one another.

The Price and Quality of Focus Formula

In general, homeopathic products tend to be less expensive, given that the dilution procedure allows them to stretch their ingredients farther than traditional supplements can. Focus Formula, however, retails for the following prices:

1, 2 fl. oz. bottle of Focus Formula tincture: $38.95

This price is about average for the monthly supply of a more effective nootropic product. It is not clear why Focus Formula is so much more expensive than other homeopathic remedies, however that should not be taken as an indication that it is any more potent than those other products.

To learn more about which nootropic blends have tested the highest for improving memory function, just click on this link.

Business of Focus Formula

Focus Formula is a product of Native Remedies, a homeopathic products manufacturer and subsidiary of Silver Star Brands, Inc. Their home page lists their contact information as:

Phone Number: (877) 289-1235

Address: 250 City Center

Oshkosh, WI 54906

Email: Native remedies does not provide an email address, however they do have an electronic contact form available through their contact page.

Users should be aware that Silver Star Brands has had numerous products recalled by the FDA for failure to meet safety standards. Their customer feedback rating with the Better Business Bureau also features a vast majority of negative feedback from their previous customers.

For more information about which nootropics will work the best with your particular brain chemistry, follow this link.

EDITOR’S TIP: For the best results, our experts recommend using brain enhancement supplements for at least 3 months. Save your money by buying a few bottles at once.

Customer Opinions of Focus Formula

There are numerous negative reviews for Focus Formula online from their previous customers. Here are some of their responses, taken from the accounts of their former clients posted online:

“My kids hated the taste and it did nothing. We threw it out after a week.”

“Might as well be tinted water for all the good it did me.”

“Totally turned my son into a zombie. I tried it a few times, and then just trashed the rest.”

The majority of responses from previous users report that it did nothing. There are some accounts of it having a sedative effect on children, such as in the account above, however those are more rare.

Click here to see the top ten nootropic supplements on the market today as ranked by our team of experts.

Conclusion – Does Focus Formula Work?

Focus Formula is a watered-down version of several ingredients that would probably not be that effective in the first place. Only ginkgo biloba is thought to be a useful nootropic ingredient, and the rest of their blend are unproven herbal flowers that have no demonstrated value.

Homeopathic procedures are unscientific and ineffective. While there are still people that will defend them, they are not accredited doctors or scientists and they have no real data to support their claims. Users are strongly urged to avoid any product that claims to have been prepared in accordance with homeopathic methods.

The nootropic that has the best track record with our team of experts is Memotenz. Memotenz has shown in multiple trials that it has powerful effects on memory and cognition that can be seen and felt by its users.

Memotenz is an effective short-term performance booster that also gets more potent the longer users take it. Click here to see all of the reasons that Memotenz is considered so effective by our experts.

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