CBD Oil for Inflammation: Benefits & Best Products in Australia

Due to its potent anti-inflammatory benefits, more people in Australia use CBD oil for inflammation. These benefits stem from the cannabinoid CBD, which this product contains. CBD is an extract from cannabis sativa. It offers profound advantages in mitigating various forms of inflammation in the body. But importantly, it also doesn’t get you intoxicated because it’s non-psychoactive. In contrast, CBD works within the body’s natural cannabinoid receptors in the immune system and organs, helping to calm irritation or soreness. 

Today, CBD oil is commonly used to target chronic inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, IBS or psoriasis, which stem from overactive inflammatory responses. CBD brings the body’s immune reaction back into normality, helping to prevent overreacting to environmental allergens or irritants that lead to chronic diseases. Let’s dive into the benefits of CBD oil for inflammation. We’ll also explore Australia’s best anti-inflammatory CBD products and how to use them for safe, consistent results.

How Does CBD Help With Inflammation?

The CBD cannabinoid delivers potent anti-inflammatory effects holistically into the body’s systems and cells. 

Interestingly, this appears to occur via several main metabolic paths: 

• Endocannabinoid activity: CBD causes the body to release soothing, anti-inflammatory compounds called endocannabinoids. Many of these, like anandamide, can directly combat signs of inflammation, helping to reduce irritation or redness. These compounds work as immune modulators and play a regulatory role in inflammation pathways. 
• Reduced Cytokine Release: Cytokines are the primary inflammatory agents in the body. CBD has demonstrated the capacity to lower excessive cytokine production and dysregulation from immune cells. This helps to limit damage and irritation triggered by out-of-control immune reactions.
• Blocking COx Enzymes: CBD can block COx enzymes like ibuprofen. Doing so is helpful as these enzymes control prostaglandin secretion. Similarly to cytokines, prostaglandins are inflammatory proteins that can be detrimental if overproduced. Inhibiting COx enzymes is a crucial way the cannabinoid helps prevent too much inflammation. In particular, this is great for chronic forms of inflammation arising from dysregulated prostaglandins over a prolonged period.
• PPAR-Gamma Receptors: CBD can work on PPAR-gamma receptors in cells, which regulate the inflammatory response. In rodent studies, CBD’s agonism of this receptor decreased levels of inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. This reduced the severity of autoimmune disease and lowered insulin resistance in the test subjects.

In addition to these anti-inflammatory effects, CBD is a well-known antioxidant. This means it can prevent damage in the body from occurring from chaotic molecules called free radicals. Free radicals stimulate inflammation and worsen chronic conditions like colitis by harming cell structures through oxidation.

Reacting with these molecules and neutralising their harmful effects is fundamental to CBD’s antioxidative advantages for metabolic wellbeing. 

CBD has a strong ‘protective’ effect at the molecular level, foundational to its ability to counteract cellular inflammation.

Anti-inflammatory Benefits of CBD Oil

So, what are the top benefits CBD oil offers for calming inflammation? There are multiple. 

These include the ability to:

• Improve immune signalling and function
• Block COx enzymes
• Mitigate inflammatory bowel disorders
• Block inflammation from arthritis or joint pain
• Protect the cells from oxidative stress

In each case, these benefits manifest a bit differently. Let’s run through each for your understanding.

Immune Function

Helping the immune system to regulate itself better is the most significant benefit of CBD oil for inflammation. Why is this? The body itself causes all inflammation through immune activity. 

The immune system controls inflammation, which occurs as a natural tissue repair and healing process. Redness, soreness or swelling you might associate with inflammation are partly due to healing factors and blood flow being driven to an inflamed area by the body.

However, immune cell dysfunction can cause inflammation to become chronic, damaging and unsustainable. Immune cells that mistarget the body or are in a chronic activation state can cause out-of-control inflammatory stimulation, leading to many chronic health problems, like atherosclerosis.

A key benefit of CBD oil for inflammation is reversing these issues by normalising immune function. Studies have revealed that CBD is excellent at balancing, reorienting, and calming immune regulation. This is also true of other cannabinoids like CBG and CBN. These cannabinoids bind to the body’s CB2 receptors throughout the immune system. The receptors release powerful anti-inflammatory endocannabinoids such as 2-AG and anandamide.

Endocannabinoids have immuno-modulating properties, making them potent at sustainably alleviating inflammation. They also help prevent intercellular damage from macrophages or T cells attacking the body’s healthy tissue through faulty protein signals. A key advantage of CBD here is that it won’t stop or impair the immune system from working as it should. Think of it as helping to set better ‘guardrails’ and rules on this system to prevent it from going haywire. Doing so reduces problems from autoimmune conditions resulting from dysfunctional immunity like endometriosis or lupus.

Blocking CO-2 Enzymes

Another way that CBD helps soothe excessive inflammation is by lowering COx (Cyclooxygenase) enzyme production. It primarily targets the CO-2 enzyme type, the primary inflammatory response controller within the cells. This enzyme activates the inflammatory response by modulating immune cell behaviour directly by binding to G-protein receptors in cells.

In turn, these cells produce and release inflammatory proteins, which include:

• Prostaglandins
• Thromboxane
• levuloglandins

Remember that the body’s production of these inflaming compounds is entirely natural. If you scrape your leg or break your skin, these compounds are automatically made and will work in the injury site to stimulate healing. Only when they’re overproduced or dysregulated do they harm our health. This is where CBD helps combat chronic types of inflammation.

It suppresses CO-2 enzymes in similar ways to NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin, Diclofenac, and Naproxen all work in the body via this path. It’s why these medications are so helpful in reducing pain, calming soreness, and soothing inflammation. They work anywhere in the body where pain occurs from a headache, joint ache, or back strain. CBD is also the same in this capacity.

Research is increasingly being targeted at these properties of CBD. For instance, a 2008 study revealed that a combination of CBD and CBDA (another cannabinoid) worked as a selective COX-2 enzyme inhibitor. Similar conclusions were drawn from a 2023 study into CBD’s effects on these inflammation-regulating enzymes. These studies indicate CBD strongly prevents the expression of COX-2 enzymes but doesn’t appear to inhibit COX-1. Using it as a natural anti-inflammatory alternative to NSAIDs could undoubtedly be viable for many chronic conditions.

Inflammatory Pain

Certain types of arthritis and pain respond well to CBD due to its anti-inflammatory power. It’s valuable for blocking pain as it offers some analgesia (pain suppression). This property is synergistic with CBD’s inflammation-fighting benefits. Many forms of pain worsen or are even caused by too much inflammation. As such, the efficacy of products that can target and block pain and its underlying inflammatory causes is amplified significantly. Other cannabinoids, such as THC, CBN or CBG, provide similar effects in this area. Using CBD in a 1:1 ratio with THC tends to have the greatest potency for pain reduction in the body.

The application of CBD (and other cannabinoids) for pain works best when a painful condition results from chronic inflammation. For example, CBD is excellent at helping lower pain from:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Psoriasis
• Lupus
• Multiple sclerosis

It also works better for neuropathic pain types occurring in the nerves. CBD can alter the nervous system’s signalling to lower pain levels. Moreover, it stimulates TRPV1 pain receptors within the brain to prevent pain sensations from being felt. More studies are backing these outcomes scientifically. 

A significant advantage of CBD oil versus painkillers for inflammatory disorders is that it’s not addictive. It’s been cleared of having dependence-forming characteristics through multiple clinical studies. Because CBD has no dopamine-affecting properties, it won’t affect reward systems or habits. The opposite is true. It can help in treating addiction by blocking cravings and calming stress.

Bowel Inflammation

Another great use of CBD oil for inflammation is mitigating inflammatory gut problems. Chronic inflammation within the gastrointestinal system leads to a range of harmful, uncomfortable inflammatory conditions such as:

• Crohn’s disorder
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Ulcerative colitis
• Leaky gut
• Food intolerances and gas

Many of these problems stem from the body’s inflammatory response disrupting normal stomach processes, microbiota wellbeing, or gut motility. Like other body parts, the gut lining can be sensitive and inflamed quickly. Often, this is due to immune system dysfunction, like other chronic inflammation types. CBD oil for chronic gut inflammation helps calm its symptoms and prevent damage. Studies have revealed that CBD has a powerful, positive effect on the gut’s vital flora and fauna (bacteria). It works to rebalance these living organisms in the gastrointestinal tract and prevents the proliferation of harmful bacteria, which may be the key to its stomach-calming powers.

Furthermore, CBD reinforces the permeability of the gut lining. The permeability of this organ is how we absorb vitamins, nutrients, minerals and energy from foods. However, too little permeability causes gut irritation and other problems. The gut barrier must be balanced, or inflammation will occur, a condition called ‘leaky gut’. In the gut lining, CBD works on CB2 cannabinoid receptor sites, which enables it to prevent these permeability disorders. In doing so, the entire gut system works better and displays far less intestinal irritation.

Now that you understand why CBD oil is so helpful for lowering inflammation, let’s explore a few of Australia’s best anti-inflammatory CBD products.

Best CBD Oil for Inflammation in Australia

A few factors make a CBD oil ‘great’ for reducing inflammation. When buying CBD products for inflammation in Australia, you’ll need to consider whether quality matters to you. Let’s run through some essential tips on finding the best items, such as:

• Which CBD oil type to choose for inflammation
• Top CBD brands or stores to explore
• Quality factors to review when shopping

Formulation

CBD oil can be found in several different ‘types’ of formulations in Australia. Each has differing advantages for soothing inflammation. 

We’d recommend full-spectrum CBD oil here due to its great depth and variety of complementary anti-inflammatory compounds.

• Full-spectrum CBD Oil is the most abundant in ‘all’ the phytocompounds that the hemp plant produces. This includes natural terpenes, antioxidants, vitamins, essential fats and minor cannabinoids. Notably, many of these chemicals are great at preventing inflammation. Terpenes, for instance, work with CBD to amplify its anti-inflammatory potency. Those like myrcene also provide inflammation-fighting advantages themselves. Other nutrients like flavonoids in this oil type are antioxidative, contributing to the product’s overall potency.
• Broad-spectrum CBD Oil is quite similar to full-spectrum formulations but has 0% THC to prevent problems with drug testing or mental disorders. It still offers terpenes and minor cannabinoids like CBG but won’t have the same variety of these nutrients as full-spectrum offerings. Use this if you want to target inflammation but can’t risk having THC in your system.
• CBD isolates are further down the benefit spectrum for inflammation and less effective overall. Isolate-formulated products strip out the helpful phytocompounds, nutrients, and terpenes that are potent anti-inflammatories. We’d recommend avoiding these if you want the best results. However, it can be preferable if you are intolerant to one of the compounds or cannabinoids in full-spectrum CBD products.

Top Brands

There are many good CBD brands and shops in Australia today, wherever you’re located. Most will ship to addresses in Australia and have an online presence. Here are a few of the top CBD oil brands to check out.

• Hemp Heroes is a great local CBD brand in Australia. They specialise in raw, full-spectrum formulated oil tailored to reduce inflammation. Many Australians already opt for their products because they’re organic, additive-free, and potent. They’re also high in terpene content, which complements these advantages.
• Little Green Pharma has been one of the leading brands in Australia for some time. A big drawcard of their selection is quality assurance. They spare no expense in rigorous lab testing, quality control, and careful safety practices. This is reflected in their incredible purity scores on lab testing results and strong buyer reviews. Plus, they have full-spectrum CBD products that are perfect for mitigating inflammatory problems like IBS.
• Nuleaf: while Nuleaf is a US brand based in Colorado, we’d wholeheartedly recommend reviewing their CBD oil. Sourced from high-quality hemp in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Nuleaf is a renowned US-based CBD provider that ships to Australia. They’re a large, reputable, trustworthy brand that delivers what it promises. Some of their best items for inflammation are their broad-spectrum and full-spectrum CBD tinctures, which are excellent for calming joint pain. Remember that shipping to Australia can pose challenges with customs (some items get confiscated, but it may be worth a shot.
• Lazarus: another up-and-comer in Australia’s best full-spectrum CBD products is Lazarus. A fantastic attribute of their products is that they’re all completely organic, with the company certified as an organic provider. For this reason, you can trust every drop of their oils to be clear of any pesticides or toxins. They’re a quality choice to maximise safety and purity but are more expensive. 

Remember that you can easily browse or discover selections in other stores throughout Australia. We’d recommend testing a range of products and CBD formulations early on in your journey to find the best fit for your inflammation needs. How do you choose a quality product with all these options available? Let’s take a look. 

Choosing a Product

Only some CBD extracts in Australia are of high quality. Unfortunately, there are a considerable number of weak, diluted, poorly made, or outright fake CBD oils going around. Knowing what to look for in your CBD oil when shopping is a significant advantage in avoiding ineffectual products. Some of the key things to keep top of mind here are:

• Obtain Lab Test Results: look for a certificate of analysis from a third-party laboratory that has analysed the CBD oil you’re purchasing. Lab results are the only verifiable, trustworthy method to understand product purity. This makes it mandatory to check for any CBD extract buyer in Australia. Avoid stores that don’t list or share their lab test results.
• Understand Hemp Source: Hemp plants are bioaccumulators. In other words, they can easily be contaminated by environmental toxins, pesticides, or nasty microbes. Knowing the origins of your hemp is helpful here as a safety assurance step. Hemp grown in ‘dirty’ soil or unregulated regions with low safety standards overseas can pose health risks. Don’t buy CBD products extracted from these sources. Doing so could harm your health and worsen inflammation.
• Check Ingredients: Additives to CBD oil, such as carriers, flavours, sweeteners, preservatives, or colourings, can each pose downsides. For instance, if you’re intolerant to particular carrier oils like MCT or have allergies to certain artificial flavourings, you could experience adverse reactions to a product containing these. Carefully looking through a product’s ingredient list is vital in avoiding allergic responses or simply irritating your stomach. Artificial additives, in particular, should be avoided if you have gut inflammation or sensitivities.
• Do Background Checks: don’t shop from those you don’t trust. Even in Australia, there are many CBD oil stores selling products that are subpar or don’t work. Going online and scanning some reviews, customer comments, or product ratings is wise. A company’s reputation isn’t the best, and end-all, regarding how good its CBD extracts are. Yet it can certainly be a good gauge for overall customer happiness and whether a shop is selling fakes. Places like forums or social media sites often reveal these problems through an impartial (3rd-party) medium.

Anti-Inflammatory Potency

Additional tips include understanding CBD product strength (measured in mg/mL) and whether a given item has any anti-inflammatory ingredients added. Each factor can be huge regarding a product’s effectiveness at lowering chronic inflammation symptoms. High-strength CBD oil (typically 3000mg+ of CBD per 30mL bottle) require less dose quantity for equivalent intake. Those with more severe inflammation often find high potency CBD strengths are needed for calming symptoms or pain. The strength you require is an entirely personal decision and should reflect your response to the cannabinoid.

Looking for products formulated for inflammation can be advantageous. For instance, those infused with:

• Turmeric (curcumin)
• Ginger
• Black Pepper
• Vitamin E or D
• Omega fats

It will have additional antioxidative and anti-inflammatory potency versus formulations of CBD oil containing only CBD. Look for these on your product’s ingredient list or labelling as you browse.

Using CBD Oil for Inflammation

What’s the best way to take CBD oil targeting inflammation or pain? The answer here depends on your condition, symptoms, responsiveness to CBD and health level. You’ll need to plan and tailor an approach to your circumstances. However, some tips can help in just about all scenarios. Let’s take a look at these usage pointers.

Dosage

How much CBD you take matters. But particularly when you have an inflammatory problem like psoriasis or endometriosis. Your approach to dosing will immensely affect the results you observe from CBD use. The challenge with dosing is that not everyone is the same or needs equal amounts of CBD. Factors like size, genes, metabolism and condition all play into the correct dose you may need daily.

When you begin to use CBD oil for inflammation, we suggest keeping it on the low end. 20mg or less is suitable for most in the first month. Above this range initially can mean more side effects due to a lack of tolerance. The body adjusts to cannabinoids like CBD over time. Consistency in daily use will be required if you want significant anti-inflammatory effects. After a month, you can increase daily doses to 50mg or even more until you find what relieves your problem. Dosages should ideally be tailored in consultation with your doctor. Planning them out and using a diary to track every dose is essential.

Ingestion Method

Another question regarding CBD extracts is how fast you need them to take effect. Not every method of consuming CBD has the same ‘speed’ of action. This is determined in part by the bioavailability of the consumption method. Consumption methods can also influence how ‘long’ the effects of CBD last in your body after it’s taken. Here’s a comparison of the top administration methods:

• Sublingual: absorbing CBD through the mouth lining enables the quickest absorption, effects and relief. Achieve this by putting CBD drops into your gums or just below your tongue. Hold it there for up to two minutes before you swallow. Blood vessels in the mouth take in CBD faster than if you digest it via your stomach. Use this approach if you need quick CBD effects for inflammatory pain. It’s common to take sublingual doses when symptoms’ flare’ for inflammatory problems like rheumatoid arthritis joint pain.
• Oral (Digested): although it takes far longer to make its way into your cells, digesting CBD is the most popular, straightforward approach to using it. Just swallow your dose directly. Opt for CBD capsules containing CBD oil if you can’t stomach the taste. These have zero taste and can be washed down with some water. Oral CBD oil is best for gut inflammation or IBS symptoms as the intestinal lining absorbs the cannabinoid. In addition, it works the longest of all consumption approaches. As such, it’s better where you are seeking slow-release, long-acting CBD action.
• Topical: For inflammation, topical CBD oil (or cream) application is perfect for preventing or reversing painful inflammatory symptoms in the muscles, joints, or skin. Conditions this can alleviate most effectively include inflammatory arthritis (or joint degeneration), psoriasis of the skin, stiff or strained muscles, plus other inflammatory skin issues like eczema. To best use topical CBD, thoroughly rub your oil or cream deeply into the target site. Doing this helps the activation of cannabinoid receptors in the area.

Using in Food or Drinks

Remember that you don’t necessarily need to use ‘pure’ CBD oil as a standalone item. Adding it to a drink, delicious food, topical cream or your favourite snack is an intelligent method to work it into your day more naturally. Mixing it won’t impact overall absorption (it may slow it somewhat).

The advantage it has is that you can mask the nutty, ‘pungent’ taste that CBD can have while also sticking to dosing more easily. Developing your dosing habit is also more manageable when it’s just a part of your regular diet. CBD gummies or chews are another fantastic product for getting in your intake without any nasty hemp flavour.

Usage Tips

Any enthusiast will agree that daily, steady, consistent dosing of CBD oil is undisputably the recommended way to take it. Consistent dosing is essential for chronic inflammatory conditions. These need a treatment option that can be used sustainably over long periods to offer relief. 

Not only is CBD safe to do this with, but it functions much better this way. Long-term use best activates the body’s endocannabinoid system and metabolic pathways that control the inflammatory response. Calming, normalising, and better regulating these systems happen the most when the body gets a constant ‘stream’ of CBD to work with. Patience and persistence over time net the most reliable, sustained alleviation of inflammatory problems.

You can also ‘combine’ different CBD product types or consume them simultaneously to enable multi-pronged, multi-action anti-inflammatory powers. For example, arthritis pain in the joints can be relieved simultaneously via both topical CBD cream and CBD drops. Using multiple ingestion paths maximises each advantage, creating synergistic pain-reducing advantages. Remember to adjust your dosages if doing this to prevent overconsuming.

Side Effects

Adverse reactions, intolerances, allergies, or side effects may occur when taking CBD. Some people are particularly susceptible to these downsides because of genetic factors, predispositions, or sensitivities to cannabinoids, immune dysfunction, or existing health problems. However, most people don’t have any issues using their CBD product every day and see few problems even when taking a lot.

Symptoms of an adverse reaction to CBD often manifest as:

• Upset stomach or changes in stool movements (e.g. constipation)
• Irritability during digestion (particularly from IBS)
• Lack of saliva production and a dry mouth
• Allergies like rashes (this indicates a reaction)
• Blood pressure changes
• Shifts in mood or temperament
• Lethargy or a feeling of mild tiredness

A side effect doesn’t necessarily mean you’re intolerant or misdosing, but it could indicate something is off. See if it goes away on its own at first. Try changing your doses, switching products, or troubleshooting potential reactions from an added ingredient (e.g., the carrier oil used). For reactions that are severe or last more than a day or so, stop using CBD oil. Seek medical attention if you are concerned or the issue isn’t resolved.

Before taking CBD oil for inflammation, you’ll want to review this decision with your GP to ensure you aren’t putting yourself in danger. The importance of this can’t be understated. For those using a medication or who have existing ailments, adding CBD into the mix can sometimes do more harm than good. Confirming it’s safe or even worthwhile is critical to avoid disaster.

Conclusion

While CBD oil is touted for many health benefits, reducing inflammation is likely its most consequential. There’s a good reason for this. Most forms of chronic disease, health challenges and degeneration of the body are caused by excessive inflammation. Holding the inflammatory response from running wild means improved wellbeing. Yet, few effective methods exist to prevent and naturally relieve chronic inflammation. Using pharmaceutical medications isn’t viable long-term because of their organ toxicity. CBD is the anti-inflammatory answer people are seeking today for many inflammatory disorders.

Its capacity to be taken as needed daily makes it one of the best choices in managing conditions like psoriasis, endometriosis, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disorders (e.g. colitis). The cannabinoid works in the endocannabinoid system and immune cells as a COx enzyme blocker and antioxidant. These synergistic, complementary action mechanisms alleviate such varied detrimental health issues spurred by inflammation. There’s little downside to trying it. However, it would be best to speak to a doctor for a risk assessment before doing so.