Professional skier Daniel Meier explains how hemp and CBD help with pain
Professional skier and Hempions athlete Daniel Meier suffered chronic back pain. Hemp helped him to regain his balance. This is how Daniel made it from being a pain patient back to the top of the world in alpine skiing.
Overview:
Back, joint or similar pains are basically signs of inflammation. The body signals that something is not in balance. The reasons for this are usually the following:
Malalignment of the joints
A faulty joint position can be particularly painful. The good news is that such malpositions can often be solved with manual therapy.
Stress
Stress in the body can have many causes:
- Injuries and overload
- Psychological stress, which also translates into physical stress
- Poor diet
Inflammation due to training stimuli
Especially for competitive athletes like Daniel, it is almost impossible not to have inflammation in the body. Training stimuli must be set so that the body produces more and stronger muscle cells. Inflammation as an immune reaction is basically not a bad thing: it helps the body "transport" the right substances/building blocks to the muscles and regulate other processes in the body. However, permanent inflammation is a problem, especially in elite sport.
Those who perform at a high level cannot prevent the development of inflammation. This is true not only for athletes but also for people who work hard in the long term. Athletes are affected by many influences such as training stimuli, competition stress, travel and injuries. With increasing stress, it therefore becomes more and more important to counteract unnecessary inflammation.
The right diet
Inflammation caused by diet is particularly easy to avoid. In doing so, the digestive system should be burdened as little as possible. The intestine alone is responsible for 80% the immune response. In concrete terms this means: let Eliminate foods that put a strain on the body. The most important tips are:
- Omit cow's milk
- Remove wheat from the menu and replace with spelt, possibly even completely avoid foods containing gluten.
- Avoid refined white sugar
- Avoiding processed foods in general
You should replace these with easily digestible and nutrient-rich foods. In this way, inflammation can no longer arise from the diet. The important thing here is:
- A high quality of the food: Fresh and organic
- High content of omega-3 fats pro rata
- A diet high in fat and protein: this has a positive effect on the intestinal flora and the immune system. Especially in combination with sugar withdrawal.
Hemp as an optimal building block in the diet
Hemp seeds fit ideally into the right diet because they contain:
- Many healthy fats, especially omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the ideal ratio of 1 : 3
- One High proportion of easily digestible protein. The composition of hemp protein also supports good intestinal bacteria
- Dietary fibrewhich also includes the Support intestinal flora
- Vitamin Ewhich antioxidant works
- Magnesium, which is important for the Metabolism important
- Iron, essential for the Blood formation
- Zinc, important for the Immune system
- Secondary plant substances
Use of CBD for pain
The body's own cannabinoid system is responsible for the Cell communication responsible. The application of CBD (cannabidiol) can have a positive effect on this important communication system. We explain the mode of action in detail in our Articles on CBD.
Why CBD is used successfully for pain
CBD supports communication within our nervous system and therefore helps with pain in several ways:
- Studies confirm the successful treatment of pain with CBD.
- CBD is considered to be anti-inflammatory. Less inflammation means less pain at the same time.
- The calming effect of CBD can significantly improve the quality of sleep. Better sleep and regeneration mean less stress and inflammation at the same time.
- The improved communication in the body has a positive effect on the entire organism.
Hempion's founder and professional skier Daniel Meier gives tips on how to successfully use CBD and hemp in everyday life:
Use of CBD for pain
"It makes sense to start with a low dosage and work your way up to the right amount. I myself use CBD in the morning and in the evening. It is best to increase the dose in weekly steps until you reach the right level. After that, I recommend taking the majority of the daily dose before sleeping, as it significantly increases the quality of sleep. A good night's sleep and the regeneration that comes with it are known to be the best anti-ageing remedy. For targeted, local application, a CBD ointment also excellently suited."
Use of hemp foods for pain
"Ideally, you incorporate hemp foods into your diet as often as possible. Examples of this are:"
Hemp Seeds - peeled and unpeeled
- As a snack in the form of Hemp crunchies
- Into the muesli
- As a topping on all kinds of dishes
- Hemp milk As a milk substitute
- Hemp nut butter as an alternative spread and base for sauces
- Germinated as Hemp sprouts with salad and main dishes
Hemp Oil Provides a concentrated extra portion of healthy fats
- Salad with hemp oil in the dressing
- For refining dishes
- Caution: Do not heat hemp oil to high temperatures
Hemp Protein - for positive effects in the intestinal flora
- Protein shake after training, before going to bed and at breakfast. Hemp Porridge
- As a (partial) flour substitute in cooking and baking, e.g. for Hemp protein baguette
More tips
- To achieve faster therapeutic results, Daniel also recommends taking fish oil capsules. These additionally supply the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.
- Berries provide the body with many antioxidants. Our ancestors fed mainly on berries and seeds.
Sources:
Miller, Miller; Is cannabis an effective treatment for joint pain?
Kim et al; Cannabinoids in the Treatment of Back Pain
