“Listen to your gut” – the role CBD can play in healthy digestion

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The founder and CEO of cannabis research company CiiTECH, Clifton Flack, speaks to Michelle Geraghty-Corns, of EternalBeing Detox Clinics about the role CBD plays in a healthy gut.

EternalBeing was set up over 20 years ago to bring a holistic approach to a whole laundry list of issues that aren’t easily resolved by western medical practices alone.

“We started by focusing on complaints of the gut and digestion and this has quickly expanded to nutrition, blood testing, detox, wellness, mental health, hypnotherapy, counselling, and healing therapies including breath work, and coaching. But we always come back to the gut,” says Michelle, founder and head practitioner.

Good digestion is the key to everything, it affects every inch of your body physically and mentally. It fuels our muscles and removes toxins but that is the tip of the iceberg. Studies show that the gut holds the key to our mental health, weight control, longevity & can even have an impact on chronic illness.

Michelle’s business is growing, and that is both a good and a bad thing.

CF: How has COVID-19 impacted your business?

MG-C: With all the uncertainty and fear from all angles, stress and anxiety has become a real issue and it is having a massive impact on our gut health. EternalBeing has seen massive increases in clients suffering with one or the other or a bit of both.
Stress is a good thing. It is designed to be a response to danger and set the body up accordingly.

We all remember fight and flight this is a stress response however, nowhere in fight and flight does it say eat. When we are in a fight and flight response our gut shuts down so our bodies do not digest food properly. This means that we don’t get the benefits of the nutrients found in our food and it results in additional stress that takes its toll on other body functions, leaving no time for the body to rest or heal between meals, and so the cycle begins.

The key is getting people out of that fight and flight mode and back into a calmer state. We call it rest and digest. As of late, and including myself who was struck down with COVID-19, we have seen a real run on many of the natural products that we recommend and sell at EternalBeing and there has definitely been an increased interest in CBD, in particular CBD gummies.

We have seen studies coming out of China on “long Covid” sufferers that have found it also alters our gut flora quite dramatically. We are testing our long Covid sufferer’s gut flora, to help rebalance them, and to start getting them well again, many of them also tend to have high stress levels.

CF: How many of your clients ask about CBD?

MG-C: All of our clients have a consultation before their first treatment where we explore with them the reasons they have come to us and what they would like to achieve with our support. At this point we look at their lifestyle, medications, diet, wellbeing, etc and make suggestions for treatment options & programs i.e detox, wellness[3] . Many of our clients are already aware of natural cannabis therapies and about the growing trend of CBD. It regularly comes up as a topic in nearly every consultation. I have over 300 active clients at any one time and over 2,000 clients in our database that come to us a few times a year, so we talk about CBD a lot.

CF: Do you incorporate CBD into your treatments?

MG-C: Our clients can choose if they want to include CBD as part of their treatment plan or not. We never push products or treatments on our clients, we provide support and information so they can make personal choices.

In the end, a lot of our clients do their own research and come to us asking for CBD.

CF: What made you want to carry CBD in your clinic?

MG-C: Why not? Now with the wealth of knowledge out there on the internet our clients do their research and want to explore CBD as an option. We saw an emerging demand from our regular clients and CBD fitted the bill for them. It was a bigger challenge for us to put the same research into finding a fantastic provider, and we found a great partner in CiiTECH.

The clinic is quite specific about the kinds of products it recommends and sells to clients. We only sell products that are produced and regulated to the highest standards ensuring our clients get to benefit from the best, and more importantly, safest products available.

CF: How many of your patients use CBD?

MG-C: Hard to say but easily 70 percent of our active client base are using CBD in some form or another and that includes our online shop clients. One of these clients regularly buys for her horse and dogs under her vets’ recommendation as part of the VMD. Our clients have asked and we have provided.

As well as treatment at the clinic we also offer home detox packages.

CF: What do you think the future holds for CBD in the world of digestion?

MG-C: I’ve read several studies on CBD, some dating back to 2008 and 2011 and earlier which looked at IBS and CBD. I also follow what CiiTECH Labs Research are up to as they enter the space of CBD in research aimed at metabolic disease including; NAFLD, diabetes and obesity.

I’m also still following studies and articles that hold some real promise for our clients and how CBD could potentially support them in the areas of mental health & its links to gut biome. It is exciting times for CBD and our gut biome. It’s still early stage research but it seems very promising to me.

CF: What can we do from home that will support good digestion and maintenance after treatments?

MG-C: Wow, there is so much you can do, but here are the most important six things:

1. Eat slowly and chew. So many people don’t chew food properly before swallowing and this is a major factor in bloating.
2. Never eat on the move or when stressed, again this is a major one as so many people don’t even release they are stressed.
3. Start the day with a pint of lemon infused water. A few slices of water in a pint of water left in the fridge overnight makes a fantastic alkalising drink that kick starts your metabolism.
4. Exercise, I know it sounds obvious but it often gets overlooked. The more you move it, the more it helps your body move food and waste around your system and boosts your immune system as it fires up your lymph.
5. Know yourself. Keep a food and wellbeing diary so you can track what you eat and how you felt before and after this can really surprise people and is worth doing for at least 2 weeks.
6. Drink water, simple but effective. Approximately 2 litres a day and sorry wine, coffee and even tea don’t count.

CF: What is one take away you can give people today?

MG-C: Listen to your gut, it has your best interest at heart. Remember, if you are unsure, you can always ask a digestion specialist like us. And if you are one of those people who wants to include CBD as a supporting supplement then do your research and find the best you can, like we did.

For more information or to book an appointment visit www.eternalbeing.co.uk

Watch a full interview with Michelle here: