Few dietary supplements have exploded in popularity the way CBD has. What was once a niche compound known primarily to the medical cannabis community is now ubiquitous across pharmacies and beauty aisles nationwide. Since CBD’s first surge in popularity, formulations and best practices in the market have been constantly evolving. Whereas initial product offerings in early 2018 leaned toward CBD standalone products, offerings now tend to incorporate other nutraceutical ingredients for a greater holistic experience. Although many might attribute the change to the natural progression of a maturing industry, pairing CBD with other natural ingredients is also a potential strategy to avoid legal repercussions.
A lack of clinical studies to support the efficacy of CBD products has existed since the initial democratization of the hemp market, although anecdotal evidence from consumers has been promising, to say the least. Only Epidiolex, a purified form of cannabidiol, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat severe seizures associated with neurological disorders. If CBD manufacturers wanted to make health claims for their products, they would have to undergo FDA approval — an expensive, time consuming, and impractical process. This factor, along with lack of funding for public research institutions, has stagnated the market, causing widespread confusion among CBD operators on what they can and can’t say. Moreover, FDA has been increasingly aggressive about warning operators they believe are violating the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Alleged infractions ranged from products being marketed as a “dietary supplements” to products that claimed to mitigate or cure diseases. Even industry leaders like Charlotte’s Web underwent legal scrutiny from the regulatory board.
In response, CBD operators began incorporating well-known ingredients into their products as a way to make health claims without violating FDA regulations. Incorporating active compounds such as melatonin and turmeric gives CBD manufacturers greater confidence about support-function claims (in this case, antioxidants maintain cell integrity), since both ingredients are widely used and have undergone extensive clinical trials. While combining CBD with other active ingredients may look like a cunning way to avoid FDA’s attention, combining natural ingredients may actually amplify the therapeutic benefits of each ingredient. Even within the health-and-wellness space, encapsulating natural ingredients into one formulation has been a known practice and should not be any different when creating CBD based formulations.
Take Melatonin and CBD as an example. Both compounds are often taken individually to promote quality sleep, but they interact with the human body differently. While melatonin increases the amount of sleep-inducing hormone already produced by the pineal gland, CBD helps quell production of stress hormone, which in turn reduces stress and anxiety and initiates sleep quickly. So, the idea is simple: Melatonin helps people sleep through the night, and CBD helps them fall asleep. Both substances have relatively few side effects. As such, they should be even more effective at promoting rest together than individually. While there is a dearth of clinical research investigating how these compounds work together, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence speaking to the efficacy of natural ingredients working synergistically.
Blending compounds like CBD and melatonin into one formulation has become an industry norm and nothing innovative. Nevertheless, the practice paves the way for more creative combinations that are potent and also provides an opportunity for brands to differentiate themselves in an already saturated market. One clear example is Vitaldiol’s Recover Capsules, which combine CBD with NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide), meant to promote individuals’ cellular health, maintain cognitive function, and provide everyday relief. The proprietary formulation is based on Dr. David Sinclair’s research at Harvard Medical School, where he concluded NAD+ levels indicate a body’s cellular health and NMN plays a big role in increasing NAD+ levels.
Preliminary research into NMN has been nothing short of miraculous. Trials using animal models have numerous benefits ranging from improved muscle endurance to increased mitochondrial function. Although current research is limited, both CBD and NMN by itself have shown tremendous potential in preliminary trials, and mixing both ingredients could create a synergistic and powerful product. It is these innovations and product developments that shed light on where the CBD industry may be headed under the current regulatory framework.
Strict oversight from the FDA led to the unintended consequence that exploration of a new nutraceutical combination has become the norm, laying the groundwork for more potent formulations in the future.
For more information, visit Vitaldiol.com.
