Athletes and CBD: What you need to know about CBD oil in relation to pain, sleep and anti doping with Dr. Graeme Close PhD
CBD oil is a hot topic! If you ask Dr. Google about it, you’ll get a surprising amount of claims telling you it will definitely help with sleep, recovery, inflammation and mental health. Many of these sites sound very credible and “sciency.” But what if you ask an actual scientist who has spent years researching CBD oil and knows and understands the data and physiology? Will it be so black and white? Listen to the episode below to find out!
Today’s guest Dr. Graeme Close is exactly the person I wanted to speak with to get you the facts about CBD oil for athletes. Dr. Close is is a Professor of Human Physiology who has published many papers in relation to sports nutrition, vitamin D, muscle damage and repair and now is focused on research on athletes and cannabidiol (CBD). He is a former professional rugby league player and currently consults as an expert nutrition consultant to England Rugby as well as several other Premier League football clubs and players. Dr. Close has clearly found a way to mix his passions for sport and science. His ability to translate the knowledge to the masses is well known as he has regularly appeared on BBC tv and radio and now here on the Imperfect Progress podcast.
I had a lot of questions for Dr. Close today and the conversation gets really lit up many times on some topics that he wasn’t sure he should cross into…but we did, and his insights were both informative and honest and at times hilarious!
Here’s some of what we cover during our conversation:
- What are cannabinoids?
- What gets you high vs what doesn’t?
- What athletes need to know about anti- doping and why risk still exists with current guidelines.
- Are product labels accurate?
- Can CBD oil reduce pain for athletes? Non athletes?
- Can CBD oil help athletes sleep?
- Can CBD oil actually help your muscles recover?
- How many athletes are using CBD oil?
- The opioid crisis and CBD oil – Graeme’s opinion
- CBD oil and traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- How our endocannabinoid system works with CBD/THC
- Can fasting affect CBD or THC levels in our body?
- What’s new in CBD research and what’s coming?
- How to overcome adversity in life manage difficult times through Graeme’s eyes and from his experiences.
This was so interesting! Dr. Close is one of the leading researchers on CBD oil for athletes, so you will want to follow his research if you’re interested in what’s in the research pipeline.
You can learn more from Dr. Graeme Close and follow him online at the links at the bottom of this post. I’ve also posted a few links to some papers below that will act as great, legitimate resources to read.
Quality information about CBD oil and athletes is sparse. Please take a moment to share this episode now with other athletes, coaches or practitioners and anyone who could benefit. Share one thing you learned from the podcast on your favorite social media platform and tag Imperfectprogresspodcast on IG and let others know what you learned too.
Please take a moment to rate my podcast on Apple. Just click on the star rating and I would appreciate if you could leave a comment so that other people can see what you thought of this or other episodes. This is a great way for me to get more people tuning in and get this important information to as many athletes, coaches and practitioners as possible. In a world of pseudoscience, facts matter. It’s my goal to translate the science to the masses and I need your help. Thank you!
Find Dr. Graeme Close at the links below and keep learning!
Dr. Graeme Close on Twitter here.
Dr. Graeme Close on Instagram here
Dr. Grame Close bio here.
GSSI CBD oil review here.
