Dr. Graeme Close: Athletes and CBD: What you need to know about CBD oil in relation to pain, sleep and anti doping - Episode 15

Are you an athlete wondering if CBD oil can help you, if it's safe and whether it can help with pain, recovery or sleep? Well 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 and many of these 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?

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. I’ll add to that and say he was also 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.

For more about Dr. Close see the links below and some additional resources about CBD oil for reading.

I would truly appreciate if you could take a moment to go to Apple and rate this podcast or episode right now and leave a comment for others to read. It helps to get more people listening and to spread credible scientific information to battle the overwhelming pseudoscience that is all to prevalent on the internet. Share this episode now on your favorite social media platform and something you learned today. Tag a friend or send the episode to a fellow athlete or coach.  

Dr. Graeme Close on twitter: https://twitter.com/close_nutrition

Dr. Graeme Close on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/closenutrition/?hl=en

Dr. Grame Close bio here.

GSSI CBD oil review here.

Thank you so much for listening and being a part of the Imperfect Progress community.