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The Chillest Combo: What To Pair With CBD To Make It More Effective

Author:

Emma Loewe

January 04, 2021

By Emma Loewe

mbg Contributor

Emma Loewe is the former Sustainability and Health Director at mindbodygreen. She is the author of "Return to Nature: The New Science of How Natural Landscapes Restore Us" and the co-author of "The Spirit Almanac: A Modern Guide To Ancient Self Care." Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,500 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes.

Image by Blue Collectors / Stocksy

January 04, 2021

Many people take CBD oil to calm nerves right before bed or in the middle of a busy workday. And while it's often consumed solo, a growing body of research finds that CBD may be more effective when paired with certain spices. Here's the dish.

The connection between CBD and β-Caryophyllene.

CBD is one of many phytocannabinoids (a fancy name for plant compounds) found in hemp that have a calming effect on the body and mind. When taken in unison, these compounds join forces to put us at ease, which is why you should always look for CBD products that are full-spectrum.*

Together, these phytocannabinoids have a positive effect on the body's endocannabinoid system (ECS), a "master regulator" that oversees everything from sleep quality to stress response.* And while these helpful phytocannabinoids are hard to find outside cannabis, it turns out that another plant compound can have a similar influence on the ECS: Meet beta-caryophyllene (β-Caryophyllene).

"It's a phytocannabinoid-like substance and it's found in black pepper and cloves, among other things," functional medicine doctor Robert Rountree, M.D., said of beta-caryophyllene on an episode of the mindbodygreen podcast earlier this year. It's present in the essential oils of oregano, hops, black cumin, and rosemary, too. It helps give these ingredients their spicy, warming kick. Fun fact: beta-caryophyllene is also found in the oils of some tree species, and it contributes to the fragrant, relaxing scent 1 of a forest trail.

Recent research shows that when we consume beta-caryophyllene, it binds to the same ECS receptors that are triggered by CBD products. So there's reason to believe that the compound can enhance CBD's already calming effect 2 on inflammation, pain, and stress and anxiousness.* For this reason, beta-caryophyllene is the first known "dietary cannabinoid."

In the British Journal of Pharmacology3, board-certified neurologist Ethan B. Russo, M.D., writes that the combination of phytocannabinoids and beta-caryophyllene "may lead to novel approaches to such disorders as treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, drug dependency, dementia and a panoply of dermatological disorders."

How to get your β-Caryophyllene fix.

Pairing your full-spectrum oil with rosemary chicken or a black-pepper-forward stew would certainly test this synergistic theory. But to make things easier, mbg added a handful of beta-caryophyllene-rich ingredients into its first hemp product, hemp multi+.*

In addition to certified organic full-spectrum hemp extract, hemp multi+ contains anti-inflammatory 4 black cumin seed oil, clove, and black pepper, plus mood-boosting 5 hops and rosemary—all of which contain β-Caryophyllene.* The result is more than just a hemp oil: It's a synergistic blend of plants that piggyback off of each other to noticeably support relaxation and a more positive mood.*

To learn more about how hemp multi+ can be used to relieve stress, check out its page on the mbg shop.* (Heads up: It's on a limited sale right now!)

Rountree, who helped with the product's formulation, predicts that it will speak to the next wave of stress relief:* "I think we're going to see more of this in the future," he said on the mbg podcast. "I think this is the beginning of a huge trend—to look for these substances like beta-caryophyllene that can actually support the entourage effect."