EndoSport CBD Water - Science Fad or Legit Product? @endo_sport (by @NLi10)

I work in Birmingham, this appeared on one of the big advertising hoardings outside.  The UK's first CBD Sports Drink - and upon Googling it's from a local company - the other side of Birmingham.

So naturally I got hold of some (easiest way is direct from the company at the moment but I suspect the more forward thinking local gyms stock this too).

Here we go - ready for the January health kick!  There are two flavours, Berry & Tropical, and the Orange one.

So here are the ingredients.  No real vitamins and minerals sprayed in, but they do have the magic ingredient of 10 mg of CBD per bottle.  For those who aren't familiar with this - it's a completely legal extract from the cannabis plant that I've written about A LOT over the recent years. Or at least it felt like I had - but I've only put two up before this!

Essentially - I tried the oil and it had a decent effect, but didn't' last and was awkward to carry.  Then I got the tablets and it lasted hours and was convenient to take with me & really helped with my Rheumatoid Arthritis, and now I have those most week days.  And I also like to find it in other foods and I'm sure I've eaten more than that one chocolate bar I linked.

So - the oportunity to drink some is very tempting!  And more importantly I'm uniquely positioned to be able to detect if the problems with CBD water are apparent here.

You see CBD doesn't like sunlight or oxygen, it starts to degrade becoming less effective.  All types of CBD come in dark wrappers and brown glass, and tiny amounts so that this effect is minimised.  And here we have a clear plastic bottle!  Thankfully the makers know what they are doing so have covered the whole bottle in a wrapper - and tell you to consume once opened so this shouldn't be a problem.

I get noticable pain reduction within half an hour of my CBD tablets (faster with the oil) and would certainly be able to tell if this happened while on a nice long walk in the muddy woods.

And it did! Even though I let my partner have a few swigs of the stuff I definitely felt a reduction in both my walking related pains and those micro pains in my hands which frankly are always there.  Would this help to relax and alleviate the pains caused from normal exercise? It did for me!

The taste was interesting, like the old energy drinks I drank 20 years ago - and I put this down to the artificial sweeteners chosen.  She didn't seem to mind this as much as I did - and I was surprised to notice that she couldn't taste the CBD (the raw oil is like sprouts - some people can't stand it!).

I took the Orange one to work (visions of a future review here) and shared it out.

If I'd had my proper science brain in gear then I'd have made some placebo Orange drinks to share out too.  I had the small portion to see what happened (similar effects to before, shorter duration) and to get an idea of the taste.  A fairly unremarkable Orange with the sweetener aftertaste - I preferred this to the blue one.

My colleagues liked the taste, and seemed to appreciate the calming and centring effect that the CBD had on them - it seemed to last around 90 mins.

If you've been looking for a way to ingest CBD that doesn't require carrying around little bottles of oil or arcane looking tablets then this is probably the most 'normal' I've found so far.  I can't really speak for the exercise credentials - but I sure did manage to walk further and faster than I would have done without it.

The January weather was very cruel to the poster - it only lasted a week or so before the rain lashed it off the hoardings (it happens a lot here because it's not sheltered by buildings).  I hope that the market is kinder to this drink as it is a very effective and legitimate way of picking up a daily dose of CBD.

Almighty Foods Raw CBD vegan wholefood chocolate (@Holland_Barrett) by @NLi10

I'm often in town with a general panic that I don't have anything interesting to write about for this weeks review.  Luckily we have about 4 Holland & Barrett in Birmingham and they usually have quirky things to write about.

Take this Almighty Foods Raw CBD vegan wholefood chocolate - this product scores so highly on Hipster Bingo that organic got relegated to the flip-side.  99% organic, and everything is compostable and sustainable.  No guilt chocolate is always a win.

CBD is very much on the rise still, the store has gone from one little bottle on the counter to a whole section in maybe a year.  It's a big deal considering you can't officially say it has any health benefits!

Me? I like the stuff as it takes the edge off my arthritis - at least certain blends and compounds do, it's pretty bad science assuming that all the different parts of the CBD spectrum automatically do the same thing.  Here though they explicitly say it's full spectrum, so short of requesting the lab reports (which I've done for a few companies so far just to see what works for me) you know it's got a bit of everything.

10mg is the amount in the tablets I take most days, so stopping for a day to try this seems fair and fine.

And it's expensive (everything to do with CBD is) at £2 for 30g of chocolate, but it's at least packaged in a luxury way.  Importantly though they've managed to mask the sprout taste that CBD has so like the gummies that some people seem determined to give to their kids this is a very palatable and grown up way to try CBD.

And it's nice.  Thats the most important thing.  The chocolate has a fruityness that reminds me of raw cacao bars that I used to buy, and the texture is crumbly enough to keep me interested.  I ate all 30g to my self in one sitting and neither felt short-changed or over full.

I'm not sure I've given it long enough to see if it has the usual effect, but as a way to eat CBD while out without worrying about chasing it with food or popping pills this is a very welcome option.

I'll keep you posted on how it went.

Jacob Hooy CBD Oil Food Supplement (Holland & Barrett) @NLi10

A friend shared a well researched and thought out blog post about CBD oil and it's been continually linked to the health conditions that I have so I decided to hunt some down.  It was easier than I expected as Holland & Barrett stock it in the UK, but they are usually out of stock so I had to order it from them online (and picked up in store to save money).

It comes in a tiny little dropper bottle.

The instructions on when to use it and what to use it for are deliberately vague.  There are lots of discussions about what it is supposed to do - but even Holland & Barrett aren't willing to pass that on - instead they direct you to the CBD UK Facebook group where you hear success and failure stories.  And a lot of discussion about the foul taste.

The specific brand they sell is Jacob Hooy, which is apparently an old and well established brand from the Netherlands.  That said - this is manufactured from hemp not cannabis so isn't illegal in the UK to buy and use.  It doens't contain anywhere near enough of the THC chemicals that cause the highs, but apparently does contain enough of the CDB compounds that may cause lowered anxiety, reduced inflammation and reduction in pain.

The evil looking dropper is used to put a drop under the tongue at specified intervals.  I've chosen to go with the wisdom of the group and start off low and slow - one drop twice a day for the first week.

And the taste?  It's basically like Sunny Delight made with grass cuttings.  If you eat things like Kale and other strong green things then you'll probably already be a bit used to it.  It should be noted that I've been very intentionally keeping it away from my taste-buds so maybe i'm missing out on the pure evil.

Like our other health investigations I'll link all these articles together and track my progress with this new fad oil and see if it helps my Rheumatoid Arthritis and changes my sleep patterns at all!