On today’s episode, I’m chatting CBD Oil 101 with the incredibly intelligent Dr. Jess Peatross! We deep dive into what CBD oil is, what it can be used for, common myths, and so much more.
We’re back with our 177th episode of the Fed+Fit Podcast! Remember to check back every Monday for a new episode and be sure to subscribe on iTunes!
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Episode 177 Links
- To learn more about Nourish Medical Center click HERE
- To learn more about Dr. Jess’ Herbal Blends click HERE
- To find Dr. Jess’ website click HERE
- Connect with Dr. Jess on Instagram HERE
Episode 177 Sponsors
- Capilano Beeotic – 100% Australian Honey with natural prebiotics to support gut health, Click HERE to get your own!
- Lorissa’s Kitchen – for 20% off on Amazon, click HERE and use code “20OFFLK”
Episode 177 Transcription
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Cassy Joy: Welcome back to another episode of the Fed and Fit podcast. My name is Cassy Joy Garcia, and I will be your host for today, like every day, here. {laughs} Today I’m really excited about this interview. It’s something I’ve personally been extremely curious about. Because I keep hearing about the wonders of CBD oil, and we are bringing on an expert to talk about it today.
We’re speaking with Dr. Jess Peatross.
Dr. Jess Peatross: Hi! Yeah, you got it.
Cassy Joy: {laughs} I even asked her before we started the show how to say it, and then I immediately forgot. I think I saw something shiny. Maybe the CBD oil could help me with that. {laughs}
Dr. Jess Peatross: {laughs} It will help you with that, actually.
Cassy Joy: I knew it! So, just I’ll tell you a little bit about her, and then I would love for Dr. Jess to share a little bit more about herself. So, she believes and I love this, that personalized, preventative and functional treatment plans are the next step to revolutionize health care. Disease is much easier to prevent than to cure. Dr. Jess would love to help you heal on every level through inspiration, knowledge, movement, nutrition, and a multi-disciplinary approach. Which means, you are a bird of this feather, Dr. Jess, because that is definitely what we talk about a lot on this show. And the community here can really wrap their heads around it. So welcome to the show!
Dr. Jess Peatross: Well thanks for having me. That’s a really warm welcome. And yeah, it sounds like we’re all on the same wavelength as far as healing, taking charge, and being proactive with our health. So that’s my audience, for sure. Thank you guys for having me.
Cassy Joy: Of course. Thank you for coming on, and taking the time. I love it. And I really am eager to dive into this. I would love if you could share a little bit about what you do; maybe expand on that a little bit. A little bit about your background, and then I have some questions for you.
Dr. Jess Peatross: Sure. So, I’m a conventional medical trained doctor. I’m board certified in internal medicine, until next year. I have to take my boards again, which is a looming cloud. But other than that, when I got out of residency, which was in Louisville, Kentucky, I really started to see, as a hospitalist, that patients really never healed. They were given a pill for every ill. And it was rare that someone really healed from the hospital stay. And we didn’t see them again.
So I started to question this system that raised me, actually. After about 6 years of doing that in the hospital, I admitted everything. The emergency room called me to admit anything from a blood sugar that was out of control to a heart attack.
So, I started to see that the system that I had trained in really was great for emergencies, but not so great for chronic medical conditions. So I decided to get trained elsewhere, because I felt like I was part of the problem in perpetuating that corrupt and broken system. So I got trained in Gerson therapy. I really got into cannabis, because I saw how much it started to help my patients. And then even functional medicine, ozone, all kinds of different modalities that really opened my eyes to what healing could be.
Cassy Joy: Oh my goodness. {laughs} I feel like Indiana Jones, and you have the other half of my amulet. {laughs}
Dr. Jess Peatross: {laughs} I’ve never heard anyone say anything like that to me. That’s great.
Cassy Joy: {laughs} I have the nutrition background. I actually went; this is a total sidebar. Everybody bear with me. But I went to school thinking I wanted to go on to medical school; took my MCATs. Everything was well and good and I decided to just tap the brakes a bit. Go and work for somebody doing what I thought I wanted to do. And I kind of arrived at a very similar conclusion; I said, I want to help to keep people from coming here. And I decided to take the path of nutrition. And it’s just so neat to hear your story.
Ok, that is so fascinating. Let’s get into it. I would love it if you could give us a rundown on CBD oil. And you’ve got to put on the kid gloves here, because I know next to nothing. What it is, what it is not, and then how to safely use it in daily life if you need it.
Dr. Jess Peatross: So CBD is pretty much a blanket term for cannabinoids. CBD specifically stands for cannabidiol, which is a non-psychoactive compound from the marijuana plant. And it comes with some of its other friends, which are super important for other purposes. They kind of act together as an entourage effect. Which means, the sum is greater than the parts.
So, CBD oil is just a broad term used to describe all those different cannabinoids that can be put into a non-psychoactive formula for people. Even safe enough for children. So what I look for in CBD oil is not just CBD. I look for it’s friend CBN, CBG, CBC. These are all also non-psychoactive. But all help. Some help sleep. Some help anxiety. Some help PTSD. So I love CBD oil. None of it is created equal. So you really have to be educated on how to use it, and what for. And know that it is non-psychoactive. It’s very safe. It has a huge therapeutic window, as well. And we can discuss more of that, too.
Cassy Joy: That’s very fascinating. I would love to talk more about it. What would you say are some of the most common myths you encounter around CBD oil, then?
Dr. Jess Peatross: For sure. Like I said, most people think this is marijuana; this is a drug, and I don’t want to get high. Which is a legitimate concern for people. You’ve heard horror stories of people getting paranoid. Obviously, this stuff can’t kill you. There’s never been one overdose. But people are fearful about what CBD oil could contain.
So, CBD oil is legal in all 50 states. It has 0.3% or less that is legal of THC. And THC is the psychoactive part of the marijuana plant. And some people will say; why even have that in there? And the reason is because THC is absolutely a necessary compound. It’s part of the whole plant; whenever I mention entourage effect. So just a smidge; just a sprinkle of it in there is enough to activate all the cannabinoids that are in there. CBD, CBN, CBG. And all these work together in our system. Because we have an endo-cannabinoid system from our brain to our bowels. So we need all these different parts of the plant to work in their own fashion. And they’re activated by THC.
So, one myth is that it gets you high. It doesn’t, guys. It doesn’t. And you would actually have to down a whole bottle of this stuff to not be able to pass a drug screen. That’s another myth; will I fail a drug test? So, like I said. Most of these are false positives when people come up with them with CBD oil; we usually have them take the test again. Occasionally, someone will harbor that small amount of THC in some of their adipose tissue, where it’s stored, and test positive. And that’s a very unusual. But for people who have to have drug tests, like cops, some people work for the government, I do suggest no THC added to their CBD oil, although it won’t work quite as well.
Cassy Joy: Got it. That makes so much sense. Wow, that’s fascinating. And where do you get it? Where does somebody grab CBD oil?
Dr. Jess Peatross: Great question. I definitely have my favorite brands, but you guys can get this online. If it’s equal or less than the legal limit of 0.3% THC, you can buy that legally and have it shipped all over the country to you. Even some health food stores in your local area. Especially if marijuana is passed medicinally, anyway, will start carrying CBD oil. I see this in a lot of health food stores now. Even Whole Foods, I think is starting to look into carrying it.
So, you guys can get it pretty much anywhere. But like I said, not all oil is created equal. You mind if I just go into what maybe people should look for?
Cassy Joy: Yes, I would love to.
Dr. Jess Peatross: So, first and foremost, you guys want to look for organic. You don’t want pesticides in your medicine. This is medicine. You also want to look for full spectrum. Now, this is a buzz word. Full spectrum is not an oil that has THC and CBD only. That’s not full spectrum. That’s 2 components of a very complex plant. So you need to ask for the certificate of analysis from any company that you want to purchase your oil from. They should have third party testing that shows it’s been tested for pesticides, it’s been tested for contaminants, and it should have a blueprint of each component of the plant. This much percentage is CBN, this much percentage is CBG, this much percentage is CBD.
If you get the COA, and it only has CBD, or it only has CBD and 0.3% of THC, that is an inferior product. It needs to be the whole plant.
Cassy Joy: Oh my goodness, this is fascinating. Would you mind mentioning maybe a couple of brand names that come to the top of your head?
Dr. Jess Peatross: Yeah. I don’t have any financial ties to these companies whatsoever. But I’m friends with and I love NuLeaf Naturals. NuLeafNaturals.com. The owner, one of the cofounders, is super ethical. They have one of the best certificates of analyses that I can find, with a wide range of cannabinoids in their products. They’re grown in the Colorado sunshine outside, and they are organic with rigorous testing. I really love their product.
Cassy Joy: Fabulous. Thank you, that’s very, very helpful.
Dr. Jess Peatross: And, for salves; anyone looking for topical pain and salves, I really love Veritas Farm. Also in Pueblo, Colorado. They actually do a really clean ethanol distillation and extraction that’s super different. And their balms are amazing. Talk about instant relief, rubbing topically on a sore muscle or something.
Cassy Joy: Oh, that’s fascinating. You know, my father has had some symptoms with a couple of his knuckles. And my sister brought him a salve. I’m not sure who makes it, but it made a huge impact for him.
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Cassy Joy: This just leads into my next question; what do you recommend using CBD oil or a salve for?
Dr. Jess Peatross: That’s a great question. CBD oil has kind of been ridiculed a little bit by some people who don’t understand it, because they say; everyone is advertising this as the catch all for everything. Well, there are over 500 compounds in marijuana, and over 100 different cannabinoids in the plant. So, it hasn’t really been fully studied. So yeah, so far, it looks really promising.
So, for CBD oil. If you went to a state where it was approved for medicinal use and you wanted a card. What would you be able to get a card for? What marijuana is approved for is things like HIV, no appetite, cachexia, wasting away. Glaucoma. PTSD and anxiety. Seizures; any sort of epilepsy. Cancer. And they’re wonderful for topical pain. Any sort of chronic pain or inflammation in the body.
Marijuana is one of the most anti-inflammatory plants on the planet. And so really any sort of inflammation, pain, chronic disease state. People can really come off a lot of their mainstream medicines. There’s a reason that pharmaceutical companies want in on the gold rush that is marijuana. And that’s because they see what’s coming. They see that so many of their drugs are going to become obsolete. If people know how to dose this properly with their own unique endocannabinoid system.
You can get off your benzodiazepines, like Ativan. You can get off your sleeping medication like Ambien. You can get off of some of your antidepressants. You can definitely get off your opioids. And I’ve seen it over and over and over in practice. So any of these conditions are approved. And CBD can make a big difference for you. So that’s definitely some of the best reasons to check it out.
Cassy Joy: Oh my goodness, I’m excited. So, let’s say someone is listening and they’re thinking; yes, I have some of these symptoms! I have trouble sleeping at night! Or yes, I’ve been using some of these medications, and I felt helpless. I felt like this was my only option. I can buy the oil. Now what? What’s the next step?
Dr. Jess Peatross: Don’t give up. Just because you try a certain oil; you’ve done your research, you get an oil you think is really full spectrum and organic and you try it and you don’t feel too much; it should feel like you got a massage or something. If you feel nothing; don’t give up. Sometimes your endocannabinoid system needs a jolt. Maybe use it for another week or so. And sometimes it may not be your recipe, guys.
Think about how different our neurotransmitters are in our brain. Your endocannabinoid system is just as unique. And we actually think some people who have fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome may have deficiencies in their endocannabinoid system. That means your system is totally different from the person next to you.
So you may do better with a little more THC. You may not need THC at all; some people don’t. You may need a different formulated oil. So it’s kind of like; just because one antidepressant doesn’t work for someone, doesn’t mean another one won’t. So don’t give up. Become tenacious in what you’re looking for. And really get educated on it. You want really high, rigorous standards for testing your product.
The other thing is dosing. I want people to know, with CBD oil that has 0.3% THC or less, this is so safe. A 90-pound child can handle 500 mg; the entire bottle, in 24 hours according to a study by GW Pharmaceuticals. So wow; that’s a lot. And so, usually people will say if you get a bottle, start out with 15-20 mg twice a day for anxiety or pain. And you can titrate up as needed less or more.
For example, I have a patient who has melanoma. She doesn’t like to take 10 to 15 mg every day. She does a couple of drops every hour or so. So you can dose this accordingly and feel safe because it’s not something that’s going to cause horrendous side effects or maim you in the future with sequalae that you couldn’t see coming. It doesn’t have side effects like that. So people really feel comfortable dosing it for what works for you.
Cassy Joy: How fascinating. And again, kid gloves. Forgive me. I know nothing. When you take it, is it a dropper it comes with and you just drop it in like you would medicine?
Dr. Jess Peatross: Oh yeah, I should have said that. Some things I just don’t even; I glaze over and I don’t even think that’s important. But yeah, that’s really important. It comes with a dropper. It comes with usual 15 mL, 30 mL. It depends on what company you go with. And usually they’ll say, for example, NuLeaf Naturals, they’re about 2.4 mg of CBD per drop. So you’d want to do 17 or 20 drops or so would be a healthy dose to start out with. So you really want to look for that. And you just hold it in the dropper, hold it under your tongue sublingually for about 15-20 seconds and then swallow. Super easy.
Cassy Joy: Got it. Like, dissolving a B12.
Dr. Jess Peatross: Exactly.
Cassy Joy: Got it. Very interesting. Well, this is so neat. Any other things you think someone should know about CBD oil before using it?
Dr. Jess Peatross: I think pesticides are such a big concern. Most of us are getting CBD oil now from hemp. Hemp has a much less CBD per pound, so they have to harvest a lot more of it to get the adequate amounts of CBD that they would from a regular marijuana plant. The problem with hemp is it absorbs a lot more chemicals from the ground water. So like I said, I can’t stress that enough. Just be really careful where you guys are getting your hemp or CBD. You really want to know the farm, and really ask a lot of questions about their processing and extraction. Are they using isolate, are they using full spectrum? These are questions that people need to know.
I just want people to know that marijuana has been criminalized, and we’ve really been put through the wringer of the say no to drugs program and been brainwashed about what this plant does. And so I would really like people to be open minded, and look at little Charlotte, out in Denver, who had 80 seizures a week. They created Charlotte’s Web, which is the CBD oil we’re talking about. And this kid hardly has seizures anymore. So, some of the stories would make you cry, guys. Just have an open mind. That’s all I ask.
Cassy Joy: Ah, that gives me chills. Thank you so much for sharing that. That really means a lot. Tell us how we can connect with you? Are you currently accepting clients? I’m assuming there are some people sitting here listening thinking; gosh, I hope I live near her. {laughs}
Dr. Jess Peatross: {laughs} That’s sweet. Right now, I’m in San Diego, and I’m really enjoying it here. I work at Nourish Medical Center, currently. Which is one of the number one naturopathic centers in San Diego. And we do a lot there; vitamin IVs. I see patients in consultation. We have a lot of homeopathic and herbal formulations, as well.
Speaking of that, I have my own herbal blends and products under Dr. Jess. So you can find me on DrJess.com if you want to look; I have different products. Anything from Microbiome Master, which treats gut issues and parasites, to Sleep Master, to Immunity Master, to Mind Master, which is a nootropic. So, if anyone is interested in my products, you can catch me out there.
I also have a big following on social media. On Instagram, Dr._Jess_MD. And I teach a lot, a lot, a lot. So if you guys like to learn, a little about science and a lot about health, then my jam is giving free information.
Cassy Joy: I love it! I hear it constantly; the listeners here, they love the geeky breakdowns. So I know they’re just going to gobble that up. And I’m sure they really enjoyed this episode. Dr. Jess, thank you so much for coming on today.
Dr. Jess Peatross: thank you for having me. It was a pleasure, absolutely.
Cassy Joy: Oh my goodness, the pleasure is mine! I feel so educated and empowered, and I’m going to look up those brands that you like and I’m going to learn all about it. I really appreciate it. Anything else you want to leave us with before we go?
Dr. Jess Peatross: Oh, no. Just stay healthy, guys. You all can learn to heal yourself and be your own best doctor, I promise. Thanks for having me Cassy.
Cassy Joy: Oh I love that! Thank you so much, Dr. Jess. Everybody; thank you so much for dialing in today. As always, you can find a full transcript over at www.FedandFit.com. And we’ll be back again next week.
Fascinating episode! Do you have any resources or info on CBD oil use for a breastfeeding mother? Interested for myself, but always cautious while breastfeeding. Thanks!!