Have you stumbled across this article while browsing the web for a research paper or as an ultimate resort looking for answers since someone you know is suffering from cancer? So, can hemp cure cancer? We’ll find out in this article.
Whatever it may be, let us tell you something right off the bat that hemp cannot cure cancer completely. Maybe this was not the answer you were looking for, and that’s why we are here to help get rid of those misguided delusions with this article.
Did you know a recent WHO study in 2018 stated that the second leading cause of death worldwide was cancer? To put it plainly, you cannot simply rely on natural and home remedies to cure a cancer patient. Surely these old school remedies might act as a supportive treatment along with the actual treatment that the patient is required to take by specialists.
And hemp is not the miracle drug that you are looking for. For decades now, there have been researches that have disproved the theory of hemp or marijuana being able to cure cancer. It is nothing more than theory! But keeping those in mind, it can be said that hemp seed oil does have some useful effects during cancer therapy and preventing cancer.
Can hemp cure cancer? An introduction
Different from cannabidiol or CBD oil, hemp oil is extracted from the hemp seeds of the Cannabis Sativa plant. Rich in antioxidants and highly nutritious, the hemp seed oil can be used as a supportive treatment for cancer.
A person suffering from cancer has to go through some emotionally and physically exhausting treatments like radiation and chemotherapy. These often lead to various side effects like loss of appetite, nausea and eventually weight loss.
Now, we are not telling you that hemp seed oil is a substitute for chemo or radiation. It is surely not the miracle drug for your maladies. But when used as a complementary form of therapy, hemp does show some remarkable qualities that curtail the growth of cancer. Interestingly enough, hemp seed oil can also be used to treat epilepsy and ADHD.
Reading the effectiveness of hemp oil, maybe it sounds promising that sure why not? Let’s rely on natural remedies for diseases as grave as these. Doing that is strongly not recommended as there are not enough studies out there that have crowned hemp as the cure for cancer.
Using hemp as a form of direct treatment would not bode well for the patient. But you can use it as a complementary treatment to alleviate the symptoms.
Science and Hemp
A quick Google search will show you that cancer is an umbrella term for over 100 diseases. These are caused due to abnormal cell division and its rapid progression to other organs and tissues. Scientists and researchers have banded together to find a cure for the disease. Plenty of studies and researches have been conducted but to no avail.
The problem with these research studies is that the number of participants is inadequate or the experiment is being conducted in a petri dish. Evidence collected in a laboratory is sometimes inconclusive.
These experiments are conducted mainly to determine the chemical processes that make hemp effective. But the thing is implementing the same process in a human body will be difficult. This is because there are too many complicated metabolic processes in play that render hemp ineffective as a solo solution.
In conclusion, currently, there are no proper extended clinical trials that can vouch for the use of hemp as a treatment for cancer. And the ones that are occurring are small on a lower level, where the research is still at its nascent stage.
A 2016study was successful in showing that hemp can and indeed be used against cancer. But there was a downside; the researchers discovered that hemp tends to inhibit the growth of other varieties of tumor cells in both animal models and test tubes.
Can hemp cure cancer? The Effects of Using Hemp for Cancer
To clear something out, by-products derived from hemp seed oil are yet to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) to treat cancer, its symptoms and the side effects that are a result of the treatment. One of the major concerns of hemp seed oil is its way of extraction, which leaves traces of THC. This could wind up in the oil and if present in high concentration, it might produce the psychoactive effect for which THC is popularly common.
Other than the ill-effects, there are also some positives that hemp brings on the table when it comes to cancer. Listed below are some of the effects that hemp has for combating the side effects of cancer:
Nausea
A person going through chemotherapy and consuming strong medications for cancer is prone to nausea and even vomiting. Researchers have proven that using hemp seed oil tends to be a bit of a relief. This is because the hemp seed oil regulates serotonin, which further interferes with the mechanisms in the brain by reducing the stimulus to its vomiting center. Using hemp will reduce nausea.
Insomnia
Cancer treatment is a long and arduous process, which leaves the patient extremely fatigued with a lack of energy. Using hemp can curb these feelings of discomfort and uneasiness.
Hemp is often considered to be an adaptogen, which means that it promotes homeostasis in the body. Thus in cases like these, when there are chronic fatigue and insomnia, hemp can be of some use.
Pain
Cancer and the treatments associated with the disease causes pain. This pain is a result of inflammation, nerve injury or pressure on internal organs.
Sometimes when the pain is so severe that even opioids stop working on it and it is during these times that one can also use hemp as a mode of therapy. It is said that hemp tends to act on the CB2 receptors, which helps in relieving the pain by reducing inflammation.
Conclusion
So, you understand that “can hemp cure cancer” isn’t exactly a question anybody can offer a straightforward answer for. It is pertinent for cancer patients to understand that natural remedies for diseases like this should be treated with skepticism. It is advisable to stick to the scientific mode of treatment instead of opting for something natural. To summarise, hemp is not the ultimate cure for cancer.