Dr. Jim Collins is a Gerontologist and nationally-recognized expert in wellness and health care for seniors and older Americans. Based in Ohio, his 30 year career has spanned everything from Geropsychiatry to home health regimens for active seniors. Dr. Collins has a strong focus on education – a prolific author of published articles, he has served as a college instructor and is the founder of Collins Learning, a highly regarded education service that provides training to tens of thousands of senior care health professionals around the country.
Can you please tell me the genesis of Living Longer and Stronger with CBD?
I have presented professionally to thousands of healthcare professionals for 30 years. I stumbled upon the area of medical cannabis for a number of illnesses and became impressed with the research. From there, I moved onto CBD, which has no THC, and read over 500 medical and academic articles about its usefulness for physical, mental, emotional, and neurodegenerative disorders. Assuming not many people would read 500 articles, I summarize the research and make it digestible for everyone to read.
How does the book dovetail to your background and why was it important to you to write this book at this time?
I’ve been a gerontologist for 30 years and have always focused on the health and wellness of older adults and seniors. Being a natural element, CBD was a no-brainer for me.
Can you please tell us some things that stand out from your research – that were used in the book – that surprised you?
While I knew that CBD can be helpful for a number of health conditions, I was shocked to find out how effective it could be. For instance, CBD has anti-anxiety benefits that can be more effective than prescription medications. The same is true for depression and other mood disorders. Being an antioxidant, neuroprotectant and anti-inflammatory agent, CBD was also found to be effective in reducing certain symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS and multiple sclerosis.
Is there a specific demographic you are aiming for with the book and why?
While the book is meant for everyone who is interested in the health benefits of CBD, I hope to reach healthcare professionals, older adults and seniors who could really benefit from using CBD for their conditions or for prevention.
How do you expect the book to be used –
for informational purposes, as a companion guide, or for another purpose? This book is all about information and letting people know that there are natural solutions that could help them with their health and well-being.
How long did the book take you to put together.
It took me the best part of two years to continually research new studies and obtain the latest results.
How did you do your research for the book?
I performed a fairly large literature review.
What do you want the main takeaway from the book to be and why?
CBD can be a natural, organically grown, THC-free option for improving health and wellness.
There are a lot of “doubting Thomases” out there when it comes to CBD. Can you please address why you believe this is the case and how CBD is actually different than they believe?
Here is some pretty sound evidence that CBD can be effective. We posses an endocannabinoid system and it wasn’t discovered until the mid-1990s. This system acts like a regulator of the body and brain and may be behind many health problems. The endocannabinoid system needs to be fed cannabinoids like hemp in order to keep it healthy and properly functioning. The U.S. government banned hemp in the 1930s, so we no longer had it as a food source for humans as well as animals. There is a condition called the “endocannabinoid deficiency syndrome”, which means that we are sicker today due to a lack of natural cannabinoids in our daily diet.
Where do you see the best use cases for CBD and why?
Note: this is not medical information, and we know that. From what I know through the research, CBD can be best used for the following conditions: arthritis and other conditions that cause inflammation and pain, gastrointestinal disorders, seizures and epilepsy, skin conditions, headaches, sleeping difficulties, anxiety and depression, addiction, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). I believe it can be beneficial for end-of-life care as well.
CBD is a controversial subject. Why write about it now?
That is when it should be written about! Controversial to who?? I want to get the word out to millions of people who may improve their quality of life, reduce pain, and lead better, healthier lives.
What do you want people to gain from your book that they might not already know or understand?
Rest assured that what I report in this book is science-based evidence. Researchers and experts from all over the world have performed studies demonstrating the effectiveness of CBD and readers will have years of research at their fingertips.
How do you see your book evolving – meaning, into a series, a one issue book, or something else and why?
This is my second book. My first is “The Person-Centered Way: Revolutionizing Quality of Life in Long-Term Care”. It was the first book on person-centered care in senior care in the U.S. published in 2010. I will probably continue to research and write about health and wellness for older adults and seniors. I may want to interview people using CBD for specific conditions and get their perspectives on how it helps. I think that would be interesting and hopefully encouraging for others to try it for themselves.
What other businesses are you involved in and how are you involved?
I own and operate Collins Learning which is an online learning management system for senior care companies, CEU Academy, which provides online continuing education to licensed healthcare professionals (administrators, nurses, social workers, case managers, etc.) and Sapphire Essentials, which is an online CBD store offering high quality, organically grown, natural, THC-free CBD products.
What is the main thing you would like for us to get out in our story about Living Longer and Stronger and why?
Try CBD for better health and wellness. Maximize your quality of life. Don’t be afraid of it. It’s natural and can be a great supplement to take for all sorts of physical, emotional or neurological conditions.
Social Media Links:
https://www.facebook.com/sapphireessentialscbd/,
https://www.instagram.com/sapphire.essentials/,
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0iJDBHiBc4mkpjc9U5cmlA, www.drjimcollins.com