MINNEAPOLIS – Rae, the socially-conscious, women-led wellness brand dedicated to holistically nourishing the body and mind, today released the results of a groundbreaking new study with the potential to inform future research and industry standards for CBD products. The study on CBD and Women’s Health represents one of the first and largest longitudinal controlled studies specific to the effects of commercially available CBD products and also represents the first-ever study focused exclusively on cannabidiol’s potential to support the wellness of women, an often-underrepresented population in scientific research. The release of the first phase of analysis from Radicle Science, a transformative healthtech B-corp, comes alongside Rae’s launch of hemp-derived supplements in support of holistic wellbeing. The final phase of analysis will be released in the fall of 2021 in a comprehensive whitepaper.
“At Rae, we’re fundamentally dedicated to supporting all consumers – especially underrepresented individuals – to feel their best from the inside out through a holistic universe of supplements that are effective, evidence-based, and attainably-priced, and the philosophy behind the launch of our hemp-derived supplements is no different,” said Angie Tebbe, Rae’s co-founder and CEO. “Our entire universe supports the body and mind through well-researched nutrients and herbs used for centuries, and while existing studies suggest that cannabidiol has considerable potential to support wellness, there was a glaring gap in research dedicated to guiding effective product development. That’s why we collaborated with the renowned medical experts and data scientists at Radicle Science to better understand CBD’s potential as an ingredient and, in particular, its effect on women, an often-underrepresented population in health research studies.”
The results have the potential to inform future medical research and industry standards for the use of CBD. Animal studies have shown CBD’s considerable potential to support wellness as the compound possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and immunomodulatory properties, among others, and thus could be an effective treatment for a variety of wellness concerns. However, human studies have been lacking, especially on commercially available non-prescription CBD products. The Phase I results underscore the anti-anxiety potential of CBD, finding that the consumption of at least 15 mg/day of CBD product led to significant reductions in anxiety within 30 days of initiating daily use and that these reductions were sustained for at least 60 days after initiating and continuing daily use. This data is significant as many new CBD users are women seeking relief for anxiety and the prevalence of anxiety disorders among women is nearly twice the rate of men in the US. While there are widespread anecdotal reports that certain over-the-counter CBD products can ease anxiety symptoms, no controlled human studies have evaluated such effects of these products until now.
“Most research on the neurological effects of CBD has been conducted among men. Indeed, women have historically been—and continue to be—underrepresented as subjects in medical research. Thus, it is unclear how various supplements, including CBD, may impact women’s health and if gender-related factors may influence their effects,” said Pelin Thorogood, Wholistic Research & Education Foundation Co-founder/President and Radicle Science Co-founder/Executive Chair. “This large-scale, groundbreaking study on CBD & Women’s Health conducted in collaboration with Rae Wellness is a major step in filling this evidence gap. We are deeply grateful for Rae’s support of research, especially with respect to addressing diversity and inclusion issues in health outcome data.”
The white paper also provides some of the first-ever findings specific to the effects of different CBD product attributes – dosage, delivery method and THC concentration. Similar reductions in anxiety were observed for all product groups regardless of dosage (15-30 mg daily), THC concentration (0% or up to 0.3%), and delivery method (oil or capsule).
“While there are thousands of CBD brands being used by tens of millions of Americans, there is virtually no data on which formulations, used in what manner, for which types of individuals, may offer the most benefit,” said Dr. Jeff Chen MD/MBA, founder/former Director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative and Radicle Science Co-founder/CEO. “We are grateful to Rae Wellness for allowing us to analyze their data and publish insights, which to our knowledge represents the largest controlled study of non-prescription CBD formulations to date. We’re hopeful these findings can help consumers better understand which products and usage patterns might work best for their individual needs. And we see this study serving as a promising starting point for the entire industry to begin generating robust scientific data on over-the-counter CBD products.”
“When developing all of our supplements, our goal is simple: create effective, consistent, and high-quality yet affordable formulations that benefit consumers and shine in a category full of over-priced alternatives,” said Tebbe. “As we expanded our pure and powerful universe to include hemp-derived supplements, we leveraged our research to develop single-strain formulas that include certified-organic ingredients and are surrounded with robust testing. We aim to set the industry standard for CBD products by bringing high-quality, evidence-based formulations alongside attainable prices to market.”
The final phase of analysis, to be released in fall 2021 in the extended whitepaper, will evaluate the effects of CBD products on women’s physical health, digestive health, sleep, and sexual satisfaction. It will also assess specific factors that may impact or be predictive of these effects, including any demographic variations such as ethnicity as well as behavioral variations such as time of day the products were consumed. For more information, visit: https://radiclescience.com/resources/cbd-and-womens-health
Rae’s increased commitment to nourishing the body and mind
Today, the brand has also launched new and reformulated liquid dietary supplements to further nourish the body and mind. The liquid dietary supplements, which include five benefit-led blends (Focus, Energy, Immunity, Skin Renew and Skin Hydration), were developed based on insights from customer feedback and thousands of customer reviews. Alongside the supplements, the brand has launched a new DTC experience inclusive of guided search that helps customers discover supplements that can uniquely help them to feel their best. Rae has also expanded access to its dietary supplements with new retail partners including Amazon, Thrive Market and Standard Dose.
“We constantly leverage both customer feedback and the latest consumer insights to inform and expand our holistic universe, meet consumers uniquely where they are and further support them to feel their best from within,” said Tebbe. “We are here to help all consumers to shine from inside, and we’re just getting started.”
About Radicle Science
Radicle Science is a transformative healthtech B-corp offering the first ever path to natural product validation at scale. Operating at the intersection of big data, digital health and natural products, Radicle Science leverages a proprietary data analytics platform and a virtual, direct-to-consumer (D2C) model to deliver objective health outcome data across diverse populations and conditions. Our Radicle Vision is a future where affordable, accessible, natural health products are trusted by patients, recommended by physicians, reimbursed by insurance, and used as widely as pharmaceutical drugs. Our founding community partners include Wholistic Research and Education Foundation, Clean Label Project, Opennest Labs and Trailblazers, and our studies are designed in collaboration with faculty from UCLA, UC Irvine, Scripps Research, Scripps Health, University of Washington and Johns Hopkins University. To learn more about Radicle Science, visit https://radiclescience.com and follow our LinkedIn page.
About Wholistic Research and Education Foundation
Wholistic Research and Education Foundation, is a public non-profit (501c3) dedicated to cannabis & CBD research, education and advocacy. Promoting a multi-disciplinary approach, Wholistic research initiatives explore underlying mechanisms of action that may explain how various cannabinoids deliver their diverse health benefits and their personalized effects. We are involved in numerous groundbreaking cannabinoid human clinical trials, real-world evidence (RWE) studies and educational programs in partnership with several notable institutions, including UC San Diego, University of Utah, UC Irvine, and the Autism Society of America. Our collective endeavors are intended not only fill in the gaps in current research but also to help educate health care professionals and the general public with relevant scientific findings on cannabis safety and efficacy. To learn more, visit https://wholistic.org/
About Rae Wellness
Founded in 2019, Rae Wellness quickly became known as an industry disrupter and a cult-favorite among consumers for its commitment to supporting the well-being of all and to nourishing the body and mind from the inside out. Rae’s holistic universe champions innovation in wellness alongside emerging wellness categories such as sexual, hormonal and mental health. Rae’s pure and powerful supplements lead with affordable pricing and evidence-based formulas that are always vegan, non-GMO, and free from gluten, artificial preservatives, harmful fillers and colorants. The women-led company recently closed its Series A, raising $9.5M led by Powerplant Partners with participation from existing investors M13 and Able Partners. To nourish the next generation, the socially-conscious brand provides 5% of all revenue to Girls Inc., the nonprofit organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart and bold through direct service and advocacy. In addition to its rapidly-growing DTC experience Rae can be found at Target, Amazon, Thrive Market, Anthropologie, Standard Dose and other fine retailers. To learn more about Rae, visit raewellness.co