CBD for Health: An Interview with Dr. Jim Collins, Ph.D.
Ever since writing the article on How Hemp Products Can Improve Your Life, I’ve been having a lot more conversations with doctors and interested individuals about CBD. One of those doctors is Dr. Jim Collins, Ph.D. If that name sounds familiar, you probably heard of his company Collins Learning.
Dr. Jim Collins is a Gerontologist and nationally recognized expert in wellness and health care for seniors and older Americans. Over his 30-year career, Dr. Collins has always had a strong focus on education.
Both as a prolific author of published articles and as the founder of Collins Learning, a highly regarded education service providing training to senior care health professionals around the country.
Dr. Collin’s passion for healthy aging began in high school during frequent visits with residents and staff at the Assumption Nursing Home. This is where his Mom worked.
He went on to graduate college with the first-ever degree in Applied Gerontological Studies, a major that he created, and also holds a master’s degree in Sociology and Psychology of Aging and a doctoral degree in Health Administration.
Following his doctorate, he established a gerontology practice and began education consulting to what would become hundreds of senior living communities.
Dr. Collins has written countless articles, newsletters, and the first book about person-centered care for seniors entitled “The Person-Centered Way: Revolutionizing Quality of Life in Long Term Care”.
Now Dr. Collins has added a new journey to his path and he is here to tell us a little about it in this interview.
Table of Contents
Welcome Dr. Jim Collins, first off can you tell us a little about yourself?
I live in Ohio with my family. I am a Gerontologist with over 30 years of experience. More importantly, though, I consider myself a healthy aging educator. I love writing, research, and speaking at health professional training and events.
My passion is helping people of all ages to live and experience the aging process in the most healthy and emotionally fulfilling ways possible. I believe education is key.
It’s probably a bit unusual that I …
- Realized this was my passion in high school
- Was able to create my own college major
- Received the first-ever degree in Applied Gerontological Studies, before earning my master’s and Ph.D.
Stacey: But a little impressive if I may say so myself!
How do you spend most of your time?
I love researching and writing articles related to the aging process, as well as traveling around the country to speak at training and conferences, typically for health professionals that work with active seniors and older Americans.
In addition, I’m quite busy running Sapphire Essentials. In my free time, I love hanging out with my family, my wife Anabel, daughter Karina and our dog Buddy.
I also love playing electric guitar (I’m into vintage guitars and could probably talk your ear off about my guitar collection) and have enjoyed learning about wines. Two years ago I became a Court of Masters Sommelier and continue to study and enjoy wines from all over the world.
What inspired you to create Sapphire Essentials?
Some years ago I started researching published studies related to the many health benefits of CBD and its critical relationship to our endocannabinoid system. After researching over 600 peer-reviewed articles and studies, I became convinced of the power of CBD to provide significant benefits not only for general healthy aging but to help relieve a wide range of physical and emotional conditions.
There were already CBD brands on the market, though what I saw were a lot of marketing companies selling products without a focus on credible science. I created Sapphire Essentials because I wanted to provide consumers the highest quality and affordably priced CBD ingredients and formulas, 100% THC-free and backed by 3rd party testing. I also felt that providing CBD formulas created by a health professional and recommended by other health practitioners would make a difference in earning consumers’ trust.
What to you is high-quality CBD? Is it based on how pure it is? What are your thoughts on this?
It starts with the hemp plant, the source of the CBD active ingredient. Both source and cultivation are really important. Our starting hemp is 100% organically grown only on a Colorado USA farm.
It is a proprietary strain of hemp that is particularly rich in a wide range of beneficial Phyto-cannabinoids, including CBD. Then it’s critical to formulate with the appropriate type of CBD that is of sufficient purity.
All Sapphire Essentials formulas feature broad-spectrum CBD that is 100% THC-free (the compound in hemp responsible for the high feeling). Finally, the formulations and THC-free claims should be verified with 3rd party analytical results.
We share the 3rd party test results for every formula right on our website and think it’s important in earning our customers’ trust.
How did Sapphire Essentials start? What triggered the development of your first product?
As mentioned, it really started after spending several years researching the benefits of CBD related to the aging process. I became passionate about the ingredient and its incredible story in human history (for example, hemp was a popular crop for nutrition & other uses during American colonial times and many of our founding fathers grew it on their farms!).
I started to look into CBD ingredient sources and products on the market and came to believe I could create superior and unique formulations, in a brand focused on education. We started with CBD Oil, and based on our proprietary hemp strain and formulation technology, realized that we could offer consumers a more bioavailable edible oil that was particularly rich in a range of phytocannabinoids, not just CBD.
What makes Sapphire Essentials unique from other CBD companies on the market?
We like to highlight a number of key points that make us unique, which I’ve listed here:
- All Sapphire Essentials are made using a proprietary & organically-grown Hemp plant.
- We use broad-spectrum CBD only.
- Our formulas are 100% THC-free
- We have a supplement micro-emulsion process that enhances bioavailability 3-5X depending on the formula
- 100% USA grown, formulated, and manufactured
- We will never test our ingredients or formulas on animals
- We are recommended by many healthcare professionals
Sapphire Essentials are very popular on the market. Can you tell us why there so popular and why so many people buy them?
We believe that people really respond to our formulas and brand because of the quality, results they experience, and our focus on education and trust. When you start with the best quality ingredients and formulate with integrity, I believe folks will experience tremendous benefits and come back to you.
I’m an educator and teaching consumers about the power of CBD will always be a big part of Sapphire Essentials’ mission. And we’re proud that many health practitioners have experienced results themselves and endorse us.
I believe that our transparency and letting customers know exactly what they’re getting in our formulas through sharing the 3rd party test results really matter in establishing trust.
How can CBD products for pets, improve the quality of their lives?
There’s been a lot of recent and emerging published research about the benefits of CBD for pets. Some of the research has focused on the emotional benefits, particularly demonstrating that CBD can help pets that are struggling with stress, anxiety, and in some cases with pet PTSD related to previous experience with abusive or neglectful owners.
Other research has focused on benefits for physical and aging conditions, including help with relieving joint and muscle pain. So a lot of the same issues that we deal with as humans!
Is there a particular reason for CBD to be included in cooling gel products? Can it help reduce or eliminate pain?
Yes, absolutely! CBD when applied topically can really help in relieving muscle and joint aches and pains.
Is there anything Sapphire Essentials has done well that no other company has done?
I think where we really stand out from all other CBD brands on the market is our focus on science-first ingredient sourcing and formulations and our strong focus on education.
Even if a consumer doesn’t choose Sapphire Essentials, I always encourage them to look carefully at who is behind a brand and in charge of formulating their products. Do they have the credentials and are they appropriately trained are important questions!
I also think our engagement with a wide range of health professionals really distinguishes us. I work really closely with Len Wisneski MD, who is Sapphire Essentials Medical and Scientific Advisor. Dr. Wisneski is a nationally recognized expert in the benefits of CBD and is an important voice in what we do.
Are you planning on or currently working on expanding your product line in 2021? What can we expect in the future?
We’re always looking at new formulation technologies, and in general, I only want to create products that will really be unique and highly beneficial. I see a lot of brands like to follow others and jump on the latest product trend, and I don’t want to do that.
For later 2021 we’re considering expanding our topicals line into areas where CBD in combination with other actives can provide some unique and synergistic youthful skin-restoring benefits. Stay tuned!
In mid-April 2021 your new book Living Longer and Stronger with CBD is being released! Tell us about that?
Writing this book has been incredibly important to me and I’m excited to share it! I wrote the book after researching over 600 published articles and studies which collectively demonstrated the broad physical, emotional and neurological benefits that CBD provides.
I’ve tried to distill down all that research into a definitive guide for consumers. I’ve also included summaries of the history of hemp and CBD use, which I find fascinating. The book is really meant to be a go-to guide for anyone that wants to learn about CBD and its potential to heal the body and mind.
Do you have a website people can visit?
Yes, for our brand it’s www.sapphire-essentials.com. For anyone interested in learning more about my book the website is https://www.livinglongerandstrongerwithcbd.com. Please come check us out!
