The Newly Discovered Endocannabinoid System, ECS and CBD
Have you heard the buzz about CBD healing pain, inflammation and indigestion?
Are you fascinated with Cannabis and its healing properties?
The recent and exploding fascination with the Cannabis plant is incredible! There are over 24,000 research papers written in less than 20 years!
Cannabis, also known as CBD has taken the medical and scientific world by storm!
Did you know that the Endocannabinoid System in our body was only discovered – accidentally – in the 1990’s! Scientists are discovering the pieces to the puzzle of how our brain neurotransmitters work!
So how does the Endocannabinoid System work and why is Cannabis the miracle drug on the market today?
How does CBD differ from marijuana?
Why is everyone in chronic pain, indigestion and inflammation running after CBD?
Read on for astonishing answers!
The Newly Discovered Endocannabinoid System, ECS and CBD
Interest in Cannabis and its derivatives the cannabinoids like Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is at an all-time high.
It is extraordinary that there are over 24,000 research articles on this topic!
Consider the fact that the scientists only recently start to look into the medicinal properties of CBD. Previously the scientific community was focused on the ‘psychoactive harmful drug’ reputation of Cannabis.
Why Increasing Interest?
Why so much interest and so many research papers on the effects of this one plant which is still shunned by a large portion of the population even today?
Research over the past decade has shown that Cannabis and Cannabinoids have remarkable medicinal properties! Studies have shown that Cannabis is a potential therapeutic agent in a vast number of diseases and medical conditions!
Conditions Cannabis Impacts
- Cancer
- Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Crohn’s, Indigestion
- Chronic Pain
- Anxiety and Depression
- Opioid Addiction
- Epilepsy and Seizures
- Inflammation and Joint Pain
- Autoimmune Diseases
- Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
- Many more!
Too Good To Be True!
But how is this possible?
How can this one herb and this one class of biochemical compounds have such a profound effect on our entire body?
Have we not all heard the adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true!”? Cannabis really sounds too good to be true…..but it is!
Network of Receptors Discovered in the ‘90s
The answer why CBD impacts so many conditions lies in a particular kind of endocrine system present within the body. This system is called the endogenous cannabinoid system, or more commonly, the endocannabinoid system.
While this is one of the most avidly studied topics in the biomedical community, it is still largely unknown among the common public.
This particular system was only discovered in the 1990’s! Researchers were trying to understand the mechanism of the action of the Cannabis plant on the human brain.
While scientists were studying CBD and the brain, they accidentally identified a highly complex network of biochemical receptors. These receptors are spread throughout the human brain. Our brain is the perfect place for the cannabinoid molecules to impact.
Immune Molecules Identified
Shortly after the initial accidental discovery another group of molecules were identified! These molecules were spread throughout the body, from the immune system to the gut and beyond.
These two molecules were named CB1 and CB2 respectively. This triggered the hunt to discover their purpose in our human bodies!
Researchers discovered Anandamide, a cannabinoid-like molecule that the human body produces by itself. Anandamide has extremely important effects from embryological development to pain modulation. Research on this topic started gaining more and more momentum with each passing day.
As we stand now, there is no dearth of scientific articles and research papers! Studies document the multifarious effects of these molecules on the human body.
The scientific and medical community has a fairly good idea what the endocannabinoid system (ECS) does in the human body.
Endocrine Receptor System in Animals
We as human beings are not the only species that possess the ECS, endocannabinoid system. This endocrine system is present in a host of other animals, from invertebrate nematodes like sea squirts to all species of vertebrates.
By means of comparison with the endocannabinoid receptors from other species of animals, scientists have determined that the ECS first developed in primitive animals and gradually developed into one of the most important endocrine receptor system that we humans possess now.
Two Receptors Change Everything!
The entirety of the ECS works through two types of receptors, the CB1 and the CB2 receptors. These receptors are present in the membranes of the cells. They are present in almost every single type of tissue in the body!
Research also suggests that these two receptors are the most numerous cellular receptors in the human body! This is especially true in the brain. In the brain these two receptors are indispensable in the normal and proper functioning of the human body.
When these receptors of the ECS get activated, they produce what is known as the ‘retrograde signaling’. What this means is that if the CB1 and CB2 receptors get over or under stimulated, they produce signals to the nervous system. This modifies their firing rate and behavior.
Thus, the ECS is a type of feedback loop! The ECS is constantly working to keep our body working at its optimum condition, without lack and without excess!
Homeostasis and Cancer
This process of balance is known as homeostasis. One prime example is, when old and dysfunctional cells digest themselves and are recycled in the body. This process is called autophagy mediated apoptosis.
This is one of the prime methods of cellular death in the body. Normally this process removes non-functional cells from the system to make way for new cells.
However, with cancer, several steps are triggered!
- Dysfunctional cells start dividing rapidly.
- The ECS receptors in cell membranes get activated.
- These receptors produce signals to the immune system of the body regarding this malfunction.
- This promptly produces biochemical machinery needed to kick-start the apoptotic process in the potentially cancerous cells.
- Thus, homeostasis of the body is maintained.
Neurotransmitters
The molecules that act on the ECS are the endocannabinoids. Endocannabinoids are a type of biochemical neurotransmitters.
These neurotransmitters are structurally similar to the derivatives of the Cannabis, the cannabinoids. However, these derivatives are produced by the body itself!
The two most well-known among the neurotransmitters are the aforementioned Anandamide and the 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG).
These neurotransmitters are synthesized from arachidonic acid and act on the ECS receptors before being biochemically broken down. They are broken down by the fatty acid enzymes, amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL).
Triggered Neurotransmitters with Inflammation
When our body fails to operate at its optimum potential, the secretion of these endocannabinoid molecules increases.
In a diseased condition the ECS is activated. The ECS then acts to get the body back on track.
For example, at the site of inflammation, several things are triggered.
- These endocannabinoid molecules can be found acting on the receptors of the surrounding tissue.
- The endocannabinoid molecules decrease the release of inflammatory activators from the injured tissue.
- This prevents the pain-carrying nerves to fire excessively.
- This in turn minimizes the pain and the inflammation at the site of injury.
- The body then mount its own response to heal the injury.
Try water-based CBD for six to ten times the absorption rate of oil-based CBD. Watch as your body, especially your ECS system, thanks you for great neurotransmitters, hormone balance and immunity protection!
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2241751/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1574255/’
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6271436/