What is the Endocannabinoid System?
Cannabis has been used for thousands of years, in fact people have been using cannabis since year ad. In the 1980's researchers began investigating the benefits of cannabis, this led to the discovery of a previously unknown system of receptors in the body, the endocannabinoid system.
These receptors, CB1 and CB2, are found in the brain and nearly every major organ. Further research would establish that these CB- receptors, when activated, moderate pain, analgesia, inflammation, appetite, gastro-intestinal mobility, sleep cycles, along with the eb and flow of immune cells, hormones, and other mood altering neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate (2).
Leaf Note:
Endocannabinoids are central players in life’s multidimensional biochemical balancing act known as homeostasis.
CB1 and CB2 receptors recognize and respond to 3 kinds of cannabinoid agonists. 1. Endogenous- fatty-acid cannabinoids (found in hemp oil/hemp seeds). 2. Phyto- Cannabinoids (such as CBD + THC, found in oily resin, buds, and leaves of the cannabis plant). And 3. Synthetic Cannabinoids concoct in university and drug company labs.
Essentially, Cannabinoid receptors function as tiny sensing devices, scanning primed to pick cup any biochemical cues that flow through fluids of surrounding cells. Extensive studies have found that the CB1 receptor in the brain consists of 472 amino acids, once THC enters the body, it binds to the CB1 receptor and rubs across the cell membrane seven times. Many scientists believe this is the cause of the Cannabis’s pain relieving properties.
So why do I feel more relaxed with CBD?
When activated but cannabinoids, CB receptors trigger a series of biochemical changes on a cellular level that puts the breaks on excessive physiological activity. This is know as “retrograde signaling” and endocannabinoids are the only neurotransmitters that can do this. This form of intercellular communication promotes immune response, reduces inflammation, relaxes musculature, lowers blood pressure, dilates bronchial passages and normalizes overstimulated nerves.
So what is the ECS in simple terms?
It is a system of receptors in your body that are activated by the nearly 100 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. When activated it plays a crucial role in regulating your sleep, stress, pain, inflammation, gut health, immune response, and more.