The Involvment of Endocannabinoid System in Human Digestive System

What comes to your mind when you hear about endocannabinoid system? Perhaps this is the first time you have come across the phrase. If you are a medical student, there is no doubt at all that will be familiar with the term. However, in the course of going through this article, you will get to learn new findings about the subject. In other words, it doesn’t matter whether you are a medical scientist or not, this guide has so much in store for everyone. But just so we don’t jump the gun, we will kick of this piece by bringing the meaning of endocannabinoid system into context.

What is Endocannabinoid System?

Basically, endocannabinoid system (ECS) is the mechanism in the human body which is made up of receptors that interact with cannabinoids. For people who may not what it is, cannabinoids are compounds that naturally occurs in plants. Well, these compounds gained traction because pharma experts are increasingly making its medicinal extract into drugs for curing different ailments. Technically, cannabinoids contain two essential compounds, CBD and THC. These two compounds exist in the tiny crystal-like stalks of the medical plant known as trichomes. When the trichomes are processed, the medicinal and recreational content can be extracted.

In clear terms, it means that when the two compounds are introduced to your body, the receptors in your body will act on them accordingly. Well, this interaction leads to benefits of enormous proportions (as you will get to find out later). Indeed, the mechanism that coordinates this entire process is known as the endocannabinoid system. Make no mistake about it, these bodily receptors in question are CB1 and CB2. Sure, they interact with the cannabinoids in the body. While CBD has medicinal value, THC is used for recreational purposes. CBD tincture comes in 250mg and 1000 mg in highly sought-after product known as HempMyPet.

So far, we firmly believe that we have made some appreciable progress. Well, over the course of this guide, you will understand the benefits that we earlier talked about. But just before we go any farther, we will have to walk you down the memory lane of the endocannabinoid system.

History of the Endocannabinoid System

A well-researched article on endocannabinoid system will remain incomplete without a touch of its history. Well, it all began in 1988 when some researchers discovered the first cannabinoid receptors in a rat’s brain. After the insightful discovery, this team of researchers continued to expand the scope of their tests. As a result, they found out that these new-found receptors interacted exclusively with a cannabinol compound known as the THC. On top of that, the team of experts also found out that the receptor was more concentrated on a certain part of its brain. Upon further experiment, they would realize that, that part of the rat’s brain is the region that coordinates mental and physiological processes.

Some five years later, another team of researchers launched a study into this startling finding of 1988. The aim was to consolidate the existing finding about receptors in the brain of a rat. Well, this new study would discover another receptor, which had striking similarities with the first one. Although these two receptors shared this semblance, they appeared to concentrate on two different parts. According to these experts, the new receptor settled mainly on the immune system and body’s peripheral tissues. Guess what, the research into these receptors was nowhere close to coming to an end as an entirely differently study kicked off in 1995.

Well, this latest study led to the discovery of the receptors generally regarded as C1 and C2. However, the most fascinating thing about the 1995 research was that the team unraveled that the existence of C1 and C2 transcended the mice. As a matter of fact, they found it in countless number of species, including the human beings. Yes, you!

With innovative technology driving medical sciences, medical pundits weighed the correlation between the cannabinoid receptors that form a part of human anatomy (known as endocannabinoids) and those which exist in cannabis compounds (commonly called phytocannabinoids). As the study progressed, these researchers found out that there is an unclear signaling between the receptors. Subsequently, the system was named endocannabinoid system. You may be wondering, “What is the big deal here given that there is no clear link between the two receptors?” Indeed, that is a brilliant observation. However, the finding was a major breakthrough in modern medical sciences as it goes to show that the human body is naturally engineered to constantly interact to cannabinoids.

Cannabinoids Vs. Endocannabinoid System

Having come thus far, we must establish here that you have learned something new. Although much has been achieved in the ECS research, researcher would not rest on their laurels. Given that endocannabinoids are sparsely distributed all over the body, there is a compelling evidence that the ECS plays a pivotal role in maintaining the numerous functions of the body.

Here’s a simple analogy. Think of the human body as a laptop computer. Some of the features of the computer include the processor, which plays the part of the human brain, the keyword, which can be likened to be a part of the digestive system, and then there is endocannabinoids, ensuring that the two systems work smoothly. In other words, how a machine functions is similar to the human body. And at the core of everything, there are endocannabinoids, which help to maintain the entire system.

Importance of the Phytocannabinoids

So far, you are well aware that the endocannabinoids keep the human body operating at its optimal capacity. Admitted, the body is like a machine, it can wear and tear. Well, when they occur, the entire body is affected and the person is said to be ill. At this juncture, the endocannabinoids can only maintain some parts of the human body that are still working properly. Sadly, they don’t have the capacity to revive the part of the body that seems to have failed. If care is to taken to resuscitate the ailing body, it could get even worse. At this point, CBD will have to be introduced to save the situation.

How CBD Works

The function of CBD in the human body has a simple explanation. You see, studies have shown that cannabinoid bonds with either of CB1 or CB2 receptors to significantly change capabilities of the receptors. In other word, when the compound is introduced to the human body, it will change the calculus to the benefits of the user. On top of that, there are people who lack sufficient CBD in their body. For those people, they will be suffering from a wide range of ailments. To help these people you must administer some doses of the compound to their bodies.

When this is done, there will be a considerable level of positive change. In a plain language, you can improve the health of a patient by administering CBD. You probably may be wondering how possible that is, well, the plant extract bonds with its receptors in the body of the patient. When this bonding has taken place, it culminates in improved health functions, such as homeostasis. Hence, cannabinoid is used to tackle the root cause of some ailments.

Benefits of Cannabinoid

Would you believe it if we tell you that most disorders are caused by imbalances in the human body? Believe it or not, it is very true. Look, people fall sick because there is a hormonal imbalance in their bodies. If you are healthy today, it simply means that your body is balanced. But then, there are lots of factors that are likely going to disrupt the natural balance of the human body, resulting in sickness. In this part of the guide, we will round up some of the benefits of CBD.

• Stress, Depression and Anxiety: People suffer from stress and anxiety when they sharply react to situation that they perceive risky and dangerous. The impacts of these disorders are so devastating, to say the least. In one report, the Word Health Organization (WHO) disclosed that depression is the highest contributor to disability in humans around the world. The report further noted that depression can lead to suicide. The good thing is that if you are struggling with stress, depression or anxiety, you can actually manage these conditions with CBD. It sounds interesting, doesn’t it? It sure is! Take, for instance, when you have stress. You see, the reason is that you are currently experiencing hormonal imbalance or rise in cortisol level, which usually results in stress. However, CBD effectively manages the situation by regulating how your brain responds to stress signal. With respect to cortisol level, the plant extract also plays the important role of ensuring that its performance stays optimal.
• Inflammation: Additionally, CBD is capable of helping you manage inflammation disorder. Yes, it is an age-long practice in countries like China and India. In case you don’t know, inflammation is that sharp sensation you get when you have aches. So, you should feel free to liken it to chronic pain, which is as a result of swollen part of your body. Oftentimes, medical experts would link it to arthritis and bacterial infections. Despite the fact that the level of inflammatory disorder may vary, CBD is used to suppress its pathway and response. When this happens, more pain-managing cells will be released into your body. So, if you are currently experiencing this condition, you may want to consider using CBD to suppress it.
• Seizures: Have you ever experienced an erratic electrical activity in your brain that would later lead to consistent, violent shakes? If yes, then you are suffering from seizures. It may even get worse when it becomes a regular occurrence. Well, in that case, you are said to have epilepsy. Yes, you guessed right: Epilepsy is a series of repetitive seizures. According to WHO, about 50 million people have epilepsy around the world. Now, this is serious, isn’t it? However, there is a glimmer of hope here. A new study has proven that CBD is capable of reducing seizures in people who struggle with the condition. To ameliorate the condition, the plant extract slows down the excitatory neurotic activity. Plus, it reduces the brain’s reaction to the signals that compel it (the brain) to become overload.
• Cancer: Well, cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases in the world today. You are said to have cancer when abnormal cells suddenly divide, leading to the destruction of your body tissues. As simple as this may sound, cancer, for all tents and purposes, is a deadly ailment. It is often associated with vomiting and nausea. While there have been cases where the ailment was successfully treated, this remains negligible. According to WHO 2018 report, about 9.6 million died as a result of this condition globally, making it the second highest killer disease. The report noted that one out of every six deaths are caused by cancer. People resort to the regular drugs to treat cancer, but end up getting frustrated as they don’t notice any significant improvement. In one study, researchers administered CBD on 177 cancer patients. In the end, some of the patients reported a significant pain reduction after the exercise. Sadly, there are small pilot studies launched to ascertain how the medicinal plant extract can improve cancer; most of those studies are still in their early stages.

Conclusion

Wrapping up, we must admit that it has been a long read, hasn’t it? But it has been really worth it. In this guide, we made concerted effort to walk you through the fundamentals of endocannabinoid system, detailing the benefits of cannabidiol. Without a doubt, we all have to be thankful for CBD as it has proven to be a very useful compound to humanity. In other words, it is increasingly leaving us with an alternative for managing and curing many ailments/disorders. What’s more, we must categorically state here that the medicinal plant extract has been used to manage lots of disorders. However, all this is possible due to the endocannabinoid system. Yes, ECS is very crucial to the human body. With that said, the aim of this guide is to help you understand how ECS has improved your health in more ways than one. And we firmly believe that that goal was achieved. So, just go ahead and enlighten someone else today!