Endocannabinoid Deficiencies What are they?
Your body has an Endocannabinoid System (ECS) that regulates the nervous system’s connection to the rest of the body. Endocannabinoids (ECBD) are lipids in the ECS that manage processes like pain sensation, appetite, and memory. Scientists have identified two primary receptors: CB1, which affects the central nervous system (brain, kidneys, liver, lungs), and CB2, which focuses on the immune system and blood cell generation. Other receptors exist but are less researched. This is still a young science.
In English, Please?
Yep, that was an absurd number of acronyms. Think of your body like a small town with bunches of telephone lines or electric lines spreading out across the area. Those electric poles & wires are like your neurons and help to spread information or “power.” What the ECBD do in this system are to act like a lineman (someone who works on power lines and phone lines), cleaning up and maintaining the system. While they aren’t needed for the lines to operate, they make sure that it works smoothly.
Not Enough Linemen?
When there is a deficiency of ECBD in the body, the system is essentially lacking what it needs to operate smoothly. There are simply too few linemen. And what happens to all of the electric wires? They don’t function as they should. In the same way, when your neurons lack enough CBD, it can cause problems.
What Kind of Problems?
Dr. Ethan Russo’s study suggests that migraine, fibromyalgia, IBS, and related conditions may stem from a clinical endocannabinoid deficiency, treatable with cannabinoid medicines. Another study, conducted a decade later, supports this link, indicating that endocannabinoid deficiencies play a role in these conditions, and clinical experience confirms this.
How Does It Happen?
Due to the lack of research on the topic, it is difficult to say. One explanation is that the body doesn’t produce enough ECBD on its own to supply its own needs. Normally it does, but, for whatever reason, some people may find that they do not have enough ECBD to satisfy their bodies’ needs. Since it is not stored in the body, but rather made upon demand when it is needed in the neurons, additional ECBD is needed from a different source when there is a shortage.
So Where Do The Extra Cannabinoids Come From?
Since CBD binds with the receptors that I mentioned before (just like ECBD produced in the body), it can come from an outside source, such as a cannabis plant. By using this outside CBD, there is the possibility that balance can be restored to the ECS. Both are cannabinoids. Endo = of the body and Phyto = of a plant. So if your Endocannabinoids are not present, you can supplement with Phyto cannabinoids like CBD.
How Sure Is This?
As this research is fairly new (the receptors of the ECS were only definitively proven to exist in the human body at the end of the 1980s), there are a lot of questions about the conclusions that some research has drawn. While there is a correlation between various physical ailments and a shortage of Endocannabinoids in the body, there have only been a few studies to look at this relationship. As it currently stands, the research in no way claims that these problems can be cured with CBD. Logically, it seems that CBD should help, but this is not concrete. We’re excited to see this new science progress with growing awareness about CBD and other Phyto cannabinoids. As always, there is plenty more room for additional research, and we at Green Wellness Life will try to keep you informed.
Resources:
Clinical endocannabinoid deficiency
Clinical endocannabinoid deficiency (CECD) revisited