People wonder about all of the many different ailments and conditions addressed with cannabis and hemp. The sheer number of seeming benefits can be overwhelming. And we owe it all to the endocannabinoid system.
And because of all the misconceptions, misinformation, and lack of proper awareness, we really can’t blame them. CBD or cannabidiol has long been associated with marijuana and is often viewed as recreational rather than medicinal.
Thankfully though, scientific studies and more advanced research has already helped uncover the truth about how CBD can yield many medicinal and healing benefits. And one of the most recent scientific studies resulted in the discovery of the endocannabinoid system.
What is the Endocannabinoid System?
The endocannabinoid system or ECS is a system of physiology that is inside all of us. Much like the eleven other major organ systems (circulatory, respiratory, urinary, reproductive, integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, lymphatic, and digestive), the ECS is highly essential in establishing and maintaining human health.
The ECS helps constantly to maintain balance at a cellular level. This system is active in everyone all the time, as long as your lifespan. It helps promote health and balance physiologically.
It was Dr. L.A. Matsuda who first discovered this system in 1990, by describing and defining the structure and functional expression of the cannabinoid receptor. CB-1 is the name of that receptor. Dr. Matsuda and his team saw that these CBrs are present in our central and peripheral nervous system. Later studies saw that the CBrs are also present in the immune and digestive systems.
This remarkable discovery led to the identification of an entire system of similar cannabinoid-like chemicals that naturally react with these CBRs. Thus, the endocannabinoid system.
It is not yet specifically defined what the endocannabinoid system actually does. However, enough research evidence can prove that the ECS helps in calibrating our physiological functions, such as pain, sleep, and our appetites. It also tweaks and makes improvement in our memory, behavior or mood, and most recently discovered – even in our reproductive capabilities.
A Diverse System
The ECS is present in many, maybe even all, different tissues. That is why it may aid in the recuperation of brain damage or healing of the body’s various internal organs.
The ECS has been discovered to be involved with different diseases and conditions. Including arthritis, muscle and nerve pains, anxiety or mental depression, and neurodegenerative ailments.
What’s recently more striking is the scientific study that the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) Deficiency Syndrome may be the root cause of some of the conditions proliferating in the human body today.
Based on our current understanding, when the ECS is dysfunctional or damaged, it can lead to a person being ultrasensitive to pain or discomfort. Less grave health conditions such as migraines can be hyper painful to someone with a damaged ECS. By supplementing the body with naturally occurring cannabinoids from plants, we can manage this deficiency and its symptoms, thereby restoring a person’s health.
The ECS is the best evidence that proves the therapeutic effects of natural cannabinoids in Hemp. If we could only ask our ancestors of old – they might tell stories of them using the Hemp plant to for their illnesses. But thankfully, we do not only have history but science on our side.
If you want to boost your Endocannabinoid System, a healthy diet and regular exercise, as well as supplemental products like our Balance CBD tincture, may help.
For more information, you might want to read the ECS page on Wikipedia.