Synapse and Neuron cells sending electrical chemical signals
Synapse and Neuron cells sending electrical chemical signals

Chances are that during your early reading you may well have come across mentions of the endocannabinoid system and how CBD can support it.

Sounds mysterious, right? Well, the good news is that it isn’t some quasi-philosophical term used to market these kinds of extracts.

We’ve known about it for several decades but only in the early 1990’s did scientists manage to isolate the key receptors and the role they each play within our body. As we shall see, it turns out to be a rather important one!

Just like we take all sorts of vitamin and mineral supplements to support our body, CBD can also potentially play a huge role in supporting our body’s endocannabinoid processes.

Here’s a basic introduction into how CBD works with the endocannabinoid system and don’t worry – we’ll keep it as jargon-free as possible.

What Is The Endocannabinoid System?

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) amounts to being a network of receptors and their associated molecules located all throughout the body. From top to toe, it performs all sorts of different roles but with one key purpose – creating homeostasis.

What it’s trying to maintain at all times and as much as possible is a perfect balance to keep our various organs and hormones all working smoothly.

Think of it as a telephone network – one bit of the body communicates with another.

There are two key cannabinoid receptors (CB1 & CB2) which we’ll think of being the telephone exchanges through which all the cannabinoids flow. As they are located everywhere, if part of the network fails then it causes the whole system to be undermined.

In our body, this can equate to all sorts of unpleasant symptoms. If our receptors are compromised they can cause everything from sleep disorders through to psychological problems, digestive mishaps, hormone regulation and of course cause us to feel pain.

So it’s pretty important to keep them nicely maintained and topped up with those handy little cannabinoids to prevent any of the above and many more ailments from occurring too often.

How Does CBD Supplementation Help?

While we naturally produce our own cannabinoids, they are mostly only able to react to local issues. To put it in absolute layman’s terms – they do not travel well.

So while one of our receptors may be working fine, if there’s an issue elsewhere in the body they do not lend over some to restore that essential homeostasis.

The theory behind why CBD supplementation can be such a useful benefit is that by topping up our system on a frequent basis, we have all of our bases covered. Most excess cannabinoids end up being metabolized quite uselessly into the body and excreted – we don’t store much and what we do is ineffective.

But, by taking enough extra in we will address issues in specific problem areas anyway – so it doesn’t really matter about anything else (incidentally – it’s impossible to overdose on CBD for this very reason).

It doesn’t just stop there. The evidence is suggesting that taking in ‘spare’ endocannabinoids also serves as a very useful bridge between the activities of our body and brain. This is why so many people find that CBD helps considerably with their mood – as once again, it creates a steady homeostasis.

To Conclude

There’s still huge amounts of research to be done into the specific workings and characteristics of the CB1 and CB2 receptors.

CB1 has received the majority of interest because it seems the most clear-cut in how the body reacts to not having enough, whereas at present CB2 seems to be more specific when addressed to rarer conditions (still extremely important though).

Over the next few years, we’ll be seeing plenty more exposure to the findings of currently ongoing studies which ought to unlock more of the secrets still held by the endocannabinoid system.

But for now, CBD is showing like being quite possibly one day being considered as necessary as that daily multivitamin pill.

You can find out more here: https://www.cbdoilsale.co.uk/what-is-the-endocannabinoid-system/

By Skyler West

Piper Skyler West: Piper, a sports medicine expert, shares advice on injury prevention, athletic performance, and sports health tips.