How Cannabidiol (CBD) Fosters Wellness –
CBD and other residual cannabinoids in hemp oil — like those found in the exogen™ Pro Line — interact with the body’s internal Endocannabinoid System (ECS). This system, found in all mammals including domestic pets, is tasked with regulating body functions like mood, pain, appetite, sleep, temperature and even immune system responses. The ECS is constantly addressing these functions to keep them in balance or “homeostasis.” Either homeostasis is maintained through a series of control mechanisms throughout the ECS, or the body suffers various illnesses or disease.
A properly functioning ECS is fundamental for health and well-being. The ECS, with its complex actions in our immune system, nervous system, and all the body’s organs, is literally a bridge between body and mind. Cannabinoids like CBD benefit the ECS by interacting with cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) which are a class of cell membrane receptors in the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. These receptors stimulate the ECS, supporting its efforts to keep our functions in balance and encouraging it to function at an optimal level.
In recent years, researchers from all parts of the world have come to acknowledge the vast medical potential of the ECS. Summarized in a 2006 review by the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
“In the past decade, the endocannabinoid system has been implicated in a growing number of physiological functions, both in the central and peripheral nervous systems and in peripheral organs… modulating the activity of the endocannabinoid system turned out to hold therapeutic promise in a wide range of disparate diseases and pathological conditions, ranging from mood and anxiety disorders, movement disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, to cancer, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, glaucoma, obesity/metabolic syndrome, and osteoporosis, to name just a few…”
CBD and the Endocannabinoid System
Since its discovery in the 1990s, the medical community has continued to research the ECS to learn more about how it functions. According to the National Institutes of Health, learning to manipulate the ECS efficiently could result in the formulation of better treatments for pain, addiction and other medical problems.
What makes the system an “endo”-cannabinoid system is that our bodies naturally produce neurotransmitters that are similar to CBD and other cannabinoids. A comparable analogy is how our bodies produce endorphins that are chemically like opiates but are much weaker. Similarly, the consensus is that although our body creates its own endocannabinoids, it’s not as strong as phytocannabinoids (cannabinoids from hemp). When supplementing the body with CBD, we’re creating a stronger response to something our bodies are naturally creating!
Supplementing this large self-regulatory system with plant-derived cannabinoids is a potential way to encourage and maintain health.
