When you are too hot, you take off your sweater and maybe even take a dip in the pool. If you are too cold, you get yourself a cardigan and a mug of hot cocoa.
All these in a bid to achieve and maintain a comfortable middle ground. If your sugar levels are too low, you crave a sweet.
You show symptoms of needing some food. If your sugar levels are too high, you drink water to level out things.
Your body is on a constant endeavor to achieve and maintain a perfect balance, which is called homeostasis.
Homeostasis is the tendency of an organism to regulate internal conditions regardless of the external conditions. The endocannabinoid system being so widely spread is a key component in maintaining homeostasis, and ensuring good health is maintained.
Cannabis has cannabinoids that react with the endocannabinoids to ensure all biological processes are regulated.
Dysregulation of the system contributes to many medical conditions like fibromyalgia.
Endocannabinoids are created from fatty acids, most especially omega 3 fatty acids. It is therefore imperative that you include fatty acids in your diet.
Research on animal models proved the connection between diets low in omega 3 and mood changes caused by malfunction of endocannabinoids. Cannabidiol (CBD) regulates the production of more endocannabinoids.
The Two Main Endocannabinoids
There are two main endocannabinoid molecules. The first is anandamide, which was actually discovered courtesy of THC.
Ananda is Sanskrit for bliss hence the reason for the moniker ‘bliss molecule’.
CBD does not directly bind with the receptors, but it works on the enzyme FAAH that in turn affects processes.
One of the most important CBD activities on FAAH is inhibition of anandamide break down.
If there is little anandamide in your system, it means you will be sad or depressed or just unhappy. CBD ensures FAAH does not pull anandamide out of circulation.
2-AG is the primary agonist for the CB2 receptor in addition to having the ability to manipulate the CB1 receptor, it’s also the second best known endocannabinoid.
This receptor is mostly found on the immune cells, gastrointestinal tract, and peripheral nervous system. This makes it integral in the treatment of autoimmune medical conditions and motor control.
How Does CBD Effect Homeostasis Through the Endocannabinoid System?
Sleep
Sleep is an integral part of human life. Without sleep, your brain will stagnate and decrease your efficiency significantly.
Continued sleep deficiency has been linked with heart disease. The endocannabinoids are sleep modulators, they regulate your sleep-wake cycle.
Cannabidiol has been found to increase wakefulness during the day so that you are able to sleep better at night.
Through the system, you are able to fully relax so that stress and disruptions do not get in the way of good quality sleep.
Nutrition
Without proper nutrition, you are left susceptible to many illnesses. Your immune system weakens due to lack of appropriate nutrients and vitamins.
The endocannabinoid system is instrumental in appetite regulation, digestion, and hunger.
The same is true for weight management. The endocananbinoid system, if appropriately approached can suppress appetite so that you can lose weight more effectively.
Mood Regulation
What happens when you are too happy? You go about making outrageous promises and are generally annoying to others.
What happens when you are too sad? You mope about and are unmotivated for the most part. The best mood to be in is right in the middle.
Where you are not literally jumping for joy or battling depression. By interacting with enzymes and the endocannabinoid receptors, cannabis can regulate to ensure this is the state you stay in at all times.
Motor Skills
Motor control is all about body movement and reaction time. It could be a central nervous system problem or a periphery nervous system problem.
The endocannabinoids register presence in both areas through the CB1 and CB2 receptors. If motor control is not at an optimum level, you will have trouble going through your regular routine.
Immunity
Your immune system is what’s responsible for protecting your body against illnesses, it’s essentially the guard dog of your body.
Your immunity has to be strong otherwise, you are left vulnerable and easily afflicted with diseases. And the endocannabinoid system is a key part of the efforts to keep the guard.
The efforts to ensure that immunity stays up, it’s integral especially when you are prone to conditions that weaken it.
Sex and Reproduction
Sexual and reproductive functions can very easily affect hormones and cause imbalances, which then affect the body adversely.
These functions have to stay up regardless of age. Endocannabinoids and enzymes are of absolute importance in this respect.
Management of the Pleasure Reward
Ever wondered how addiction happens? Well, you take or sniff a drug and your brain experiences bliss.
You do it a second and third time, the same happens. By then, your brain already relates this drug with bliss and will therefore induce cravings.
It knows that if that drug is taken, there will be a pleasure reward. The endocannabinoid system can effectively retrain your brain to stop thinking of the drug as a pleasurable substance.
It can ensure that the cravings stay as minimal as possible. The process is gradual but eventually, there will be no cravings at all.
This is how CBD affects alcohol and substance abuse cessation.
Pain Regulation
How do you feel when you have an ache? You can barely concentrate on anything else.
You think of nothing else but the pain, but the harder you try the more pronounced the pain seems.
Through the endocannabinoid system, pain signals to the brain can be delayed therefore reducing the amount of pain being felt. These are the analgesic properties of CBD.
Memory
Memory problems are caused by neurodegeneration brought on by a variety of factors. It could be due to age, drugs, or even trauma.
The ECS can combat any of the reasons for memory loss to restore optimal function of the memory lobe.
Body Temperature
Temperature regulation is so important that there are biological processes in place to ensure heat or cold are combated and proper balance is achieved.
Through the thermoregulatory center in the hypothalamus, the endocannabinoid system ensures these processes run smoothly without leaving your body deficient.
This is not to say that you should go out in the snow in your tank top just because you are using some CBD.
Final Thoughts
Now that you are well educated on the importance of your endocannabinoid systems (ECS), in regards to your overall health. You should now see the incredible benefits that CBD provides for the overall function of your endocannabinoid system.
If you are looking to improve your overall health, start improving your body’s homeostasis with the help of cannabinoids like cannabidiol (CBD).
