25/01/2020
What are cannabinoids?
A cannabinoid is a diverse compound produced naturally by our body and found in cannabis. Cannabinoids can be described as natural chemical messengers. They help the body communicate by sending messages to receptors that work to keep the body in a state of balance. There are over 100 known and studied cannabinoids and they all fall into two categories. There are endogenous cannabinoids and exogenous cannabinoids.
What do endogenous and exogenous mean?
Endogenous:
Sometimes referred to as endocannabinoids, these are simply cannabinoids that the body can produce on its own. The body produces them to regulate things like sleep or pain and to trigger physiological functions. They are only synthesized when the body senses they are needed and are broken down by naturally occurring enzymes shortly after.
Exogenous: These are cannabinoids that come from outside of the body, like from CBD oil. The well-known compounds, CBD and THC, are both exogenous. They can be found in cannabis as well as other herbs. In contrast with endocannabinoids, exogenous cannabinoids stay in the body for much longer after entering and can’t be broken down as easily by enzymes.
Now, let's learn about the endocannabanoid system.
To break it down, let’s start with the word endocannabinoid. “Endo” comes from the word endogenous, which refers to substances and processes that originate from within a system. In this case, the system is our body. Although CBD is a cannabinoid, it does not directly interact with the CB1 and CB2 receptors. Instead, it affects them indirectly by triggering them to create a signal to the ECS. This signal is the way that CBD communicates with the ECS and tells it to produce more endogenous cannabinoids while inhibiting the enzymes that break them down.
Homeostasis is a state of balance, and since whole-body health requires a continuous balance, it is crucial to keep the ECS running smoothly to ensure true holistic health.
Homeostasis can be veered off course by any type of stressor, whether it is physical or mental. When this happens, the body produces endocannabinoids. These endocannabinoids deliver messages to our cannabinoid receptors in the stressed area of the body. Endocannabinoids then signal the receptors to trigger responses that put our bodies in a state of balance once again.
Since the ECS is designed to respond to endogenous cannabinoids, exogenous cannabinoids like CBD work differently. As stated previously, CBD doesn’t actually attach to receptors like naturally occurring endocannabinoids do. What they do instead is act as a messenger while the receptors deliver that message to the rest of the ECS.
This means that in order to regulate the ECS, it is extremely beneficial to supplement with a source of exogenous cannabinoids (CBD) that can work with the bodies naturally producing endogenous compounds to keep the ECS running smoothly.
Recources: enjoypachamama.com
