CBDで健康になる？その仕組みを科学的に徹底解説

以下原文

How Does CBD Work in Your Body?

 Written by: Genevieve R. Moore PhD

• What is CBD used for?
• How does CBD affect the endocannabinoid system? 
• What other benefits does CBD have in your body?

 All around the world, people are discovering the benefits of cannabidiol (CBD), an ingredient from the cannabis plant that delivers medicinal benefits. CBD is used for a wide variety of reasons: to improve sleep, to soothe aches, to relax, to uplift the mood, to address specific health concerns and more — all from a single ingredient.

CBD as Medicine

At the heart of CBD’s growing popularity are the doctors and scientists who are championing its medicinal uses. In the United States alone, there are dozens of clinical trials on CBD that are either in progress or successfully completely.

These are some of the health conditions that clinical trials are currently treating with CBD:

• Chronic pain
• Anxiety
• Indigestion
• Endometriosis
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Alcohol and drug addiction
• Epilepsy
• Autism
• … and more

CBD’s Targets in Your Body

What’s the secret behind CBD’s ability to handle so many different health problems? It can reach numerous different targets throughout your body. A major source of CBD’s effectiveness is its impact on the human endocannabinoid system, which is tied to many aspects of our health. However, beyond the endocannabinoid system, CBD is capable of so much more.

In addition to the endocannabinoid system, CBD also targets:

• Pain Receptors
• Serotonin Receptors
• Nuclear Receptors
• Other Receptors
• Other Molecules

The Endocannabinoid System

Your body naturally produces CBD-like molecules, known as endocannabinoids. These endocannabinoids are used as messengers throughout your body, and they help coordinate many aspects of your health including your immune system, mental health, digestion and more.

Along with endocannabinoids, your body also makes endocannabinoid receptors – structures that sit on the surface on cells and specifically wait for an endocannabinoid to activate it. Once that happens, they pass along the message.

How CBD affects the endocannabinoid system

Because CBD is shaped like an endocannabinoid, it’s tempting to assume that CBD works by activating endocannabinoid receptors. But in reality, CBD’s biggest effect on the endocannabinoid system is to increase your body’s natural levels of endocannabinoids.

 How does CBD do that? There are a few different theories, but the best one at the moment is that it helps prevent your body from breaking down endocannabinoids – which causes them to stick around and accumulate to higher levels.

Does CBD bind to endocannabinoid receptors?

Normally, when an endocannabinoid binds to an endocannabinoid receptor, it tells the receptor to pass along the message. However, CBD has a different effect depending upon which type of endocannabinoid receptor it binds to.

 Although CBD does bind to an endocannabinoid receptor in the brain (CB1), it has the opposite effect once it’s bound. When CBD binds to the CB1 receptor, it makes the receptor less capable of passing along the message, through a process called allosteric modulation. This is why CBD does not have the intoxicating effects of THC, a related cannabis ingredient.

On the other hand, when CBD encounters a CB2 receptor (which is common in the immune system), it has a very weak ability to act like an endocannabinoid and stimulate it.

Other Targets

Pain Receptors (TRPV1)

In addition to endocannabinoid receptors, CBD also binds to many other types of receptors. Some of CBD’s pain-alleviating properties stem from its ability to bind to TRPV1, which is a receptor that senses heat and searing pain.

 Normally, the ability to detect pain is useful, since it tells us when we are damaging our bodies and need to make immediate changes. However, in those of us who suffer from chronic pain, sometimes this receptor can become overactive - sensing pain in everyday situations where there’s no immediate danger of burning or injuring yourself. In this case, when CBD binds to TRPV1, it actually helps desensitize the receptor, so that it stops sensing so much pain.

Serotonin Receptors (5-HT_1A)

Another important receptor that CBD binds is the serotonin receptor, 5-HT_1A. In our brains, CBD can act like serotonin and stimulate this receptor, which is also something that many popular antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications do. This receptor could be one of the key reasons why people find relief from anxiety or addictive behavior when using CBD.

Nuclear Receptors (PPARγ)

Some of our body’s receptors are actually located within our cells instead of on the surfaces. When a receptor is located on the nucleus – the cell’s DNA warehouse – it’s called a nuclear receptor.

CBD can bind to the nuclear receptor PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ), which tells your DNA to start turning on specific genes. The genes controlled by PPARγ are diverse and have been connected with pain reduction, neuroprotection, anti-inflammation, fat metabolism and more.

Other Receptors

The list of receptors that CBD binds goes on and on… because scientists discover new targets all the time. Some of them, like the G protein-coupled receptors (including GPR55, GPR18, GPR3, GPR6, & GPR12) are not as well understood as the other receptors listed above. However, scientists think these other receptors could form the basis for CBD’s potential role in helping treat Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer and even infertility.

Other Molecules

In addition to receptors, CBD also has other important targets, like enzymes and binding proteins. When CBD binds to binding proteins, it keeps them busy and stops them from transporting other molecules around. This partly explains how CBD increases natural levels of endocannabinoids – by stopping them from getting moved by fatty acid binding proteinsto where they get degraded.

Similarly, when CBD binds to enzymes like the cytochrome P450 enzymes, it also keeps them busy and stops them from breaking down (or building) other molecules in your body.  

For your body and mind, we wish you the best in your search for wellness.

In the next article in this series, we’ll focus on the endocannabinoid system and how you can naturally support it.