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Naturally restoring your endocannabinoid system

 Written by: Genevieve R. Moore PhD

• How does your body stay in balance? 
• What’s the role of the endocannabinoid system?
• Ways to naturally restore balance to the endocannabinoid system.

CBD (cannabidiol) is used around the world for stress management, pain control, as a sleeping aid, and everything in between. Although some of CBD’s benefits might seem unrelated, they are intimately tied together by the interconnected systems of your body. And at the base of these systems is the endocannabinoid system.

In our last article, we covered how CBD (cannabidiol) helps boost your body’s natural levels of endocannabinoids. In this article, we’ll dive into why you might need that boost – along with some other ways to naturally support the endocannabinoid system.

 

Homeostasis: How your body finds balance

 While everything around us is constantly changing, our bodies work hard to find stability and balance. This quest for balance – or “homeostasis” – is what controls our body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and more.

If you are someone who tracks your blood pressure, weight, or another body metric, then you probably know that there’s usually an ideal value… and then there’s your value. But just because your weight or blood pressure isn’t perfect, it doesn’t mean your body is failing at homeostasis.

Instead, homeostasis could actually be working against you. For instance, if you’re overweight and trying to lose weight, then homeostasis might tell your body to burn fewer calories when you eat less. Or it might tell your body (through hunger) that you need to eat more ASAP. In this way, homeostasis can unfortunately keep your body locked in a less healthy state.

This mechanism works all the way down to the molecular level, acting on neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. That’s why some of us can become locked in an anxious or depressed mindset even when our lives are going well.

 

The Endocannabinoid System

One important tool that your body uses in homeostasis is the endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system was only recently discovered by cannabis researchers – who stumbled on this ancient, essential system almost by accident.

 

The endocannabinoid system consists of endocannabinoids – which are used as messengers – and their receptors and associated proteins.  This system is deeply rooted in our evolutionary trees, which means that endocannabinoids are used throughout our bodies to control countless aspects of our health.

 

It would be difficult to list all the ways that that endocannabinoids are used in our bodies and minds - researchers have published thousands of scientific articles on the ECS just in the last few years. These are only a few of the functions that your body keeps in check with endocannabinoids:

• Mood
• The immune system
• Heart health
• Memory
• Digestion
• Pleasure
• Skin health
• Reproduction
• … and more

 

When the endocannabinoid system needs help

 Endocannabinoids are essential for helping our bodies stay healthy and balanced, but sometimes the endocannabinoid system can also become locked by homeostasis in an unhealthy state.

For instance, if you are chronically stressed, then your body might respond by decreasing the total number of endocannabinoid receptors in your brain. When that happens, then even if your body produces a normal quantity of endocannabinoids, your brain won’t know it: You would need more endocannabinoids just to get a normal response.

Other health conditions or diseases impact the endocannabinoid system in different ways. Researchers have found that conditions like depression, glaucoma, arthritis, drug addiction, and obesity can all change the levels of endocannabinoids and their receptors in your body.

When that happens, the endocannabinoid system gets knocked off track and needs some help getting back to a healthy state. And that’s where CBD come into play.

 

Naturally restoring your endocannabinoid system

 Between stressful times and health challenges, most of us are likely dealing with issues that might have knocked our endocannabinoid systems off balance. This might help explain why so many people find relief from their health issues with CBD products.

If your endocannabinoid system is in need of a little tender loving care, these are some of the ways that you could naturally restore balance to your endocannabinoid system:

CBD:

Cannabidiol is a “phytocannabinoid,” which means it is structurally similar to your body’s endocannabinoids. However, since it’s a slightly different shape, it works in your body in a slightly different way.

 CBD’s strongest effect on the endocannabinoid system is to help boost your body’s natural levels of endocannabinoids. Also, instead of stimulating endocannabinoid receptors (and potentially overstimulating them), CBD can make endocannabinoid receptors in your brain harder to activate, which could help encourage your brain to make more receptors.

Sunlight:

Between Vitamin D and healthy melatonin levels, there are already a few good reasons to love the sunlight. It also turns out that another way sunlight contributes to our wellbeing is by  boosting your body’s endocannabinoid levels. If you want the sun’s full benefits, show some skin and take a walk outside for 10-15 minutes.

Exercise:

If you regularly exercise, then you might already know how good it can make you feel. It turns out that a big part of this mood boost comes from the endocannabinoids released by your body during exercise. A lengthy, intense period of exercise will trigger the largest release of endocannabinoids, but any amount of exercise should help increase your overall levels of endocannabinoids. 

Skip the alcohol:

If you regularly drink alcohol, your brain will eventually start producing fewer endocannabinoid receptors – a similar effect to being chronically stressed. But there is hope for recovery: Research finds that after quitting alcohol for a month, the number of receptors can return to their natural levels.

Orgasm:

Orgasms obviously feel great, but they can also do great things for your health. One of the benefits of an orgasm is a boost in endocannabinoids. And don’t worry if you don’t have a partner - research finds that even masturbation can help increase endocannabinoid levels. 

For your body and mind, we wish you and your endocannabinoid system the best.

In the next article in this series, we’ll focus on how CBD can help improve sexual health after menopause.