The Endocannabinoid System: Everything You Need to Know
Contributing writer:
Elliot Blackler
The Endocannabinoid System and CBD
With CBD growing rapidly in popularity, the endocannabinoid system is becoming more and more a common part of popular discussion.
But what exactly is this mysterious part of our bodies that many of us had never heard of before?
In this post, we’ll break down exactly what the endocannabinoid system is, what it does for the human body, and how CBD fits into the picture.
Let’s dive right in:
What is the Endocannabinoid System?
Considering humankind has a long term relationship with both hemp and cannabis, it may come as a surprise that the endocannabinoid system is a relatively recent discovery.
In fact, CBD itself was only first isolated in Israel in 1964.The first cannabinoid receptor was discovered in the brain of a rat in 1988.
It was only in 1990 when a team from the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Science began looking into this discovery and cloning CB receptors, leading to the first steps of understanding the endocannabinoid system. It was rapidly discovered that endocannabinoids and the receptors they bind to in our bodies are present in every area of our central nervous systems, organs and cells and that they make up a fundamental part of our immune system and help our bodies to keep themselves healthy and balanced.
All of the other fundamental systems of our bodies are permeated by the endocannabinoid system and its endocannabinoid receptors. The ECS actually has the ability to regulate and help manage all of the other systems!
The simplest comparison to explain this is that in the same way that the central nervous system connects our body’s internal systems and helps them to communicate with each other, the ECS helps maintain a state of wellbeing and homeostasis.
In other words, it works hard to maintain a stable environment as all of the other systems and organs change and react around it.
Now that you know the function and purpose of the ECS, let’s take a look at the individual parts that allow it to function:
What is the Endocannabinoid System Made Up Of?
The simplest way to think of the ECS is as a series of keys and locks.
Cannabinoids such as THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) CBD (Cannabidiol) and CBN (Cannabinol) are the keys, and any time they fit into one of the cannabinoid receptors (the locks) a certain effect or rebalance takes place in the body.
CB1 Receptors are present in the brain and spinal cord. Their purpose is to help us regulate our sleep, appetite, memory, and to manage pain.
CB2 Receptors are found all around the body but are most prominent in areas related to the immune system. These receptors help to reduce and manage inflammation.
When reading the above information, it should come as no surprise that the most commonly experienced benefits of CBD oil are for sleep, appetite, memory, pain and inflammation!
Research is still underway in regards to our cannabinoid receptors, and many scientists believe in the existence of an as yet unproven CB3 receptor.
What are Cannabinoids?
As previously mentioned, cannabinoids are the “keys” of the endocannabinoid system.
Every time one cannabinoid fits into one receptor, a specific effect occurs within the body. Exactly what this effect may be depends on the cannabinoid, the receptor, and the location within the body, and with over 100 cannabinoids found in the hemp plant, it’s going to be a long time before we get a full understanding of the individual interactions they can all make.
The two most common types of cannabinoids found in the human body, however, are
anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, otherwise known as 2-AG.
- AG is by far the most common cannabinoid within our bodies and helps to regulate appetite, pain, and our immune
Anandamide is heavily involved in the “reward” feeling we experience after exercise, popularly known as the “bliss molecule”.
These are just two of the naturally occurring cannabinoids in our bodies, both of which are supplemented by CBD use – but we expect more to be discovered regularly in the near future.
How do the Endocannabinoid System and the Central Nervous System Interact?
Given what we’ve just explained to you, and knowing that the central nervous system (CNS) co-ordinates specific actions throughout the body, it may be a little too easy to get them mixed up.
The CNS is comprised of the brain, spinal cord, and all of our nerves. It transmits information to the brain whenever our nerves experience stimulation, allow the brain to make immediate decisions on how we should react. It also helps with automated bodily functions such as our heartbeat, breathing or digestion.
The CNS exists on a scale between overstimulation (where it is in a heightened response mode, otherwise known as fight or flight) and exhaustion (where it may struggle to function properly at all).
The endocannabinoid system prevents the CNS from going too far towards either of these extremes, helping to keep it in the ideal position of “alert and ready, yet calm”.
This is likely the reason such positive results have been found when using CBD for anxiety, stress, and other similar complaints that may begin with an overstimulated central nervous system.
The way the ECS manages to achieve this is through the use of GABA and Glutamate.
GABA and Glutamate – Endocannabinoid Neurotransmitters
These substances are two neurotransmitters that are used by the ECS to manage your nervous system:
Glutamate excites the system and can be used to stimulate a response when the body isn’t reacting enough. Excess glutamate in the body can lead to issues as wide-ranging as migraines, restless leg syndrome, fibromyalgia and epilepsy.
GABA calms the system and can be used to relax the nervous system’s response in times of extreme stress or heightened sensitivity.
GABA and Glutamate naturally complement each other within the human body and an excess of one or the other will always be an issue, but the endocannabinoid system helps to make sure they are in balance.
But how is this possible?
To explain, we first have to explain how brain cells work, as while the ECS is unique, it has some similarities:
How the Human Endocannabinoid System Works
Brain cells essentially operate as a network within the brain, individually transmitting chemical signals to each other in order to coordinate and manage all of the functions the brain is involved in.
The way this actually works in practice is, the neurons of our brain release neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters come out of the presynaptic cell and jump a small distance across to the postsynaptic cells, after which they bind to receptors. This binding is one node or step of the brain cell network, with a large trail of receptors helping to deliver the message or signal across the brain.
The ECS actually does the same thing but works backwards, sending messages from the postsynaptic cells to the presynaptic.
This helps it to maintain balance and help manage the CNS because cannabinoids can prevent the release of GABA or Glutamate in the case of excess. In other words, if a presynaptic neuron is releasing GABA or Glutamate too quickly, cannabinoids leap over from the postsynaptic neuron to slow down their release and restore balance.
This leads to a relaxed and healthy mental state, natural body function and general health!
CBD has been found to have neuroprotective qualities, aiding both in the creation of new brain cells and in protecting them from degeneration. Since this is caused by an interaction between the endocannabinoid system and the immune system, CBD itself has been found to supplement the process, supporting neurological function and even having a positive effect on diabetes.
So What is the Result of an Endocannabinoid Deficiency?
Studies reviewing over a decade of past research into the ECS in the hopes of answering this question found that low endocannabinoid levels in the body can lead to the underperformance of the ECS, leading to problems such as:
- IBS
- Fibromyalgia
- Migraines
- Anorexia
While more studies into this topic are expected soon, this gives us a good picture of what cannabinoids actually do for our bodies on a day to day basis.
The Endocannabinoid System’s Interactions with Other Systems
The Cardiovascular System
Endocannabinoid system research has found that the ECS has a crucial role in regulating heart rate and blood pressure. Cannabinoid receptors are even present in the muscular wall of the heart and have the ability to decrease blood pressure by causing the blood vessels to dilate.
They have even been found to reduce blood pressure by directly reducing the strength of the heart’s contractions.
The Immune System
The ECS is closely connected to the immune system and is a fundamental part of keeping us healthy and free of infection and disease. Our immune cells not only have cannabinoid receptors, but they also produce cannabinoids and break them down once they’re no longer needed.
This allows the ECS to provide the same fine-tuned balancing act it does for the CNS. If our immune system is overactive, it can attack the body’s own cells causing serious health issues. When it is underactive, our protection from disease is down and we typically become ill.
The endocannabinoid system in the body keeps our immune system away from either end of the scale and encourages it to keep working correctly. CBD actually does this for the hemp plant itself and is a crucial part of the plant’s defensive mechanisms, so it should come as no surprise that taking CBD boosts your endocannabinoid systems interactions with your immune system and keeps both working as they should.
While research into the endocannabinoid system’s connection to our immune system is ongoing and is likely to bear more fruit very soon, we haven’t even gone into the benefits of the endocannabinoid system in protecting against inflammation (the underlying cause of countless health complaints and conditions) yet.
One thing is for sure, cannabinoid receptors are present at every stage of our immune system and play a crucial part in the communications in requires and in creating and maintaining immune homeostasis.
The Digestive System
Once again, endocannabinoid receptors are present throughout the entire digestive system and are closely linked with it in numerous ways. The ECS is involved in controlling our appetite and desire for food, which is likely part of the reason CBD and THC have been found to stimulate the appetite and help to treat eating disorders.
A less commonly known cannabinoid, THCV, has also been found to reduce the appetite.
The ECS also helps to regulate our digestion, meaning a properly functioning ECS we are able to absorb food more quickly and efficiently.
The Endocrine System
The endocrine system is perhaps the least well known of all of the bodily symptoms besides the endocannabinoid system itself. Our endocrine systems are networks of glands and organs responsible for regulating our blood sugar through the use of hormones and as a result, are directly responsible for our energy levels, libido, cell repair, metabolism, sexual function and mood.
Many endocrine disorders such as hyperthyroidism or diabetes may be linked to an imbalance of the endocannabinoid system. The ECS helps to regulate and balance the endocrine functions of the brain and body, including the release of hormones that are fundamental to healthy brain function such as oxytocin and vasopressin.
Countless research studies have indicated that the endocannabinoid system alters and regulates the release of hormones, keeping our reproductive functions, stress responses, and even metabolism in check.
The Skeletal System
If there is any system of the body we’d expect not to be listed here, this is the one, but nope! The ECS really is this intrinsically linked to the human body as a whole.
The ECS plays a part in regulating bone cell growth and maintenance, and cannabinoid receptors help the body respond to damaged or broken bones by communicating to the body when it should create new bone cells and when it shouldn’t.
Imbalances in this can cause issues such as osteoporosis making the bones more easily damaged, or even overgrown bones on the other end of the scale.
Studies confirm that the CB1 receptor has a part to play in regulating bone mass, and even suggest that CBD may help encourage quicker fracture repair!
All of These Systems are Actually One System!
While we know of all of the body’s internal systems separately, this is simply a way of making the body more understandable.
In reality, all of these systems are constantly interacting with each other and the endocannabinoid is right there at the centre, regulating and modulating all of them, and keeping our bodies healthy and under control.
Have you ever felt sick or lost your appetite due to an unpleasant thought or bad mood?
This is because our gut contains the second highest amount of neurons after the brain, meaning the central nervous system and digestive system are so closely related that it’s difficult to truly call them separate things.
The same goes for most other systems of the bodies, and the endocannabinoid system is a fundamental part of each of them – necessary to keep each system working together within reasonable limits and keep the body healthy and well balanced overall.
Now that you know how the endocannabinoid system relates to the rest of the body, it should be a lot less surprising that CBD has been found to have so many benefits!
Elloit Blackler is a CBD Advocate and Founder of Evopure.