CBD – The Endocannabinoid System Series Part 1

The ReThink family wishes you to educate and guide you as best as possible to ensure that you feel confident when researching and purchasing CBD products. In order to understand CBD in the first place, it is crucial to know the way that it interacts with the body to promote desired effects. We want to first start off by discussing the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in depth because it is ultimately the reason why CBD can be efficacious. Over the next few blogs, we will be providing you scientific information on the ECS because it is a quite complex system. We will try to make it as easy to understand as possible.

Just like our other physiological systems in the body (skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, etc.), the body has an extra one known as the ECS. This system is a sort of communication system built up of receptors and endocannabinoids that communicate with each other and other systems of the body including that of the immune, reproductive, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, nervous, endocrine, and musculoskeletal systems. It has evolved over millions of years and is part of all animals including humans. The ECS is the reason why CBD is able to interact with our bodies. We all produce our own endocannabinoids, so surely enough, there’s a system that is there to process those endocannabinoids.

You can think of the ECS as being responsible for ensuring that we have a balanced internal system regardless of external stressors. It is made to bring us back to homeostasis (internal balance) when needed. In order to put the body in homeostasis, this system must be extremely receptive and adaptive. This is why the ECS is abundantly made out of receptors. The receptors are impacted by the endocannabinoids our bodies produce and the ones we consume through plant phyto-cannabinoids (those found in hemp and cannabis). Foods like cinnamon, clove, black pepper, oregano, echinacea, broccoli, kale, and sprouts are all cannabinoid rich and chocolate offers a similar effect. However, none of these are as abundant in cannabinoids as hemp and cannabis are.

The ECS is found all over the body. The receptors are located in various parts of the body: central/peripheral nervous system (brain, spinal cord, nerves), intestinal tract, liver, heart, immune system, and skin. This is why it has such a varied impact. The ECS is capable of impacting brain function including cognition, mood, memory, and motor function. It is also capable of altering the function of the neurons.

Now that we have the basic information down on the ECS, we will let you digest it before we dive into our next blog covering the more scientific mechanisms that go into ECS communication and interaction with cannabinoids. Feel free to email us should you have any questions that arise.