CBD: What It Is and How It WorksCBD: What It Is and How It Works
CBD is everywhere these days: you can get it at the grocery store and pharmacy or at your local bar and grocery store. You can drink it, eat it, spray it and spread it on your skin. One thing you won’t do? Throw a stone at him. Although CBD comes from the same plant that produces pot, it’s more about healing than getting high.
Enthusiasts have turned CBD into a billion dollar business claiming that it relieves stress, relieves pain, alleviates sleep problems and more. The theory behind how it works is sound: CBD – which stands for cannabidiol, a compound found in the cannabis plant – is similar to the compounds that humans produce themselves, called endocannabinoids, which helps control stress, sleep, metabolism, memory, inflammation and immunity. Some believe that CBD is so similar to these molecules that it can work in a magical way to reduce anxiety, induce sleep, and reduce pain. But here’s the catch: there’s no real scientific evidence showing how CBD works — or even if it works at all. There is a lot of hype around CBD that is unfounded.
Although there are many theories, we do not have evidence, because it is difficult to learn. After all, until CBD was approved by the federal government in 2018, it was difficult for researchers to obtain samples to test. Before you see for yourself if CBD can heal or if it’s just a scam, here’s some important information about how it works, what researchers don’t understand, and what it means to you.
How CBD can work
Although scientists are still discovering exactly how CBD works, the best theory is that it affects the endocannabinoid system (ECS) – a complex cellular system that is believed to control many vital functions. in your body, like stress, sleep. , digestion, immunity, storage, and hormone release. ECS in brief: There are cannabinoid receptors all over your body, although they are mainly in the nervous system and brain (where they are called CB1 receptors) and the immune system and inflammatory cells (where they are. called CB2 receptors). Your body produces billions of natural chemicals called endocannabinoids every day, which bind to these receptors to help you do things like sleep, eat, remember where you put your wallet, and start the healing process when you cut your finger. After these endocannabinoids have done their various jobs, enzymes seem to destroy them.
In the brain, these endocannabinoids act as messengers – they carry information from one neuron to another. But instead of sending messages and instructions to take action, they reduce brain damage, says Mohini Ranganathan, MBBS, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University and a CBD researcher. “When there is a lot of neurotransmission – which you can feel like running, high anxiety, or even increased pain – endocannabinoids in the brain help to put on the brakes,” says Ranganathan, which may explain why many people swear by the anxiety and prevention of CBD. – emotional stimulation. Another theory, Wallace adds, is that while a healthy ECS can make its own endocannabinoids to regulate the experience of stress or pain in the brain, some people don’t produce enough cannabinoids — or if they do, enzymes. destroy them before they have a chance to do their important work. CBD binds to these CB2 receptors to prevent the release of pain signals.
Finally, CBD can allow the cannabinoids produced by the body to stay longer in the brain and body, prolonging their calming effects.