How & Why CBD works.

The Endocannabinoid System (ECS)

CBD binds directly to specific receptors in your body

We covered the Endocannabinoid in our last article, CBD 101, but here, we’re going to dive a little deeper. CBD works direc]ly with the body’s Endocannabinoid System, also known as ECS. The main role of this system is to help the body naturally regulate itself, regardless of the circumstances around it. Endocannabinoid receptors are like little points spread throughout your body, regulating many important physical functions including muscular and skeletal health, skin health, the immune and neural systems, and mental well-being. It plays a role in how our bodies react to factors like pain, stress and inflammation, assisting the body’s ability to adapt and stabilize.

CBD & the Nervous System

CBD can have positive effects on both the central and peripheral nervous system.

When your Central Nervous System (CNS) is compromised, it’s usually because the electrical circuitry connecting the CNS with any peripheral nerves is damaged, blocked, chronically inflamed—whatever the reason, the nerves are unable to relay a dependable signal, like a faulty HDMI cable. Cannabinoids can help regulate and improve these signals through their therapeutic effects. Studies have shown that taking cannabis, such as CBD Healing Capsules, helps to decrease inflammation, promote new cell growth, reduce pain, and shield neurons from chronic cellular damage.

Then there’s the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). New studies show that cannabis can play an important role in treating conditions that affect the PNS. For instance, CBD can help minimize the side effects of nerve damage, like nausea, pain, headaches, muscle spasms, inflammation. CBD could help improve your mood, and even provide neuropathic pain relief, targeting nerves that might be frayed or damaged from chronic neuropathic conditions. In essence, CBD works as a powerful anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and anticonvulsant.

CBD’s & the Digestive System

Cannabis has a long history of helping with the digestive system.

One of Cannabis’s main and early uses was as an appetite stimulant. And new research suggests that cannabis oil can also be used to regulate bowel motility and increase overall intestinal health. Taking CBD supplements, like CBD capsules, can provide additional support for the intestines. That’s because the intestines are one of the places where CB1 receptors are located, so CBD can play a role in regulating nausea, stomach acid, inflammation, and overall motility when things are moving too slow or too fast.

Research has shown CBD could help with more serious digestive disorders.

And in several clinical research trials, CBD has been shown to minimize the painful symptoms of chronic digestive disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Crohn’s Disease. IBS is usually caused by chronic intestinal inflammation. CBD reduces inflammation, which allows the intestines to function at a higher level, and has been shown to help regulate appetite, nausea, and stomach pain in many patients. In small clinical trials, patients with IBS and Crohn’s both reported a decrease in painful symptoms after taking CBD, and many experienced a decrease in the number of immunodeficiency medications they had previously been prescribed.

The composition of CBD.

The difference between Full Spectrum, Broad Spectrum and Isolate.

Full Spectrum means that the CBD product contains all phytochemicals that occur naturally in the cannabis plant. Good quality full spectrum CBD products are usually high in CBD, with only trace amounts of minor cannabinoids, and very low in THC (less than 0.3%).

Broad Spectrum CBD contains cannabidiol and all the other compounds within the plant except for THC, which is completely removed after the initial extraction.

Isolate is the purest form of CBD, made by pulling it from its natural environment and removing it from all other ingredients.

A 2015 study suggested that CBD-rich extract (Full Spectrum & Broad Spectrum) had a better therapeutic value to single-molecule CBD extract (Isolate), due to the Entourage effect— when all the components work together to enhance the potential benefits of the plant[4].

CBD & CO2 Extraction

Getting from Cannabis to CBD.

CO2 Extraction (or CO2 Supercritical Fluid Extraction) is one of the most effective and safest ways of reducing cannabis into its essential compounds. These compounds come out as an extract, made using botanical extractors that combine high pressure and carbon dioxide to separate the oil from plant material. The carbon dioxide (CO2) then becomes a state of matter, similar to both a liquid and gas. It’s from this state that active components like THC, CBD, and terpenes can be extracted.

Did you miss our introduction article, CBD 101? Read it here.

An In-depth look at CBD