Endocannabinoid System
A monumental scientific discovery about the existence of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) at the end of the 20th century placed cannabis in an entirely different light and sparked an international revolution in health care.
Like other crucial systems in the human body, the ECS plays an important role, in fact perhaps one of the most fundamental roles in keeping humans healthy. Because, the sole purpose of ECS is to maintain balance within an organism.
In an ideal situation, all the systems of the body including the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, immune, muscular, nervous, reproductive and respiratory and skeletal system function optimally. This perfect functioning of an organism is called homeostasis, which can be also understood as a dynamic state of equilibrium.
In a nutshell, the endocannabinoid system helps to maintain health on a cellular level in every system of the body, vigilantly reacting and adapting to the continuous changes our body encounters.
The endocannabinoid system is a primary “instrument” in charge of maintaining homeostasis, and this is why the cells of all these different systems and tissues have cannabinoid receptors.
And most importantly, for this discussion, is that cannabinoid compounds found in the cannabis/marijuana plant ‘feed’ the ECS. Simply put, cannabis is not only a
medicine, it could prove to be one of the most important medicines because it fuels the ECS and returns the body to a healthy balance.
The Endocannabinoid System and its Modulation by Cannabidiol (CBD)
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an extensive endogenous signalling system with multiple elements, the number of which may be increasing as scientists continue to elucidate its role in human health and disease. The ECS is seemingly ubiquitous in animal species and is modulated by diet, sleep, exercise, stress, and a multitude of other factors, including exposure to phytocannabinoids, like Cannabidiol (CBD). Modulating the activity of this system may offer tremendous therapeutic promise for a diverse scope of diseases, ranging from mental health disorders, neurological and movement disorders, pain, autoimmune disease, spinal cord injury, cancer, cardiometabolic disease, stroke, TBI, osteoporosis, and others.