Are you trying to understand CBD oil , the differences of Hemp and Marijuana, and all the hype about it? If you are like me when you google it, you come up with repetitive blogs telling you the same thing over and over. My goal is to help you understand what CBD oil is, the difference between hemp CBD and marijuana CBD. I also want to understand some of the claimed benefits of CBD. This gets pretty technical, but I know you will come away with a better understanding overall once you read this post.
The Differences in CBD oil
It is important to understand the differences in CBD Oil. CBD oil can also have a part in overall living a healthier, longer life. Cannabidiol is often referred to as “CBD oil”. CBD oil is the second most prevalent active ingredient of cannabis, or marijuana. However, the CBD oil sold in stores is derived directly from the hemp plant, a cousin of the marijuana plant. CBD oil can be obtained from the marijuana plant or it can be obtained from the hemp plant.
The difference is CBD from marijuana contains THC in levels that causes someone to get a “high” and CBD oil from hemp does not contain the TCH levels that make someone “high”. It is the amount of THC in the same amount of CBD oil or in other words the ratio of THC/CBD that makes the difference.
CBD is a natural stimulator of the body’s natural endocannabinoid system. That is a big word and most of us probably don’t really know what it means. Let’s look at the word “endocannabinoid.” “Cannabinoid” comes from “cannabis,” and “endo” is short for “endogenous,” which means that it is produced naturally inside of your body.
So “endocannabinoid” simply means cannabis-like substances that naturally occur inside your body. It means is that CBD, unlike THC, directly allows our body to produce more of the endocannabinoids that allow us to feel good and treat some issues, but also help modulate anxiety and even help us sleep. When you look at THC, it’s a whole different world.
Now, the endocannabinoid system is a really important system in our body. It gives us the feelings of relief, calmness, and bliss. Our bodies have endocannabinoid receptors throughout not only in our brains.
So how does CBD do what it does?
So how does CBD do what it does? When CBD comes into the body it suppresses a fatty acid amide hydroxylase “FAAH”. This FAAH is required to normally metabolize THC or to metabolize cannabis down to something else. Because CBD suppresses this FAAH, it allows the body to produce more of what is called anandamide. This is where we want to focus on the differences.
There’s a lot of research surrounding anandamide. The name anandamide comes from a root word “anada”, which means bliss. Anandamide has some really powerful effects on what is known as tumor necrosis factor one alpha “TNF1a” That is a complicated name, but TNF1a is simply a very powerful inflammatory marker. When TNF1a is high within the body, inflammation is usually systemically high. When we look at pretty much every single chronic disease state within the body, inflammation is at its root. CBD directly has an ability to produce more anandamide within the body, which in turn suppressesTNF1, and that’s very important when it comes down to moderating inflammation.
Another thing that it does is reduce mitogen induced T and B cell proliferation. This has to do with our immune system. When our immune system is overactive we have a lot of T and B cells that are activated. That could mean that our immune system is attacking itself for no reason, like in the case of autoimmune conditions. CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system which provides protection from colonic inflammation and modulates the pain through an anti-inflammatory mechanism.
So how does CBD do this?
So how does CBD do this? Anandamide affects that mitogen induced process by promoting what’s called cell apoptosis or cell death which means the cell dies when it is supposed to die. Our bodies are continuously creating new cells and old cells are dying off. If a cell should die and doesn’t it will cause an immune reaction in our body and this makes us sick and have pain and other symptoms. It’s going to feel like we have the flu all the time because our body is just constantly fighting itself.
Anandamide can block what is called a lipopolysaccharide induced activation of nuclear factor-kappa B. Nuclear factor- kappa B is one of the master inflammatory signals within the body. A lipopolysaccharide comes from an unhealthy digestive system.
The key to a strong immune system is the good bacteria in your gut.
The key to a strong immune system is the good bacteria in your gut. There are many natural ways to increase the good bacteria in your gut and I plan to write several posts on the subject in the near future. It’s unhealthy gut bacteria that triggers the release of lipopolysaccharide into the bloodstream. Lipopolysaccharide triggers inflammation.
CBD can allow anandamide to block lipopolysaccharide. That means even if you are somewhat unhealthy, CBD could help you get healthier by blocking these bad bacteria from really causing this issue within your body.
The calming affect
Another benefit of CBD is reduction of anxiety, it has a very calming affect. It is well known that anxiety is the reason that people will take CBD, but do we understand why? CBD has a strong ability to activate what’s called adenosine.
Coffee blocks adenosine, whereas CBD activates it. We could think of it as the opposite effect of coffee as far as anxiety goes. We’re not talking about energy, we are talking about anxiety. Too much coffee can make you feel anxious, CBD can have the opposite effect and make you feel calm, not tired but calm.
CBD allows less glutamate to get into the brain and more GABA to be releasing to the brain.
Our bodies are always in a delicate balance of GABA and glutamate.
CBD activates something known as 5-HT1A receptors. 5-HT1A is a direct precursor to serotonin, so basically we have an indirect way of helping you feel good.
If you’re concerned about cancer or you’re concerned about cancer growth, GPR55 is something that you need to block. Studies have shown that blocking GPR55 can decrease cancer cell proliferation. We are not saying that it’s a cure for cancer or preventing you from getting cancer. Studies have indicated that blocking GPR55 slows the growth of cancer cells.
CBD has been shown to block some of the GPR55.
Below are a couple of good reads on CBD studies.