CBD oil, or cannabidiol oil, is a hot topic today.

Many health practitioners are extolling the amazing healing powers of cannabidiol,

and anecdotal stories number in the thousands.

Products with CBD are increasingly available on the market, and people are clamoring for more.

Others are concerned at the legality of obtaining and using cannabidiol.

Terms like marijuana oil and hemp oil contribute to the confusion.

So let’s spend some time defining what CBD is and the kind of benefits one can expect to experience from it.

 

What is CBD Oil?

 

Cannibidiol is a phytocannabinoid, a plant derived cannabinoid, one of at least 85 active cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant,

though they’re not unique to cannabis.

A diverse number of plants like flax seeds, echinacea, black pepper,

and even chocolate have all been found to contain cannabinoids or

cannabinoid-like compounds that have a similar, if less potent, effect on the body.

 

What effect is that?

Cannabidiol and other cannabinoids are compounds that act upon

receptors in the recently discovered endocannabinoid system,

which is responsible for regulating and maintaining homeostasis in

humans and nearly all vertebrate animals.

These receptors exist throughout the body in nearly every cell, connective tissue,

and organ, allowing for regulation at the systemic, cellular, and even intracellular level.

 

Homeostasis and the Endocannabinoid System:

 

When you think of homeostasis in the body, think of balance,

restoration and maintenance of normality, proper stress response,

elimination of corrupted cells and cellular waste, metabolism, energy levels,

and regulated immune response with its complex

inflammation/anti-inflammation interactions.

Homeostasis is the body’s way of keeping all systems in

balance and functioning optimally despite environmental stresses.

The ECS is the master controller of this process.

The cannabinoids that we make and ingest act upon the ECS to

restore and maintain all of these functions, and more, in the body.

For in-depth scientific research on the ECS, here’s a great article.

If we have such a great balancing system, how can so much illness now exist in increasing numbers?

The answer is multi-faceted, and ties into a subject we often address.

Modern living presents multiple and repeated opportunities to create toxic bodies.

The wrong foods, environmental toxins, heavy metals in the brain

(please read my When Detox is Dangerous Series: Part One, Part Two and Part Three),

bad fats, and lack of good fats and cellular healing foods all add up

to produce an accumulation of toxins in the cells.

Proper cell function is then impaired, waste removal pathways become sluggish,

hormone regulation is disrupted, inflammation rises,

and over time we see damage and debilitating, chronic illness.

 

But restoring health is possible.

We are now learning that the ECS is also a key component in restoring cellular health.

Utilizing and activating this system is integral to fixing the cell,

rebuilding energy levels, and bringing about overall health restoration.

This brings us back to CBD, because CBD, and other phytocannabinoids,

act upon the ECS in a very positive way that we can take

advantage of to assist in health recovery.

The Many Benefits of CBD Oil

Research is still needed to observe all of the positive actions of CBD

on the body as relatively few human studies exist,

but what much of the literature and experiential evidence

indicates is that it impacts two major areas:

 

• the nervous system
• the immune system

 

This is huge, because those two systems are tied into every other system of the body. What’s more, when toxins impair these systems, we begin to see many of the neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders that are so common today. CBD may help decrease the symptoms of these conditions.

Cannabidiol seems to have the ability to act as an enhancer for nerve synapses, improving nerve function, supporting the healing of damaged cells, improving communication across synapses, and driving down the inflammation observed in neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease other forms of dementia. There are numerous cases of CBD dramatically improving the quality of life in those suffering from dementia and other neurological disorders, and CBD may also be able to protect the brain from the rapid cell death. After taking CBD people have experienced sharpened cognition, better awareness, improved short term memory, and enhanced motor function.

Because of this restorative effect on the nerve cells and CBD’s ability to act on the endocrine system (important to stress response) we have observed potential improvement in many disorders, for example:

 

• Anxiety, including PTSD1
• Sleep disorders
• Neuropathy and other neurodegenerative disorders
• Insulin (and other hormone) receptor issues, making it possibly beneficial for diabetic patients
• Epilepsy
• Autism
• IBS
• Huntingdon’s Disease
• Alzheimer’s disease
• General inflammation at the root of most modern disease