You know about your immune, digestive, and nervous systems, but what do you know about your Endocannabinoid System (ECS), which also regulates appetite, pain sensation, mood, and memory?

If the answer is ‘not much’, you’re not alone! Most people have never heard of their endocannabinoid system, let alone know what it is or how it works. And that’s despite its discovery over thirty years ago. Even the medical school syllabus has yet to catch up.

This lack of awareness of the Endocannabinoid System is a mystery, considering how vital the scientific community has proven it to be for health and well-being.

What is the Endocannabinoid System?

The Endocannabinoid System is a complex communication network that works to achieve a bodily state of balance, known as homeostasis.

Achieving homeostasis is crucial for health because it ensures that your body’s inner workings remain within the narrow ranges essential for your cells to function at their best. You are much more likely to become ill when your body is out of balance and not achieving homeostasis.

Effectively, the ECS acts as an in-body balancer, ensuring all bodily functions and processes work as they should. That balancing act covers your physiological and cognitive processes, such as appetite, pain sensation, mood, and memory.

The ECS is one of the most important physiological systems in your body. Unlike other physiological systems, it can be found in every cell – your brain, gut, bones, skin cells, organs, and tendons – even in your mitochondrial cell walls!

The ECS consist of three primary components:

1. Endocannabinoids – the ‘keys’
2. Cannabinoid receptors – the ‘locks’
3. Metabolic enzymes – the ‘cleaners’

Let’s look at what these components do and how they interact.

What are Endocannabinoids?

Endocannabinoids (produced by your body) are chemicals that help regulate various functions, such as mood, appetite, pain, and sleep.

The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) was discovered through research into cannabinoids like CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). These compounds, found in cannabis, are similar to the body’s own endocannabinoids and interact with the ECS. THC is known for its psychoactive effects, which produce a ‘high’, while CBD does not have these psychoactive properties. This research revealed that cannabinoids from cannabis can mimic the actions of endocannabinoids, helping to regulate various bodily functions and maintain balance.

Endocannabinoids are like keys that fit into specific locks, known as cannabinoid receptors, in your brain and other body parts. They help to keep everything running smoothly. When these endocannabinoid chemicals bind to their cannabinoid receptors (the locks), they trigger responses that help maintain your overall health and well-being. This response can help keep everything balanced.

Anandamide is the most well-known endocannabinoid due to its potential to produce feelings of bliss in the brain and body when present at high levels. In fact, anandamide is named after the Sanskrit word for ‘bliss’ because it plays a vital role in enhancing mood and creating feelings of happiness.

Anandamide also plays a role in your stress response. When stressed, your body’s “fight-or-flight” mechanism responds by releasing so-called stress hormones, primarily cortisol (which increases blood sugar) and adrenaline (which increases your heart rate and elevates your blood pressure). However, chronic stress can lead to prolonged release of both hormones, negatively affecting your body’s homeostasis.

Fortunately, the endocannabinoid anandamide helps counteract the effects of cortisol and adrenaline. When it is available at healthy levels in the brain, it acts like a gatekeeper for stress, keeping the cascade of hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline under control unless they are genuinely needed.

Unfortunately, many aspects of our modern lifestyles, such as poor diet, lack of sleep and lack of exercise, can lead to an ‘endocannabinoid deficiency’ – where the body produces insufficient levels of endocannabinoids to maintain and restore balance.

Dr Ethan Russo, a neurologist, endocannabinoid researcher, and author, has theorised that an endocannabinoid deficiency may cause several treatment-resistant conditions such as IBS, fibromyalgia and migraines.

His research indicates that individuals with these conditions might have lower levels of endocannabinoids, like anandamide (see below), or an impaired ability to use these compounds effectively. This dysfunction can disrupt the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis.

What are Cannabinoids?

Cannabinoids’ locks’ are found in cells throughout your body. When the endocannabinoid ‘keys’ fit into these cellular locks, they trigger specific actions or responses. For example, when your body responds to pain or stress, the appropriate endocannabinoids’ keys’ unlock the cannabinoid receptors, triggering the required response, such as reducing pain or calming you down.

The two primary Cannabinoid’ locks’ are CB1 receptors (found mainly in the brain and nervous system) and CB2 receptors (found primarily in the immune system and other tissues).

Though CBD doesn’t bind directly to your cannabinoid receptors, it improves their function: It stops your body from breaking down the natural calming endocannabinoid, anandamide, so it can work for longer to achieve homeostasis. This means that when you take CBD regularly, your body has longer to produce and accumulate endocannabinoids. As a result, endocannabinoid levels are elevated throughout your body, and they get a little longer to get to work, bringing everything back into balance.

What are Metabolic Enzymes?

Metabolic enzymes are the final piece of the Endocannabinoid System puzzle. They are nature’s little cleaners!

They are responsible for breaking down and cleaning up the endocannabinoids after they have done their job in helping to achieve homeostasis. They ensure the keys (endocannabinoids) don’t keep the locks (receptors) open for too long once the balance has been achieved and they are no longer required.

How to support your Endocannabinoid System

As you can probably guess by now, taking CBD is a great way to support your Endocannabinoid System, but it’s not the only way (just maybe the easiest!). Meditation and massage can be very effective in boosting endocannabinoid levels.

In 2020, one small observational study took place during an Advanced 4-day Isha Yoga Retreat. The results revealed that endocannabinoids were immediately increased post-meditation, resulting in significantly decreased depression and anxiety and improved happiness, mindfulness, and psychological well-being. Massage and osteopathy have also been found to increase endocannabinoid levels. Anandamide levels increased by 168% in one random controlled study after an osteopathic adjustment.

Intense exercise, such as running, is another powerful way to raise endocannabinoid levels (turns out the ‘runners high’ isn’t only caused by endorphins…), as is sex, and cold-water plunges!

With over 40,000 studies now published covering cannabis and the endocannabinoid system, we’ve never been more equipped to take care of ourselves.

So now’s a great time to check out our full-spectrum CBD oils and start supporting your Endocannabinoid System!

Disclaimer: We do our best to research and fact-check all the content presented in this article. However, it is provided only for information and guidance; it is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. Therefore, you should always contact your GP or other healthcare professionals if you have concerns about any medical condition.

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