Loving relationships can help us cope with life’s stresses a little better. The Health and Human Services Department reviewed several studies on marriage and health and found there are numerous health benefits of love:
- Fewer Doctor’s Visits
- Less Depression
- Less Anxiety
- Better Stress Management
- Speedier Recovery From Illness
- Fewer Colds
- Natural Pain Control
- Less Substance Abuse
- Sharpen Intelligence
'All you need is love' may be true — or maybe all you need is Cannabidiol or CBD for short. Both have a common purpose. Both are designed to bring you happiness and help to protect your physical and mental health. Like love, the more familiar you are with anything the easier it is to appreciate and accept its value. Let me introduce you to CBD.
CBD An Ancient Herb
CBD is a type of Cannabinoid that comes from the Cannabis plant.
The Cannabis plant has been used medicinally and otherwise for thousands of years. One example of its use in human history was found in Israel, near the Dead Sea in the Kidron Valley. Samples of cannabis and flax fiber dating 4500 to 3500 B.C. were discovered in a place called the Christmas Cave.
Another discovery was Cannabis seeds found in burial mounds in Siberia built in 3000 B.C. In 1753, Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist gave this plant its official name of Cannabis sativa. Thirty-years later Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, a French biologist noted the Cannabis plants from India had characteristic differences from the sativa variety. He classified the plant as Cannabis indica. Farmers have crossbred these two species over the years. There are now numerous hybrid strains that fall under one of three categories: Sativa-dominant, Indica-dominant, and 50/50.
Our Body Makes Love and CBD
Love induces chemical messages to the brain that can cause a reaction throughout the body. An example would be in the release of adrenaline, a hormone that causes our blood vessels to dilate, making us blush when we see the object of our affection.
CBD, when used with wisdom, can enhance our body’s messaging system in ways that bring numerous
positive effects. Our body makes Cannabinoids, the body’s natural chemical messenger. Envision receptor cells in the body as a set of locks. Cannabinoids are the devoted corresponding keys, chemical molecules located in the brain and throughout the central and peripheral nervous system. Each time the cannabinoid is embedded in a cell receptor it relays a message, possibly a love note, and gives the cell an instruction.
Love and Cannabinoids Connect the Mind and Body
Love is a real, physical presence, — like an electrical charge, — a powerful vibration and union of energy that connects the mind and body. Cannabinoids are all part of the newly discovered Endocannabinoid (ECS) System, named after Cannabis, the plant that led to its marvelous discovery. The word cannabinoid refers to every chemical substance that connects the cannabinoid receptors of the brain and body.
Love is also a synchrony of biochemistry and behaviors. It holds together a common purpose and a vision for what it can accomplish. Love cares about the environment and invests in each other’s well-being and grows better and stronger.
Up until about thirty years ago, no one had ever heard of an Endocannabinoid System. The Endocannabinoid (ECS) System is an intricate network of neurotransmitters.
The ECS system uses Cannabinoids to perform different tasks, sending out messengers and communication molecules to check on everybody part, making sure all of it is working smoothly. The goal is always the same: homeostasis (steady and stable conditions). If the ECS System finds a problem, it sends further instructions to the receptors actively maintaining a stable environment necessary for survival.
The ECS system is essential for adaptation to environmental changes, healing and preventing disease, and also acts as a “built-in pain-killing system.”
“Why CBD” When the Body Already Makes It?
Considering a personal relationship, think of it as — being willing to giving more than you expect in return. But can you love a little too much? Smothering can definitely scare someone away. Balance is key. Lack of love and overbearing “love” has consequences.
When cannabinoids produced by the body are elevated or depressed it has repercussions throughout the body. Cannabinoids naturally produced by our bodies can be supplemented by cannabinoids derived from the cannabis plant, but too much—and especially if the body is already producing sufficient levels can lead to undesirable effects.
Explained another way, there is an enzyme called FAAH that breaks down a molecule called the bliss molecule (anandamide). The bliss molecule is responsible for easing anxiety and nervous thought patterns. It also affects our immune system, patterns of sleep, appetite, and pain relief.
What a waste to throw away leftover happy molecules!
This is where cannabinoids from the Cannabis plant comes in. Cannabis or full-spectrum hemp oil will block the FAAH enzyme from breaking down all of the bliss molecules. The bliss molecule brings more happiness to the cells, which is why CBD is a natural mood-lifter.
Showing Love and Supplementing with CBD
There are innumerable ways to express love such as administering to the needs of others, appreciating blessings, sharing your talents, taking care of the earth and your body, etc. When we love it changes our environment for the better and affects our view of life.
CBD is administered in many different ways such as ingestion, inhalation, sublingually or transdermal. CBD supplements are reported as very effective—indeed, so effective that many people prefer them to pharmaceutical treatments and their side effects.
Like Love, CBD Affects Your Relationships
Cannabinoids do more than regulate on the internal and cellular level. They also influence our relationships in the external environment. Erratic mood swings are most often caused by irregularities in neurochemicals of the brain, most commonly in the limbic system, the region responsible for regulating our emotions.
THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the other well-known chemical in cannabis, and CBD both enhances each other’s therapeutic effects by interacting synergistically.
Scientific studies have established that cannabinoids influence mental health and human behavior, such as humor, creativity, compassion — to name just a few. They affect all the physiological processes, e.g. our motor coordination.
Love Can Make You High, Can CBD?
Love is not a drug though it can feel like an intoxicating high if you share a relationship that works together.
CBD does not produce intoxicating highs and it inhibits psychoactive effects of THC. In the whole cannabis plant, CBD and THC share a dynamic relationship working together as nature intended it. It does make for a case for administering the two together could be more beneficial than with CBD alone.
"There were never so many able, active minds at work on the problems of disease as now, and all their discoveries are tending toward the simple truth that you can't improve on nature." – Thomas Edison
Love and CBD Implications on Health
As previously stated, pure love enhances the mind and brings many health benefits. CBD too has its impact on human physical and mental health. Research suggests CBD is useful in the treatment of multiple medical conditions such as inflammation, seizures, addictions, cancer, arthritis, Crohn's disease, diabetes, and other serious conditions.
Many have been skeptical that one natural compound could effectively treat such a wide range of conditions. Stacking up the truth through medical research and testimonies the verdict is undeniable, Cannabinoids are helping with these and other conditions the medical community has already identified. The research on CBD is ongoing, as well as on other cannabis compounds, which means the list is likely to grow.
Quality of Love and CBD
Love connects us to everything. Virtuous love touches things without impinging on them. Inherently it doesn't hold it down or hold it back. It knows the best way to express itself.
Love should be a lifetime study. A nourishing relationship determines whether or not it is desirable to have around.
Manufacturing methods can affect the quality of the CBD. For example, manufacturers may use solvents such as ether, ethanol, hexane, or methanol to extract the oil of the plant. This highly effective method can leave up to 20% of the solvent in the oil, which may not be an issue if using high-quality ethanol or high-proof alcohol. However, inexpensive derivatives such as hexane and petroleum derivatives are something you wouldn’t want anywhere near your body.
Research, dig deep and self-educate.
Is CBD Right For You?
Love is the building block of life. In a way, the Endocannabinoid System with all its wonderful cannabinoids is flowing with the building blocks of health. This system is beautifully built right into the body, but when the body’s systems are out of balance and the Endocannabinoid System is low, CBD can help. The science proves CBD is not harmful or addictive. However, only you can decide if CBD is right for you.
Is CBD Legal?
When it comes to Cannabis, politics often win over reason. Thankfully, the general opinion is beginning to shift in a more positive direction.
Each State has its own laws in regards to Cannabis. It can all be pretty confusing. CBD can be completely legal in one state and illegal in another. There are also places that differ in their laws concerning CBD depending upon whether the CBD oil is derived from Hemp or Medicinal Marijuana.
Hemp is the common legal term for Cannabis that contains less than 0.3% THC. At present, marijuana is as the term used for cannabis that contains 0.3% or more of THC. Whether a cannabis plant has low or high THC’s, the CBD, or Cannabidiol, it is the same plant compound.
CBD Facts
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As with your fingerprint, the ECS system in everybody is different than anyone else’s in the world. Cannabis acts differently for each person. There isn’t a one size fits all, which is why it is a good idea to start low and go slow.
- No one has ever died from Cannabis.
“In strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis, marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.”
The DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis Young - 1988 court docket (86-22)
- Some cannabis farmers spray and apply pesticides and synthetic fertilizers to their plants. This practice does not support microbiological life and could cause adverse effects from chemicals that have nothing to do with cannabinoid compounds.
- Cannabis is one of the best-studied plants on earth. The number of known constituents keeps rising. Some claim more than 500 natural components have been discovered in the Cannabis sativa plant. Of those, at least 70 have been classed as cannabinoids.
- Cannabinoids found in Cannabis are also produced naturally in the body from foods, rich in Omega-3 Fatty acids such as found in avocados, salmon, and nuts.
- Cannabinoids are unique chemical structures only found in the cannabis plant.