The Foundations of Cannabis Wellness
Addressing top things you need to know to understand the fundamentals of cannabis wellness!
How does cannabis work in the body?
Cannabis and/or CBD works by interacting with the body's endocannabinoid system (ECS), the system that balances the body and regulates intercellular communication.
The body naturally makes cannabinoids, but we also find them in the natural world (in cannabis and a few other plants).
Cannabinoids are required for the body to function properly, and yet sometimes we aren't able to make enough ourselves (or, the stress on the body has overridden our system's ability to self-regulate).
In these instances, we can borrow and use the cannabinoids from cannabis. This is the underlying premise behind cannabis as medicine!
How does cannabis support people?
Cannabis medicine supports people on their path to managing an imbalance. This is vague, but also how cannabis works... which is by way of balancing our balancing system! :)
Common issues include not sleeping enough, not eating enough/eating too much, having too much pain, too much inflammation, etc. I would also say that a big one to highlight is stress management; most people are highly stressed these days and cannabis seems to ease that for many! I know it's one of my go-tos for stress management :)
Here's a case study as an example. Last year, I had a client who wasn't sleeping well (maybe 3-4 hours a night) and was highly inflamed throughout their body. As a result of the inflammation, when they ate out at a restaurant, their joints would expand in size and ache for days. We worked together and found the right CBD tincture for them to take throughout their day, and then added CBN at night for sleep support. With cannabis on board, their inflammation was much reduced, they were able to increase their movement routine and live with less pain, and they were sleeping, too! We also focused on nutrition - specifically, reducing seed oils from their diet - which was supportive of the endocannabinoid system in general and further reduced inflammation. This is just an example of how CBD/cannabis can support someone going through common ailments (in this case, inflammation and sleeplessness).
One common question I get asked a lot is, "If cannabis helps me today, do I have to take cannabis forever?"
The answer is, no! You can do whatever feels comfortable in the long term. Think of the CBD/other cannabinoids as a boost you are giving to your ECS right now. You're greasing the body's balancing system and supporting all the other positives that are happening in your life.
Once you feel back to balance, are finding more ease, and/or managing symptoms, you can then reduce or change your dose accordingly. You are in charge and can always guide your experience.
Want to learn more? Happy to help!
Check out the following educational posts about cannabis and the endocannabinoid system to better understand how this plant supports us.
Have any questions? Book a call with Coach Heather!