The endocannabinoid system
What is the endocannabinoid system? To better understand the endocannabinoid system in our body, it is important that we first learn more about the receptors that are in our body. The human body consists of millions of cells. There are receptors in the cell walls of these cells. The moment a substance binds to the receptor on this cell wall, the cell will be stimulated and triggered for a certain action.
What is the endocannabinoid system
After the discovery of the receptors in our body, a big question remained for the scientists. Why does the human body contain receptors that can bind us to foreign substances? It then became known that substances are created in the human body that are almost identical to cannabinoids. This is where the term endocannabinoids comes from.
The endocannabinoid system was discovered about 30 years ago. It plays a huge role in very important processes in our body. Certain substances are naturally produced in our body that are very similar to the substances found in cannabis.
The substances themselves are so similar that our bodies regard the substances from cannabis as natural. The receptors together with the endocannabinoids form the endocannabinoid system. The system is responsible for many basic functions in the human body. You can think of, for example, metabolism, pain perception and digestion.
Operation of the endocannabinoid system
There are two different types of cannabinoids, endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids. The exogenous cannabinoids are not in our body and can be found in the cannabis plant. Examples of exogenous cannabinoids are CBD and THC.
THC interacts with the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the human body. CB1 receptors are primarily found in the brain and spinal cord. They are responsible for our emotions, sleep, pain perception, regulating body temperature and body coordination. The CB2 receptors are located in the arms, legs and the immune system. These receptors can play a role in pain and tissue damage. These receptors are activated by the THC in the same way that an endocannabinoid does.
Our endocannabinoid system thus works together with the exogenous cannabinoids (cannabinoids outside our body). We do not yet know everything about the endocannabinoid system. We are convinced that it is extremely important for our health!