A study was published last month that confirms what many medicinal cannabis users have been saying about the healing of their inflammatory bowel and gut issues through the use of cannabis. Researchers didn't even initially set out to test the effects of cannabis on gut inflammation, they were just looking at the mechanics of gut inflammation in mice.
Source, Source
Living with inflammatory bowel disease or other conditions -- such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease -- involves physical discomfort of varying levels. The worst is Crohn's disease which is an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of the intestines. Those who suffer from these ailments have often turned to cannabis which has provided them relief from pain and discomfort.
Other studies [1, 2] have previously been done that showed the positive effect of cannabis on these medical conditions, but they didn't know what was really going on. But this recent study has been able to explain what's happening inside the body that makes cannabis so useful.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Bath figured out what's going on at th molecular level. Studying mice, they found that the active ingredient in marijuana (cannabinoids) restores the microbial balance that's lost in those with inflamed guts.
Regular guts don't have much inflammation, despite there being massive amounts of bacteria, viruses and yeasts. There presence can always trigger an inflammatory response, but they don't. Some get provoked when the body tries to fight off a foreign invader. But the harmony within our guts can be dysregulated and produce serious consequences for our health.
Two processes keep the internal peace going. One is the the migration of neutrophil cells across layers of the mucous lining of the intestines. This is part of the immune system's process to help fight infections. In the case of irritable bowel syndrome/disease (IBS/IBD), the immune system is not working properly, and the neutrophils attack the intestinal lining which leads to pain and discomfort from eating.
The other process to keep the balance and health is with a protein called P-glycoprotein. This protein stops inflammatory responses, and requires the body's natural cannabinoids called endocannabinoids to stop the out of control inflammatory response.
Endocannabinoids are involved in many physiological processes, with endocannabinoids receptors in many parts of the body. With IBD sufferers, the lack of natural endocannabinoids prevents the body from maintaining a balance between all the various parts of our internal functionality. This disequilibrium leads to unregulated inflammatory responses.
Enter cannabis to save the day. The cannabinoids from cannabis act on the endocannabinoid receptors and provide the cannabinoids the body needs to properly regulate the immune system, putting the body back into balance.
The papers authors plan to exploit this mechanism. They've already secured a patent to provide therapeutic relief for sufferers of inflammatory gut issues. Future drugs will be on the way to try to supplant the natural remedial powers of cannabis. And it will likely be more accessible since cannabis has long been restricted and shunned for consumption in society. But times are changing.
Hopefully cannabis itself can provide relief to more people without making the pharmaceutical industry richer, since all we would need to do is grow our own plants instead of buying pills.
References:
- Scientists Figured Out How Cannabis Tames Inflamed Bowels
- Study: Medical Cannabis Cures Inflammation in Gut – Hope for IBS, Crohns, Celiac Sufferers
- Acute inflammation: endogenous cannabinoids mellow the harsh proinflammatory environment
- The effects of Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol alone and in combination on damage, inflammation and in vitro motility disturbances in rat colitis.
- Cannabidiol reduces intestinal inflammation through the control of neuroimmune axis.
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I have a friend w/Chrons and he swears by cbd oils for his gut!
Great! Good for him to be helped out by the wonder plant :)
He thinks so too. ;)
Its amazing how many medical benefits CBD has! It baffles me how its not widely used medically around the world.
I have a personal experience with my Dad and CBD, and im so glad he listened to me and tried it! He was on so much medication from the Doctors due to a tumor in his head, and it was making him sicker, weaker, out of breath, increased dizziness etc, and he got himself a good cbd vape and is a different person! Back to normal! Its incredible! I'm so happy for him and how it actually works.
I can't believe its not widely used, but as you said, we do not want to give the medical industry more money when theyre just a busniess. I am from England and hate the fact how England is the biggest producers of medical cannabis, yet its illegal! Why don't they create jobs at least? There could be 1000s of jobs, harvesting, trimming etc.... :( I have a bad theory that they're doing this so when they make it legal in a few years then the government will already be fully set up to dominate the business and smaller startups will find it so hard to survive with taxes etc... they will regulate it so they are the only source - just another pharmaceutical.
Great post dude
Because it's been made illegal by centralized authorities :/ Glad to hear cannabis has helped your father :) It's a big racket, the world is a sham :/
I have chronic ulcerative colitis (since I was 16 but have controlled it through diet) and have always wondered how it could be affected with cannabis. In Finland, it is not readily available and, highly illegal so I haven't been able to test the effects. Interestingly, I started smoking (quit years ago) because of the lessening of symptoms through tobacco use. Problem is, addiction to cigarettes and limited benefits over time.
One day, people will wake up perhaps.
That sucks. Cannabis definitely has more benefits to tobacco ;) Plus you can ingest it rather than smoke it and get more medicinal benefits. You can't buy it on the black market from dealers?
There you have it, yet another disease that appears to be caused by cannabis deficiency, the USDA should really establish a RDA for minimal cannabis intake.
LOL maybe if they didn't work for the wrong team! ;)
when Trump signs the bill to end federal cannabis prohibition we can make the USDA great again!
Lol, let's hope so! A lot of work to do there first.
there is a bill in process now, they just need to vote on it.
let's hope they pull it up soon! ;)
It would provide a boost to the economy and take the wind out of the Democrat's sails, Pocahontas is running around saying if we put democrats in congress they will pass legalization. Which is funny because when they had both houses of congress and the presidency they used that to create a massive giveaway to the health and drug companies and didn't legalize pot.
LOL, cannabis deficiency... no, cannabinoids ;) Many ppl don't have this issue and they don't ingest cannabis ;)
Maybe that's why they don't have that issue! Humans naturally produce their own cannabinoids but some don't produce enough.
When they were considering legalizing recreational cannabis in California a while back one of the fellows who had worked to get medical cannabis legal wrote a piece about how all cannabis use is in fact medicinal and therefore he was going to vote against legalization, nothing to do of course with the fact that he was personally profiting from and dependent on the medical paradigm. He made a pretty good argument though, people who smoke pot "recreationally" or in social settings are doing so to ease social anxiety and social anxiety is a recognized psychiatric condition.
I forgot a "don't":
Smoking or taking substances that get you high is also escapism as a stress reliever ;)
he might say that nonspecific "stress" is a "general anxiety" and if it is so bad that you need to take a substance to relieve it then technically that does qualify as a Generalized Anxiety Disorder and then it's medical use.
I have some stomach issues and it does seem to help.
"The worst is Crohn's disease" It is also worth pointing out that some of the meds that are commonly prescribed for that condition greatly increase the risk of developing certain kinds of cancer. If I was in that position, I would definitely want to try getting a little high before I took any of those pharmaceuticals.
Yeah, but getting high from a plant is taboo is society... god forbid you heal and suffer the high as a consequence as opposed to potential cancer :/
You know, sometimes I often wonder just why would any government fight to keep/not act on changing laws that legalize cannabis. Just using the CBD from the plant helps in ways doctors never imagined before 10-15 years ago, and they learn new things daily...when you factor in the money each state would be set to make it seems like a no-brainer.
Excellent article, a good friend of mine has Crohn's and self-medicates at the moment. He's hoping for better laws in Pennsylvania, where it still hasn't been decriminalized since a move out west is out of the question for him.
Well, legalization is better than making it illegal and putting more people in prison, but it still controls it and puts ppl in prison and the govt makes money. The real solution is decriminalization and the government gets nothing.
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Thanks ;)
Cannabis and the gut is very important for overall health.
Cannabis and the
Gut is very important
For overall health.
- medikatie
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
It has a lot of benefits indeed.
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Both my brother and sister suffer from chrohns disease, I mentioned cannabis to them last year after reading some other reports that it cures it or sends it into remission, nice article to let other know this, top man.
Hopefully they started using it to their own benefit ;)
Where I live in Oregon we have both recreational weed, and medical weed. I have found that if you use recreational weed you still get the medical benefits.
Yes, weed is weed, some are more potent though.
Great News
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Yes great... it would be great to have more of a comment too ;)
Throughout the years, explore has yielded results to recommend that cannabis might be of advantage in the treatment of a few conditions.
Cannabis saves the day once again!! Here's some Humboldt OG Kush for your viewing pleasure
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