CBD for Digestion

Do you have a spine?

In recent decades, research revealed animals with spines have an endocannabinoid system. Research* promisingly links a healthy ECS – endocannabinoid system – to the prevention and healing of digestive complaints, IBS, IBD, as well as pain-related diseases and syndromes. Your ECS also plays a role in your immune system (which as we know is intertwined with our digestive system). Specifically, the ECS may impact your gut’s movement, the health of the lining of the digestive tract, microbiome, and even hunger signals. This means that issues ranging from constipation to leaky gut may all be helped by a healthy ECS.

How CBD affect your ECS?

Starting to sound like alphabet soup, right?! This is one of the most clear explanations excerpted from BadGut.org “the ECS is a complex combination of endocannabinoids (cannabinoids that our bodies naturally produce) that stimulate the body’s cannabinoid receptors, which are located in many areas of the body, such as the brain, muscles, fat (adipose tissue), and the entire GI tract. When a person ingests THC and/or CBD, which are similar molecular shapes to endocannabinoids, they fit into the same receptors and trigger reactions that result in either very high or very low levels of specific molecules that the brain’s cells use to communicate with one another (neurotransmitters).”

Do you suffer from IBS-C? According to Ethan Russo cannabis researcher and physician endocannabinoid deficiency may contribute to IBS, thus full spectrum hemp-derived CBD or a CBD / THC blend may help prevent or address IBS symptoms.
Can CBD help you if you have IBS with diarrhea or IBS? Likely. It appears CBD helps support healthy motility by indirectly addressing overstimulation of certain receptors throughout your digestive tract.
Leaky gut? The cause of the leakiness is tight junctions in your digestive tract lining become more permeable (fancy for “springing leaks”) which allow harmful access for harmful substances as well as reducing efficiency of absorption of the good stuff. CBD may reduce that permeability so it would be a win for those battling leaky gut or looking to prevent it in association with certain medication.
Is PMS taking you out of your game on a monthly basis? According to Laura Lagano MS RDN CDN in her book The CBD Oil Miracle “a low daily dose of CBD is usually enough to take the edge off PMS… for best results take daily through the mouth all month long.”
Are you dealing with an OOC inflammatory system? Some of the most promising and widely agreed upon use for CBD is to address unhealthy inflammation with less side effects than other anti-inflammatories. to modulate inflammation you would want to follow an anti-inflammatory food plan while adding a daily oral full spectrum CBD product and consider the application of a topical (focused pain points) one as well.