Herbs and plants play a tremendous role in healing. Cannabis is a healing plant for all reasons and all seasons and its components bind directly to receptor sites on your cells.
Cannabis shows you how directly you are connected to Nature. Your own body makes endocannabinoids similar to how plants make phytocannabinoids. And it is the female cannabis plants that offer the cannabinoids that people seek.
Cannabis Plants Are Not Gender-Neutral
Male plants produce the pollen “balls,” but females contain white pistils that produce the bud Cannabis. One important reason to detect the sex of plants early on is to single out the males and remove them from the growing space. This action optimizes yield quality and quantity. If the female plants are kept away from the pollen produced by their male counterparts, they will start to produce far more valuable resin in a desperate attempt to capture pollen and become fertilized.
Author Michael Pollan puts it simply: “In essence, what you’re seeing is extreme sexual frustration. This is a room full of women who are looking for some guy to come by and give them some pollen so they can create seeds. And they try harder and harder as time passes, and the more unsuccessful they are, the more production of the resins that are intended to attract pollen increases, and that increases the psychoactive elements of the plant.”
One problem: Cannabis plants can be both male and female in the right circumstances. Stress, pests, or pesticides cause hermaphrodites. A good mother plant will not show signs of hermaphroditism. Hermaphrodites should not be used since they can create accidental pollination of the buds. If a pollen sac from one of these plants comes in contact with the buds of other plants, those buds will stop developing. They will instead, produce more flowers and seeds.
Anandamide Discovered in ’64
In 1964, Israeli researcher Dr. Raphael Mechoulam made an important discovery. He identified the main active compound found in the cannabis plant to be tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. In 1988, Dr. Mechoulam and his team discovered the molecules in the human body that bind to cannabinoid receptors. He called one of these anandamide, the “bliss molecule,” because it activates the same CB1 receptor as THC, which produces a state of calm and happiness. Ananda is the Sanskrit word for bliss.
The receptors in your body belong to your endocannabinoid system, or ECS, which regulates mood, fear, happiness, and anxiety to maintain balance.
Anandamide is your body’s own version of THC. Scientists have found that whole countries that have a high happiness factor share the same genetic “mutation.” They produce less of the enzyme FAAH (fatty acid amide hydrolase) which is responsible for breaking down anandamide so anandamide stays in high concentrations.
When your levels of anandamide are out of balance, so are you. In fact, there is a direct correlation to the level of anandamide in the body and your feeling of wellbeing. People with schizophrenia and depression have low levels of anandamide.
In a study at the University of Calgary when a group of genetically happy humans and rodents had been injected with the FAAH gene, both mice and men had higher levels of anandamide and a greater ability to stop fear-based memories.
It’s no surprise that one way of stimulating the endocannabinoid system is through the introduction of botanical phytocannabinoids into the body derived from the cannabis plant known as industrial hemp, or “low THC” CBD. While THC fits perfectly into the endocannabinoid receptors found throughout the brain and central nervous system, it creates the high or stoned effect that has kept it illegal by government standards.
It’s a different story though when it comes to CBD or Cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive, second most abundant cannabinoid found in cannabis. CBD has very little binding affinity with the endocannabinoid receptors, and yet scientists have observed that its administration leads to increased anandamide levels.
I recently interviewed the owner of Soul Mountain Herbal, Dave Waterman, about his products that lead to higher levels of anandamide. His extraction process is not typical of most manufactures, which utilizes a CO2 extraction process, and loses many of the plant’s constituents. Instead, Dave uses alcohol extraction with low temperature decarboxylation to retain most of the whole plant in an ultrasonication process that creates a nano-emulsion liposomal molecule for improved absorption. As a small, independent operation, he is one of a few who can claim raw, organic, liposomal for maximum bioavailability. And the slightly sour taste is an added bonus!
Listen to the 30-minute interview here, on blogtalkradio.
Dave offers both regular CBD at 500 mg, Triple Strength CBD at 1500, and also herbal blends. If you are interested in trying this product for yourself, contact me at my website for a 15% discount and let the plant work for you, too!
Learn more about the benefits of whole plant, raw, liposomal, organic CBD at Soulmountainherbal website.
Plants show us that, unlike chemotherapy and radiation treatments that are non-specific, which destroy all cells, plants are very specific in their actions based on specific receptor sites in our bodies. Anandamide doesn’t exist solely in the human body. Outside of the body this endocannabinoid can be found as the “runner’s high.” It is also found in chocolate.
Certain nutrients and herbs have also been shown to support the regulation of the ECS, including:
- Curcumin
- Boswellia serrate
- Huperzine A
- Bacopa monnieri
- Ashwaganda
- Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- Saffron
- Passionflower
Keeping your ECS functioning optimally is key to your health, both physically and mentally. So, incorporate as many anandamide boosting activities into your life as possible. Using raw, organic CBD is one easy way to create balance, reduce inflammation, and activate your bliss molecules!
Rosanne Lindsay is a Naturopathic doctor, writer, Earth keeper, Health Freedom advocate, and author of the books The Nature of Healing, Heal the Body, Heal the Planet and Free Your Voice, Heal Your Thyroid, Reverse Thyroid Disease Naturally. Find her on Facebook at Natureofhealing. Consult with her via Skype or Zoom for custom protocols. Subscribe to her blog at http://www.natureofhealing.org/blog/ and listen to her archived podcasts on Blogtalkradio.
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