Cannabis is one of the post beneficial and therapeutic plant medicines on the planet and has been used for thousands of years to treat numerous health conditions. In addition to alleviating pain, insomnia, and anxiety, Cannabis has numerous therapeutic benefits such as reducing inflammation, treating gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), preventing seizures, fighting cancer, lowering blood pressure, treating Crohn’s Disease, ulcerative colitis and much more.
CBD and THC are two of the most prominent cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. Both cannabis and hemp produce CBD and THC. However, cannabis has a higher concentration of THC. Hemp has a higher concentration of CBD.
CBD and THC have the same chemical makeup, 21 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and two oxygen atoms. The difference is that they don’t have the same chemical arrangement, and the body receives them as different compounds. These compounds bind to neurotransmitters in your brain and affect things like mood, pain, sleep, and memory.
PSYCHOACTIVE COMPONENT
The THC compound is the one known most famously for the high sensation you get from it, a psychoactive response. And in many states, it is still illegal.
CBD, alternatively, is considered a “non-psychoactive” compound, meaning that you do not get that high that we associate with THC. Although CBD legally may have trace amounts of THC up to .3%, it is not enough to result in a psychoactive response.
CBD is known to have many of the promising health benefits, minus the psychoactive side effects.
MEDICAL BENEFITS
Both compounds communicate with your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). The endocannabinoid system is the most important physiological system involved in establishing and maintaining human health. It plays a role in regulating many functions and processes, including, sleep, mood, appetite, memory, reproduction, and fertility.
Although CBD and TCH both interact with the ECS system, they have separate properties with different medicinal benefits.
CBD BENEFITS
There are many health benefits associated with taking CBD oil. CBD connects to your body’s cannabinoid receptors, and people report that CBD helps with complex problems like arthritis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and cancer treatment. Others use it to treat more mild everyday issues like skin health, sleep, anxiety, general pain, and brain health. CBD is available in capsule or oil tinctures, edibles, or topical products.
THC BENEFITS
1. Pain Relief
Pain relief is one of the top medical benefits of THC. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide live with chronic pain. Many of these individuals suffer from neuropathic pain or nerve-related pain. Studies show that the cannabis compound activates pathways in the central nervous system that block pain signals from being sent to the brain.
2. Eases Nausea & Vomiting
The Rx Marinol is an FDA-approved THC pill and has been marketed as a pharmaceutical alternative to cannabis; used for treating nausea and vomiting in cancer patients. While Marinol does contain THC, the compound is both synthetic and isolated. Which means that it pales in comparison to the entourage of chemical compounds found in natural, whole-plant cannabis.
3. Protects Brain Cells
Reefer madness led a lot of people to believe that cannabis consumption kills brain cells. However, the reality is this could not be further from the truth. While most “drugs” are neurotoxic, THC is considered to be neuroprotectant, and actually protects brain cells from damage. Studies have found that people with THC in their systems were 80% less likely to die from traumatic head injuries than those without.
4. Effective Sleep Aid
Research shows that THC helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, as well as improves breathing while reducing sleep interruptions.
5. Helps Treat PTSD
Overall, PTSD affects around 3.5% of the U.S. population, approximately 8 million Americans, in a given year. PTSD can include symptoms such as agitation, severe anxiety, depression, insomnia, nightmares, and social isolation – it can be a crippling condition.
THC has shown to be a highly effective treatment option for PTSD. Studies have confirmed that THC eases most PTSD-related symptoms.
6. Promotes Brain Growth
Believe it or not, the medical benefits of THC for the brain may be even bigger than we thought. Not only does the psychoactive protect brain cells, it also stimulates brain growth. THC activates the “CB1 receptor” in our brains. This stimulation promotes a process known as long-term potentiation which improves the brain’s ability to learn. Scientists also discovered that like CBD, THC causes brain cells in the hippocampus to grow.
Some research even suggests that THC can protect spatial memories. This is why small doses of cannabis can treat or even slow down diseases such as Alzheimer’s. THC can also help protect against Alzheimer’s in other ways as well.
7. THC Increases Appetite
Conditions such as HIV, eating disorders, hepatitis, and dementia can lead to a loss of appetite. Over time, this can result in severe malnourishment or even death. THC is known for increasing appetite.
Researchers have found that THC interacts with the same type of receptors in the hypothalamus that release the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates hunger. In fact, THC can even make food taste better.
8. Enhances Senses & Improved Sex Life
Cannabis used with intention and the right dosage levels provides countless benefits from life-changing revelations to enhanced creativity to deeper personal insights. For many people, the enhancing effects of THC provide very real psychological benefit and relief. It can improve physical activity, as well as their sex lives with enhanced sensation and feeling a deep energetic connection during intimacy.
9. THC is Antibacterial and Can Improve Gut Health
Cannabis plants produce THC is to protect itself from pathogens, and can do the same for humans and animals. THC can effectively change gut microbes over time and improve metabolism. Studies have shown that treating a concerning antibiotic-resistant pathogen with THC successfully kills unhealthy bacteria when other drugs could not.
10. Antioxidant and Anti-Aging
There’s a reason why cannabis has been touted as an anti-aging and anti-stress tool. THC and other cannabinoids are potent antioxidants! In addition to protecting cannabis plants from pathogens, the herb increases its THC production in response to UVB light. UVB light is the type of light that causes oxidative stress in humans, contributing to visible aging and other skin diseases.
Oxidative stress can cause damage at both cellular and DNA levels. This damage makes consumers more prone to serious ailments like cancer and neurodegenerative illness. As a potent antioxidant, one of the many health benefits of THC is protecting the body from stress-related damage.
11. Anti-inflammatory
Chronic inflammation is considered a major risk factor for all different kinds of diseases. Arthritis is inflammation and contributes to pain, stiffness, and poor health over time.
Research suggests that the cannabis compound can decrease the production of cytokine and chemokine compounds in the body, which are immune compounds that trigger inflammation. THC may decrease inflammation by suppressing genes related to an inflammatory response.
12. Bronchodilator
TCH may help open airways in your lungs as well as ease asthma and COPD.
13. Potential Anti-Tumor Agent
Cannabis is making waves in the realm of cancer research. THC and other cannabis compounds have strong anti-cancer potential through a process called apoptosis, which is an immune function that triggers cells to self-destruct when they are damaged or diseased. The cannabinoid can also block a tumor from forming blood vessels by starving the cancer cells; cutting off their food and oxygen supply. In addition, cannabis compounds seem to stop cancer cells from metastasizing.
14. Muscle Relaxant
It is well-known that the cannabinoid can have muscle relaxant properties. This quality is perhaps partly why the compound is so beneficial to patients with conditions like multiple sclerosis, who often experience muscle spasticity, pain, and cramping. In fact, a cannabis-based medicine for these exact symptoms is already on the market in over 30 countries. The medicine, called Sativex, contains both THC and CBD.
While THC is thought to have muscle relaxant properties on its own, the molecule’s ability to ease cramps and tension may be enhanced by certain aroma compounds in the plant.
15. THC is an Anticonvulsant
THC has anticonvulsant properties and can successfully reduced seizures and can help with Epilepsy and other disorders involving convulsive disruptions.
The material presented on this website is intended for information purposes only, not to diagnose, prescribe, or treat a health concert or ailment. If you are concerned about your health, please seek advice from a wellness professional in your area.