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The immune system defends your body against infections and diseases. Its a complex network that consists of organs, tissues, and cells that work together. The immune system also relies on other important body systems like the central nervous system and the brain.
Boosting our immunity is not an easy process. Remember, its made up of different entities that work together. So, changing your diet alone doesn’t provide a solution. Generally, adopting a healthy lifestyle can help in strengthening your immunity.
However, there’s one approach that everyone is talking about right now, which is using cannabis.
This natural herb has been used since ancient times in treating various diseases and boosting immunity. While cannabis remains controversial, a clinical trial suggests that it boosts the immune system.
How Does Cannabis Improve Your Immunity
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Cannabis has more than a hundred cannabinoids. Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the most abundant. These cannabinoids impact your body differently to release beneficial health effects.
Human immune cells also have cannabinoid receptors. The cannabinoid receptors are found throughout the body and make up the endocannabinoid system (ECS). ECS plays a significant role in regulating various physiological processes, including memory, mood, pain-sensation, and appetite.
With the ECS’s role in homeostasis, it’s a key component to better immunity. A boost in the ECS is a boost to your immunity, and that’s where cannabis comes in. Cannabis Cannabinoids are similar to your body’s cannabinoids. When you take cannabis, the endocannabinoids stimulate the ECS.
Taking cannabis can help in boosting immunity. The controversy surrounding marijuana is because of the intoxication effects caused by THC to users. Fortunately, you can enjoy the health benefits of cannabis without the high by taking cbd gummies canada or other CBD products. CBD has many immunity-boosting effects.
So, should you take cannabis? Here are five reasons you should use cannabis to enhance your immunity.
1. Cannabis is A Powerful Anti-Inflammatory Agent
The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the spinal cord and the brain. It also regulates most brain and body functions. Whenever there’s an injury in the body, the CNS releases astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglial cells, and T-lymphocytes that fight off infections and diseases.
Diseases such as vasculitis on the CNS causes inflammation of the veins and arteries in the spinal cord and the brain. When this happens, CNS’s ability to regulate body mechanisms fails, which causes neurological illnesses and neuronal damage that leads to neurodegenerative autoimmune conditions.
When you take cannabis, its cannabinoids bind with the body’s cannabinoid receptors, thus mimicking their role. This helps in improving the communication between the CNS and the immune system to help fight inflammation. Research reveals that cannabis’s cannabinoids, such as THC and CBD, are potent anti-inflammatory agents.
2. Cannabis is An Effective Antioxidant
When you’re stressed, the body generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the affected cells and tissues. The overproduction of ROS causes oxidative stress, which is an imbalance between the ROS and antioxidants.
Oxidative stress leads to the modification of genes and proteins. The body responds by releasing pro-inflammatory agents, chemokines, and cytokines that help to stop and rectify changes due to oxidative stress. In the process of eliminating oxidative stress, the body’s defense mechanisms can trigger chronic inflammation.
Since cannabis is a novel antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, it can help in stopping oxidative stress.
3. Cannabis Has Antidepressant Effects
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Whenever your body is stressed, it increases the production of cortisol and reduces the production of serotonin. Serotonin helps the nervous system cells and your brain cells to communicate effectively. So, reduced production of serotonin may contribute to depression.
Cannabis has cannabinoids, which are powerful antidepressants. The cannabinoids help in regulating the production of stress hormones. Using cannabis helps in easing conditions that affect your immunity, such as depression, anxiety, and stress.
4. Cannabis Modulates Your Immunity
Cannabis helps in modulating various immune functions. It suppresses cell-mediated immunity and humoral immunity. Cannabis also discourages humoral responses, antigen proliferation, and presentation, maturation, cell motility, or immune cells’ movement.
When the body senses an injury, it responds by triggering inflammation that controls both infections and healing. But once the injured part heals, the body gets rid of the inflammatory cells.
The micrological cells help the body remove the waste products but can damage cells in the process. Cannabinoids help in inhibiting the micrological cell movement, thus protecting cell destruction.
5. Cannabis Causes Cell Apoptosis
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Research suggests that CBD causes cell apoptosis due to oxidative stress modifications. CBD’s antioxidant effects help in restoring the immune system functionality. Since cancer involves alteration of cells, CBD’s ability to destroy cancer cells helps in managing cancer. The study discovered that treating cancer cells with CBD causes them to undergo apoptosis or die. From the research, it’s evident that CBD helps immunity in fighting diseases such as cancer.
Conclusion
Cannabis has many medicinal effects that can significantly boost immunity and enhance your overall health. Many countries now recognize the health benefits of cannabis, which explains the rapid increase in its legalization. These are some of the ways that cannabis operates to improve the immune system. Remember, cannabis affects everybody differently. But talking to a cannabis specialist will help you learn how to make the most of it.