CBD Research - How CBD Works
HOW CBD WORKS FOR THE GUT
The gut is so in fashion these days for almost everything health.
It turns out we've been looking in the wrong places for many issues.
Every week, there's a new study showing how our gut is intimately tied to some other part of the body.
And brain!
Some of it is pretty amazing if not counterintuitive.
- Over 90% of our serotonin (the feel-good chemical) is made in the gut
- New research shows that appendicitis reduces the risk of Parkinson's by 20%
- Gut bacteria have been shown to control movement
- 70% of our immune system resides in the gut
Then comes CBD or Cannabidiol.
It's everywhere now...but how does it affect the gut?
Turns out in a very big way.
Ways that affect all the other systems of our bodies.
We'll even look at brand new research as a powerful example of its effect on metabolism!
If you want to go right to safety screened CBD from some of the biggest brands:
Otherwise, let's look at CBD and the gut here:
- What is the gut microbiome?
- What's going wrong in gut these days
- The endocannabinoid system and the gut
- How does CBD work in the gut – based on research
- How much CBD to take for gut health
- What's the best CBD for gut health
Let's get started.
What Is The Gut In Our Body
The gut is a pretty nondescript term for our entire digestive tract.
We mean the gut biome or the 1000's of species of bacteria that work with (and sometimes against) us.
This is where the fascinating research is happening these days.
They just found another 100 new species that we didn't know existed before:
We're starting to realize that the gut bacteria operate almost like a separate organ in terms of importance to our overall health.
Pretty much disregarded until the last few decades, these bacteria have been shown to have many powerful effects in our body and brain.
The core functions include (more is learned every day):
- Immune system response and setting across the body
- Nutrient absorption and creating
- Toxin and waste removal for the entire body and brain
Let's look at each of these in a little more detail since we'll be touching base later on how CBD impacts them.
You always get more detail on how CBD supports the microbiome of gut bacteria here.
Immune System And The Gut
This might the gut's biggest role.
Think about it.
We're swimming in bacteria, viruses, chunks of DNA/RNA, mold, and more!
The minute our food is cut or an animal dies, bacteria counts beings to explode higher.
The first line of defense to most outside invaders will be in the gut.
It has to quickly decide what is a friend and what is a foe.
Our lives depend on it.
We've all had food poisoning at one point.
It really is poison in that it can kill you!
There's a complicated web of interaction between our intestinal lining and the friendly bacteria that reside there.
Our gut bacteria can actually turn on genes in our immune system locally to respond to foreign invaders!
They form a protective film on our intestinal wall and help to decide what gets through and what doesn't!
These families of different bacteria are constantly jockeying for turf against each other and outsiders.
Here's a fascinating summary of the many different ways that gut flora (all the bacteria present) affect our immune system:
Some key takeaways:
- Gut bacteria affect the creation, maintenance, and amount of key immune actors such as T cells, B cells, Macrophages, Neutrophils, and more
- Gut bacteria are directly tied to autoimmune diseases
You can read all about CBD and autoimmune disease here but the key takeaway is this...
The gut bacteria are intimately tied with the balancing and function of our immune system with repercussions throughout the body and brain.
New evidence is pointing to autoimmune and inflammatory causes all the way up to dementia and Alzheimer's.
This may be THE health focus of our foreseeable future.
The Gut And Nutrient Absorption And Creation
The bacteria in our gut act as our mini-factories for nutrients needed throughout the body.
They are known to synthesize some important vitamins:
- Biotin (B7) hair and skin health
- B12 (key to nervous system functioning so...important)
- Vitamin K – used to clot blood
- Niacin – critical across the body
- Folic Acid – needed for the creation of new cells
A study blocked biotin in rats which caused pattern hair loss. They removed the gut bacteria that create biotin and it resulted in total hair loss!
That's just the tip of the iceberg.
There's a much more complicated level below these commonly known vitamins that rely on gut bacteria.
Butyrate, propionate, and acetate are but a few.
You can learn all about this role here:
Butyrate alone has powerful anti-inflammatory effects in the gut and helps to offset obesity.
We're only starting to scratch the surface of the incredibly complicated interplay between gut bacteria and our health.
A study showed that children fed the same food but with a reduced gut biome were malnourished when compared to a group with similar diet but healthier gut flora.
Just adding two strains of bacteria to the undernourished group improved their growth!
Finally...and maybe most importantly...
The gut and toxin and waste removal
There's only one way out (aside from sweating and perspiration).
All the toxins and waste material from our bodies and brains must ultimately leave via the gut.
This is a complicated system since the lining has to be very careful not to let in bad actors.
The build-up of toxins and waste at the lining can cause inflammation which makes this passage complicated.
New research is showing that the endocannabinoid system is instrumental in helping waste and toxins cross the intestinal lining to be removed out of the body!
We'll get into that shortly but first...if the gut is so involved in many modern diseases, what's going on?
What's Going Wrong With Our Gut These Days
Keep in mind that our gut flora is under considerable attack from our modern world.
- Antibiotics are used in food and overused in medicine
- Chemicals, contaminants, and other factors directly affect our gut bacteria
But the biggest culprits would be preservatives and pesticides.
Think of what a preservative really is.
It's a bacteria killer!
By definition.
Fresh food whether fruit, vegetable, or meat immediately starts to break down.
The process of "breaking down" is the very definition of what bacteria do in our world.
If you can keep bacteria from breaking down food for days, weeks, months, or even years, that's a powerful weapon against bacteria.
Have you seen the video of McDonald's cheeseburgers that are more or less intact after a year left on a counter?
That's a wonder of chemistry really.
Here's the issue.
The bacteria in our gut...you know the ones that help balance our immune system, make vitamins, and can even directly affect your mood???
Yea, they get hit by preservatives as well.
If the gut bacteria is intimately tied to almost aspects of our body's health, what's the impact of our food system's big experiment?
Just some quick snippets from a growing army of research:
Mice fed common preservatives showed significant effects which we're governed by gut flora.
Mice fed the emulsifiers for 12 weeks developed low-grade intestinal inflammation and metabolic syndrome ... group of conditions that increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
The same preservatives fed to mice without gut bacteria did not have an effect.
This leads the researchers to believe it was a function of altering the gut bacteria mix.
Sulfites were shown to negatively affect 4 beneficial gut bacteria,
More importantly, they used levels that were considered "safe" for human consumption.
Looking at all the research on preservatives, gut bacteria, and inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, it may help explain why we've seen a surge over the last 40 years of allergies and autoimmune diseases.
The net net...
�Studies show a significant increase over the past 40 years in food allergies, obesity and metabolic disorders that have a direct correlation to disbiosis, or changes in the microbiome.
We won't even get into antibiotics, pesticides, and various chemicals.
Getting closer. Bear with us.
New Updates for Gut Health:
Common emulsifiers cause anxiety via gut biome: Research here
The Endocannabinoid System And The Gut
We all have a naturally-occurring endocannabinoid system in our bodies.
We share with it with most living things (even sea urchins).
Here's a quick picture:
The signature of the endocannabinoid system is written all over the process in our gut!
Activating cannabinoid receptors within the gut inhibits peristalsis and gastric acid secretion and enhances food intake.1,3,4
In fact, many of the issues that occur in the gut these days may be tied to its regulatory boss:
Evidence also suggests that dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system might play a role in intestinal disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, as well as obesity
Maybe most importantly, the endocannabinoid system is being shown to play a crucial role in the bi-directional communication between the brain and gut.
Some researchers call our gut the "second brain" since large amounts of neurotransmitters are actually created there.
Furthermore, we're finding that the tail may wag the dog.
Signals from your gut bacteria send signals via this pathway to stimulate everything thing from hunger, anxiety, pain, nausea/vomiting, to control of movement!
There's even interaction between the endocannabinoid system and the gut bacteria (of course!).
There's a major link between this system, gut bacteria, and obesity!
Simply put, the endocannabinoid system is intimately tied into many aspects of gut health:
It is involved in the regulation of food intake, nausea and emesis, gastric secretion and gastroprotection, GI motility, ion transport, visceral sensation, intestinal inflammation and cell proliferation in the gut.
You can read all about the endocannabinoid system and the immune system here.
Finally...
A brand new piece of research found that the presence of certain cells in the gut slows metabolism and increases risk for related disease.
When that cell type wasn't as prevalent...
�The mice become metabolically hyperactive and, even when consuming a diet very high in fat and sugar, are able to resist metabolic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and atherosclerosis,�
Wow! Their assessment...
The cells are called intraepithelial T lymphocytes (or natural IELs), and when they are not present, researchers discovered, the metabolism of mice goes into overdrive.
Overdrive!
What does that have to do with CBD?
Oh, just this:
CB2 ablation (removal) increased numbers of intraepithelial CD4 T-cells in small intestine
Basically, you reduce the function of endocannabinoid receptors (where CBD does its work) and you get more of those cells and consequently, less metabolism.
Let's look at CBD and the gut now.
That is why we're here.
How Does CBD Work In The Gut – Based On Research
There is a lot of research in terms of CBD and gut health and issues.
As we discussed in much detail on our CBD and inflammation page, excess inflammation keeps popping up across many different diseases.
There are those diseases specific to gut inflammation (IBS, Crohn's, GERD, Colitis, etc) but the root of inflammation across the body may start in the gut!
The current theory is that low level (bordering on a high level) inflammation, if long term, can translate into a host of issues across the body and brain.
This figures into the whole "leaky gut" mechanism where constant inflammation in the gut allows breaches in the intestinal wall where bad bacteria can enter the body and cause havoc.
CBD is showing a great deal of promise here.
Let's start with actual inflammation in the gut:
CBD targets enteric reactive gliosis, counteracts the inflammatory environment induced by LPS in mice and in human colonic cultures derived from UC patients. These actions lead to a reduction of intestinal damage mediated by PPARgamma receptor pathway.
To break this down, CBD acted to reduce gut inflammation via the PPAR pathway.
The effects of CBD were positive across a range of immune inflammation actors including macrophages, mast cells, and more.
The mast cell is interesting since that is where histamine and allergic responses are generated.
Back to our "leaky gut" mechanism.
Between the cells of our intestinal lining, there are gaps called "junctions".
This is where bad things can get through under inflammation or damage to our intestinal walls.
CBD is showing promise in helping
All cannabinoids tested increased the mRNA of the tight junction protein zona occludens-1, but only endocannabinoids also decreased the mRNA of claudin-1.
CBD was actually increasing the genetic production of gut proteins needed for these junctions and the cells that form the lining (first defense) of the intestinal wall!
CBD is even showing promise in repairing gut damage and regulating cell creation/destruction which is critical for specific diseases:
Cannabidiol improved Clostridium difficile toxin A-induced damage in Caco-2 cells, by inhibiting the apoptotic process and restoring the intestinal barrier integrity, through the involvement of the CB1 receptor.
Apoptotic is a fancy word for cell death.
We're seeing CBD's effect on this process when needed throughout the body (psoriasis in the skin for example) so it's no surprising CBD helps to balance that process in the gut.
If you want to see a full range of interaction between CBD and gut, go here:
We'll write extensive articles on all various gut issues and CBD with links to be added here.
The gut is now becoming the axis of immune health, inflammatory response, and even nervous system balance.
Start there!
What's a typical dosage of CBD for gut health and issues?
How Much CBD To Take For Gut Health
This depends on what we're trying to accomplish of course.
For general gut health and wellness, the standard dose is between 25-30 mgs of CBD.
In most of the research regarding ailments associated with gut inflammation and dysregulation, the doses can go up to 300-600mgs per day.
There's even been research up to 1500mgs with a strong safety profile.
Our recommendation is to start slow and test your system.
Build up from there to get relief from the specific issue.
You can learn all about CBD dosage here.
Also, check out the CBD safety page here for information on how and when to take it.
It's best to take it 2 hours away from other medications and some medications use the same pathway as CBD so check the safety page.
What type of CBD works for gut wellness and issues?
What's The Best CBD For Gut Health
We strongly recommend CBD isolate to start.
This is CBD without the other plant material in hemp.
For one, it is THC free which is important.
Furthermore, a good percentage of the population (even more of women) have histamine issues.
As we mentioned above, CBD's effect on calming the histamine pathway is part of its effectiveness in the gut.
We don't want to counter this with botanicals found naturally in hemp.
The research is mainly based on CBD by itself.
We don't have enough information yet for other cannabinoids used in conjunction.
That's the so-called "full-spectrum".
Anecdotally, we've seen many people have side-effects to full-spectrum that don't appear with isolate.
We want to start to clean for that reason.
Especially in the gut!
Otherwise, we want 3rd-party tested CBD free of:
- THC
- Pesticides
- Heavy Metals
- Bacteria
- Mold
- Solvents
We're trying to heal the gut after all!