Inflammation
The human body possesses an incredible ability to heal itself. When inflammation occurs in response to an infection or injury, this inflammation heals wounds and communicates to the immune system that it is necessary to heal damaged cells or defend against foreign invaders like bacteria and other infections. When inflammation is long-term or chronic, however, it can be damaging and is associated more often with autoimmune disorders.
What Types Of Inflammation Are There?
Most people are familiar with acute inflammation, which occurs when the immune system releases white blood cells to surround and protect an injury, creating redness, warmth, swelling, and pain, and then the inflammation disappears. When the inflammatory response is too high and lingers for too long, it’s advisable to make an appointment with your doctor because your body has remained in a constant state of alert. A continuous pumping out of white blood cells and chemical messengers can damage healthy cells, tissues, and organs and is known as chronic inflammation, which is associated with dementia, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases like arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.
What Causes Inflammation?
Certain medications, exposure to irritants or foreign materials that the body can’t easily eliminate, pathogens – a bacteria or virus – that the body can’t break down, and recurrent episodes of acute inflammation can lead to a chronic inflammatory response. An autoimmune disorder, which involves your immune system mistakenly attacking healthy tissue even when there are no foreign substances present, is also linked to chronic inflammation. There are over 80 types of autoimmune diseases including Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, asthma, Crohn’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and celiac disease, among others, and doctors are still unsure why the body attacks itself. Factors that increase the risk include of chronic inflammation include older age, obesity, an unhealthy diet, smoking, stress, sleep problems, and low sex hormones.
What Are The Symptoms Of Inflammation?
Constant fatigue and insomnia, fever, mouth sores, body pain, skin rashes, excessive mucus production, low energy levels, poor digestion, depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, weight gain, and frequent infections. A new study from the Netherlands Study of Anxiety and Depression (NESDA) that analysed blood samples from 304 people with current depression, 548 with anxiety, 531 with both depression and anxiety, 807 with remitted disorders, and 634 healthy controls, and found that the depressed group showed evidence of greater inflammation which was not seen in the anxious group.
How Can Medical Cannabis Help With Inflammation?
In a report titled Cannabinoids As Novel Anti-inflammatory Drugs, the researchers state that cannabinoids, specifically CBD, suppress the inflammatory response and disease symptoms by inducing cell death in activated immune cells, and by suppressing cytokines and chemokines – messenger molecules that direct the migration of white blood cells to infected or damaged tissues at inflammatory sites. Cannabinoids have also been tested in several experimental models of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, and hepatitis and have been shown to induce multiple anti-inflammatory pathways.
A recent 2018 study also found that terpenoids, the fragrant compounds found in cannabis that give it its smell and flavour, may also improve the plant’s ability to relieve inflammation by suppressing a protein complex responsible for a large part of inflammatory diseases. The Israeli researchers extracted terpenoid oils from cannabis and tested them on cells and mice by exposing isolated white blood cells to free radicals before adding terpenoid oil. When the mice received terpenoid treatment, they experienced moderate inflammation relief. Terpenoids seemed to have a lesser impact on inflammation than CBD, but it showed potential for mitigating acute inflammation.
What Else Reduces Inflammation?
Eating anti-inflammatory foods that are high in antioxidants and polyphenols, such as olive oil, leafy greens, such as kale and spinach, tomatoes, fatty fish, such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel, nuts, fruits, especially cherries, blueberries, and oranges. If you are overweight and showing inflammation symptoms, your immune system might see visceral fat cells — the deep type of fat that surrounds your organs — as a threat and attack them with white blood cells. The longer you are overweight, the longer your body will remain in a state of inflammation, and the foods that contribute to weight gain – refined carbohydrates, fried foods, and processed meats – can also increase inflammation.
Further Reading
How and where to safely buy RSO medical cannabis oil online
Introduction to Medical Cannabis
Help and Advice
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Disclaimer: Please note that whilst we consider ourselves subject matter experts regarding Medical Cannabis, we are not medical professionals. We are a Medical Cannabis information resource, educating and helping those in need. Whilst we are very strong believers in the benefits of Medical Cannabis, there is still limited evidence that Medical Cannabis can treat/cure all the illnesses we discuss on our website. We recommend you do as much research as possible, and where practical seek professional medical advice before proceeding with Medical Cannabis oil.