Every second of our lives, we are operating in perfect harmony with the rest of our bodies. The body’s communication system is so advanced that it can keep time, feel pleasure or pain and produce chemicals for other parts to use as messengers. The communication is between them throughout your day-long processes like thinking or moving around. This is made possible by hormones.
The body has many different hormonal systems that work in concert with one another. The release of certain hormones from specific glands sends them on a journey throughout the bloodstream. This gives feedback to every other organ and gland as they go about their task at hand – maintaining optimal bodily function.
How CBD affects hormones
CBD can bind to receptors and change how hormones function in the body. It does these by three different ways, all via a single connection point on cells that are important for keeping you alive:
- Synthesis: Cannabinoids are found throughout the body. When our endocannabinoid systems activate them, they can alter hormone regulation in major glands. In addition to this effect on hormones themselves, cannabinoids have also been shown to impact target organs such as heart rate or blood pressure levels (although not always).
It is believed that CBD can interact with different hormone receptors to alter hormonal secretion. This may be one reason why some people are reporting increased energy, mood enhancement, or relief from chronic pain symptoms. The report comes after supplementing hemp-based products like CBD oil.
CBD does not have any psychoactive effects, but it works as an indirect agonist at CB1 (water-soluble) and Winner pathways. This results in decreased anxiety levels, among other beneficial qualities.
When the THC receptor in your brain is activated, it sends out signals that regulate and control various aspects of health. This includes changes to how you feel about yourself as well as increased production or release from different glands throughout our body’s systems.
- Source: Cannabinoid receptors are present on organs and glands throughout the body, so they can affect multiple organ systems.
Cannabinoids control hormonal balance by acting at cannabinoid receptor 1, which is also found in most other tissues with an important role to play there too.
- Response: A study found that cannabinoids can influence the ‘volume’ or strength of message received at a targeted organ from hormones. The sensitivity of cell receptors for certain types of hormones is either increased or decreased by these substances. This increases their volume or lowering it below normal levels, respectively.
Breakdown
Hormones are constantly breaking down in our bodies and must be properly disposed of so that the body maintains balance. Cannabinoids like CBD can alter how fast enzymes break these hormones apart. This means they have an extended lifespan before being excreted by urination or through other bodily functions such as sweating out unwanted toxins from muscle tissue.
Some of the major roles of hormones are:
- Metabolism
- Fertility
- Appetite
- Sex drive
- Energy
- Mood
The natural balance of hormones is constantly changing, and this can affect your mood. For example, you may experience changes such as puberty or menopause at different stages in life, where hormone levels fluctuate differently. These fluctuations are according to day/night cycles or at what point during the menstrual cycle they happen too (for women).
A lackadaisical attitude about things could easily become irritable when these fluctuations cause anxiety because everything feels so unpredictable.
Hormones can be imbalanced for a variety of reasons, including environmental toxins like plastics and pesticides. This creates an imbalance that may lead to chronic illnesses – one major challenge we face today.
We can support healthy hormones through the foods, herbs, and exercise we engage with by looking for ways to reduce our exposure to toxins.
Major Hormones
- Estrogen: Estrogen is a hormone that controls many aspects of female sexual development, fertility, and disease. It’s made in the ovaries, where it interacts with other hormones like LH (luteinizing) or FSH (follicle-stimulating). Estrogens levels can also change due to enzymes breaking them down. This breakdown occurs when their concentrations become too high, for example, during menstruation.
- Thyroid Hormones: Studies have found that CBD can reduce the risk of thyroid issues.
In one study, researchers split test subjects into three groups:
o low dose group (30mg)
o medium-dose group(60 mg) and
o high-medium doses 90 mg).
The research recorded how many cells were alive in each sample by looking at DNA viability after 24 hours. They did this with no treatment or adding cannabidiol oil to their daily diets for two weeks during cancer treatments like chemotherapy. During this cancer treatment, patients often experience significant weight loss.
- Testosterone: Testosterone is a sex hormone, and it’s also important for reproductive functions. It can regulate moods as well as energy levels in the body. Without enough testosterone, you may feel exhausted all day long, while having too much will make people irritable or aggressive due to increased focus on libido-related behaviors.
- Insulin: The hormone insulin greatly impacts body weight and energy levels via regulating metabolism. Insulin regulates how our cells take in sugar from the bloodstream. Healthy levels mean we use the stuff effectively, which will help us stay lean as well.
- Growth Hormone: Growth hormones are essential for the development and maturation of your body. They stimulate growth in all parts, including cells themselves.
- Cortisol: Cortisol is a stress hormone that tells the body, “this might be stressful.” It’s produced in response to sensory inputs from our environment. Cortisol’s short-term spikes are beneficial because they allow for awareness of potentially dangerous events before it becomes too much trouble.
Effects of CBD oil on this hormone
- It has positive effects on Insulin
- It has positive effects on Cortisol
- Likely positive on Thyroid, but too soon to say
- Likely negative on testosterone if taken in high doses
- The effects are on growth hormone are fast
- It is also too soon to say for estrogen
How harmful is CBD?
CBD can harm you, and harmful effects are possible before users even know about it. CBD has been known to cause liver injury, which could lead to other serious side-effects such as interacting with other medications or changing their effectiveness at working properly.
Can you take CBD daily?
You can, and for the best effects, you actually should. “You definitely won’t overdose on this stuff,” says Cannaway marketing director Capano. In fact, it’s lipophilic (or fat-soluble), meaning it compounds in your body over time, adding more benefits beyond what was originally experienced. It does this by ingesting just one or two doses each morning as prescribed by a medical professional trained specialist. Such is life with these kinds of healing plants at our disposal nowadays.
Conclusion
It has been shown in other studies that CBD can produce some initial changes to hormones. Though these fluctuations may correct over time, they are compensated for by mechanisms such as hormone receptor sensitivity or cross-tolerance with THC. It’s too early to say how long-term use will affect a person’s health and what this translates into. We need more research.