From Granny Storm Crow:
Everyone knows about the circulatory system, and the digestive system- they are pretty obvious to the naked eye. But there is another less obvious system -the cannabinoid receptor system.
On the surface of your cells, there are chemical receptors that sort of work like an ignition switch in a car. The right shaped chemical will fit into the receptor’s “key hole” and it “turns on” some action. This could be almost anything- from telling a cancer cell it’s time to die, to activating the suckling instinct in an infant, to soothing your upset stomach to making you feel “just a little bit too good”! (For more info on the cannabinoid receptors and what they do, see (1) for the short FOX NEWS version, or (2) for a real education!)
The reason cannabis works, is that our bodies make their own types of cannabinoids, endocannabinoids that “turn on” the receptors, setting off all sorts of reactions. The plant cannabinoids, THC and CBD, happen to fit in our body’s cannabinoid system’s “key holes” and can fill in for a deficiency in the production of your own endocannabinoids. The CB1 receptor is responsible for getting you high, and a lot more.
On to the abstract I found – (Where you see “n-3 PUFAs”, read Omega 3.)
“Nutritional omega-3 deficiency abolishes endocannabinoid-mediated neuronal functions.”
The corollaries of the obesity epidemic that plagues developed societies are malnutrition and resulting biochemical imbalances. Low levels of essential n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have been linked to neuropsychiatric diseases, but the underlying synaptic alterations are mostly unknown. We found that lifelong n-3 PUFAs dietary insufficiency specifically ablates long-term synaptic depression mediated by endocannabinoids in the prelimbic prefrontal cortex and accumbens. In n-3-deficient mice, presynaptic cannabinoid CB(1) receptors (CB(1)Rs) normally responding to endocannabinoids were uncoupled from their effector G(i/o) proteins. Finally, the dietary-induced reduction of CB(1)R functions in mood-controlling structures was associated with impaired emotional behavior. These findings identify a plausible synaptic substrate for the behavioral alterations caused by the n-3 PUFAs deficiency that is often observed in western diets.
Granny’s translation – “The US diet sucks big time and we are fat, undernourished, and crazy because of it. We get WAY too much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3. Not getting enough Omega 3 can make you crazy because without it, the CB1 cannabinoid receptors in your brain aren’t made right- a chunk that is supposed to be attached, isn’t! Broken receptors give you “impaired emotional behavior”. So we think it’s the low Omega 3 diet is making the US totally nuts!”
Now, since the CB1 receptors are not working right because of that broken piece, does this also mean that people who have been deficient in Omega 3 for a while are missing out on the full medical benefits- and their maximum high?
The two most popular forms of Omega 3 supplements are fish oils and flax seed oil. Fish oil may be contaminated with mercury- so many people prefer flax seed oil. Flax is fine, but has a few minor problems nutritionally- look it up if you are curious.
But there is another plant oil that is an even better source of Omega 3 than flax seed oil……….hemp seed oil! (3) The very thing we need to make our CB receptors work at their best is in the hemp plant! Cannabis is the source of the cannabinoids that we need to heal ourselves and the source of the Omega 3 we need for our receptors to do their jobs properly!
A loss of CB1 receptors has been shown in Huntington’s Disease, premature birthing, Alzheimer’s, intestinal tumors, Parkinson’s and other conditions. It seems reasonable to assume that defective CB receptors would not replicate as well as normal ones would. We need the Omega 3 to make healthy, functioning CB1 receptors!
Some of you by now are thinking “Well, I’m totally up the creek! Never took a fish oil capsule in my life, I hate fish, never even seen hemp seed oil, and I eat at KFC and McDs! My poor old CB receptors must be deformed as heck, and I’ll never get them working right!”
Guess what? Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain! (4) So if you were getting the Omega 3s, it would seem logical that the newly-formed brain cells would be normal and healthy! Omega 3 might just be as good for your “head”, as it is for your heart!
But will just popping a few fish or hemp oil caps get you higher (or healthier) tonight? Not right away, but if you keep it up, those neurons with the defective CB1 receptors will be replaced with healthier, working ones! It takes a minimum of 3 weeks for Omega 3’s anti-depressant effects to begin to show, so it seems likely that around a month would be needed for effects to show up medically. For medical users, Omega 3 may make the difference between health and sickness! Without sufficient, working CB1 receptors, cannabis is less efficient at healing us!
I think the Omega 3 / CB1 connection is vitally important for not just the medical cannabis community, but the whole medical community! (And the “stoners” may appreciate it, too!)
(1) Are You Cannabis Deficient? (news – 2010)
http://health.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/10/are-you-cannabis-deficient/
(2) Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency (full – 2004)
http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/clinical.pdf
(3) 10 Health Benefits of Hemp Seeds
http://www.superfoodliving.com/10-health-benefits-of-hemp-seeds
(4) Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain (news – 2005) http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8155
(4) Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain (news – 2005) http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8155
More on Omega 3-
Deficiency of Dietary Omega-3 May Explain Depressive Behaviors (abst – 2011) http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Deficiency+of+Dietary+Omega-3+May+Explain+Depressive+Behaviors.-a0248155576
Omega-3 fatty acids increase brain volume: while reversing many aspects of neurologic aging. (full – 2010) http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Omega-3+fatty+acids+increase+brain+volume%3a+while+reversing+many…-a0237529250
Wise up!
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Wise+up+with+omega-3%3a+can+omega-3+benefit+brain+health%3f-a0213232330
O-3 & heart
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/New+Omega-3+Blood+Test%3a+A+Better+Predictor+of+Coronary+Heart+Disease…-a0206090424
O-6 vs. O-3 ratio
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Omega-6+to+Omega-3+Ratio+-+Discover+the+Shocking+Reality+That+Ruins…-a01073970178
How Long Before Fish Oil Works on Depression to Lift Your Mood?
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Long-Before-Fish-Oil-Works-on-Depression-to-Lift-Your-Mood?&id=4229948