Inflammation is quite the buzzword in the realms of health, well-being, and sports. But many do not fully understand its purpose or what the implications can be.
In this article, we will dive into what inflammation is and whether hemp could play a role in calming it down.
What Is Inflammation?
Inflammation is often simply viewed as the inflammation of bodily tissues, such as when a small cut or sunburn becomes red.
But why does this happen? Harvard Medical School defines inflammation as "the body's natural response to protect itself against harm".
This refers to the inflammation that usually does more good than harm - acute inflammation. This type of inflammation is an immune response that is often, but not always, triggered by injury or infection.
The immune system sends a brigade of white blood cells to fight intruders such as viruses, or to heal existing injuries. And once the job is done, the inflammation should reduce and eventually cease.
However, if the acute response is stronger than is needed, it can cause significant harm to the body.
The immune system can sometimes overreact and damage healthy cells. If the inflammation lasts longer than is needed, as with injury pain that just won't go away, it falls into the category of chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation is generally less intense but can last from months to years and even a lifetime for people struggling with chronic pain or other chronic conditions.
Toxins in food, pollution, cigarettes or any other source can also lead to chronic inflammation. With autoimmune conditions, the immune system consistently uses inflammation to attack healthy cells for no apparent reason.
And chronic, low-grade inflammation is strongly linked to many diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
Is Inflammation Good Or Bad?
As you can probably see by now, inflammation has good intentions. However, when things go wrong, it can wreak havoc on the body.
Good inflammation shows up, protects, heals, and leaves without doing any unnecessary damage. Bad inflammation causes harm to healthy cells or persists longer than is required.
Inflammation And The ECS
The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is a natural cell-signalling system that is considered to be the master regulator of a wide range of bodily functions, including the immune system, pain, appetite, sleep, and mood.
It consists of a network of cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoids, and enzymes.
Endocannabinoids are naturally produced by the body, but closely resemble plant cannabinoids (normally found in cannabis) such as CBD or THC.
Cannabis or hemp cannabinoids can influence the function of the ECS. And the different interplays between cannabinoids, enzymes, and cannabinoid receptors can be strongly linked to certain health outcomes.
While this system is far from being fully understood, scientists have observed that it plays a critical role in regulating the body's inflammatory response.
Can Hemp Help With Inflammation?
If you have had good experiences when using hemp and CBD, you may have already made your mind up as to whether they can help with inflammation.
Unfortunately, as a company selling food supplements, we cannot legally make any medicinal claims about our products.
Claiming that they can help with inflammation would be classed as a medicinal claim. We are not medical professionals, but we do know a thing or two about health and well-being!
It is common knowledge that many plant foods contain vast arrays of compounds that can have anti-inflammatory effects. But due to the above, you will never find broccoli with a label saying that it reduces inflammation.
Curcumin supplements are another example, they are widely believed to help reduce inflammation, but companies selling them cannot state this.
As mentioned, hemp and CBD can interact with the endocannabinoid system, and result in many changes within the body.
If you wish to learn more about what these specific changes could be, we would recommend searching for some peer-reviewed studies online so you can expand your knowledge.
We hope that this article has helped you to better understand inflammation. If you are looking for some high-efficacy supplements to support your health and well-being, click the ‘Shop Now’ button at the top of your screen.