When CBD Is Not Enough
by Zoom Heaton
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Good Sense Medicine
CBD is the rave these days. Everyone is using it and if you haven’t, you’re thinking about it. It is touted to help in a broad spectrum of medical ailments from pain, anxiety, mood disorders, and sleep to seizures, cancer, and autoimmune diseases like Parkinson’s and Crohn’s. Everyone is looking for relief from health ailments, and CBD appears to be the magic bullet. Do not be fooled; there is NO magic bullet! It is a piece in the puzzle of health that can help, but it is not the cure-all for anything and everything that ails you.
What is CBD?
CBD, or cannabidiol (Canna-Bi-Diol), is the non-psychoactive part of the hemp plant. Everyone is familiar with the psychoactive part of the hemp plant that is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC produces the euphoric and psychotropic effects of marijuana. CBD does not cause intoxication. It is the “wellness” part of the hemp plant.
Our bodies, and those of almost all animals, have an endocannabinoid system with hundreds of CB receptors. It is the greatest system that has existed in us from the beginning of time that you’ve never heard about. CBD works in our system promoting homeostasis, or balance, that our bodies long for in order to stay healthy. Most of us do not achieve homeostasis and the body stays in a perpetual state of inflammation, which in turn puts us at risk for disease.
We are sick when our bodies are plagued with inflammatory processes that our immune system is struggling to fight. CBD helps to tame the flames in order for our bodies to begin to heal. This is important in the process of healing and restoration. Unfortunately, CBD does not restore the varying deficiencies that the body may need which could be micronutrients, hormones, antioxidants, or healthy bacteria in the gut to help assist the body to be more functional and stave off disease.
Micronutrients
Most of us don’t think about how micronutrients really affect our daily functioning and health. But without them, we become debilitated. For example, micronutrients serve as critical components to hormones like the amino acid aspartic acid serving as a key structural component for thyroid function. Vitamin C has been shown to increase progesterone, the healing hormone in women responsible for mood stabilization, relaxation and sleep. It is also involved in helping men with advancing age not to convert their testosterone over to estrogen by inhibiting the enzyme aromatase.
Folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12, and minerals like magnesium and the antioxidant glutathione all play a role in detoxifying dangerous estrogen metabolites and converting them into less toxic substances that are more easily eliminated from the body decreasing our risk for certain cancers like breast, uterine, ovary, and prostate.
Micronutrients are also essential in energy production within the mitochondria (our cellular engine). Many of the B vitamins, magnesium, Coenzyme Q10, and L-Carnitine are all co-factors involved in this energy production. Deficiencies of any of these micronutrients will inhibit energy production contributing to cellular dysfunction of the liver, inhibiting detoxification processes, and heart contraction ability, reducing oxygenated blood throughout the body. These are just a few examples of how micronutrients support the body and contribute to proper body functioning and good health.
Factors such as advancing age, certain health conditions, environmental toxins, prescription medications, and other factors can affect the body’s ability to absorb the nutrients in your food properly. Soil quality, storage time, and processing can all adversely affect nutrient levels in food. Given the vital work that micronutrients perform in the body, it is critical to know if your body has a sufficient supply. If you have symptoms like pain, insomnia, fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, anxiety, blood sugar irregularities,
constipation/diarrhea, allergies, high blood pressure and other heart related issues, and any other symptoms that may be affecting your daily functioning, it is worth testing and finding out that piece of the puzzle that’s preventing you from your best health.
Unfortunately, CBD cannot reverse these deficiencies or fill your body up with these vital nutrients responsible for normal functioning.
Hormone Deficiency and Imbalance
As we age, we enter phases of hormone deficiency and imbalance. In women, perimenopause and menopause are phases of erratic hormone changes and deficiencies which can bring on many annoying and debilitating symptoms disruptive to normal life. Furthermore, hormone deficiency becomes drastic in menopause. Without proper hormones on board, the aging process speeds up and we are at greater risk for disease. CBD cannot supplement you with vital hormones needed for good brain functioning, heart and bone health, vaginal and urinary health, and many other benefits that only hormones can supply.
Men need testosterone for strength, stamina, good heart health, sexual vitality, memory, mood stabilization, and bone health, to name a few of the benefits. Unfortunately, with age, stress, poor diet and prescription drugs, men lose this vital hormone responsible for quality of life and protection against ag-related diseases. CBD cannot supplement testosterone or any other hormone. It does help the body to calm and it tames inflammation so the body doesn’t become even more depleted of these vital hormones as the body struggles to reach a state of balance.
Probiotics
The human gut contains 10 times more bacteria than all other human cells in the entire body, with more than 400 diverse bacterial species. Probiotics are bacteria that line your digestive tract and support your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and fight infection. Between 70 and 80 percent of our immune system is located in our digestive tract.
A large percent of our health is dependent on a healthy gut. In addition, our digestive systems are the second largest part of our neurological system. This is the enteric nervous system, and it is located in the gut. The reason our gut is called our “second brain” is largely because it is responsible for making 95 percent of the serotonin, the “feel good” neurotransmitter that has a significant impact on brain function and mood.
Digestive problems wreak havoc in the entire body, leading to other health conditions like allergies, arthritis, dementia, acne, and other skin disorders, mood disturbances, autism, autoimmune disease, thyroid imbalances, chronic fatigue, cancer, and more. The health of our gut determines which nutrients are absorbed and which toxins, allergens, and microbes are kept out.
Probiotics promote good digestive health. They also provide protection against inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. In addition, studies suggest that probiotics are effective against several forms of diarrhea including antibiotic-associated diarrhea, acute diarrhea, and traveler’s diarrhea. Studies have also shown that probiotics have a wide array of benefits; they regulate hormones, reduce inflammation, maintain beautiful skin, produce vitamins B-12 and K2, create enzymes that destroy harmful bacteria, and stimulate the secretion of IgA and regulatory T-cells which support our immune system.
CBD does not provide us with the necessary gut bacteria needed for all health benefits listed above.
Testing
There are tests available to find out your nutrient or hormone status. We tend to guess and try different recommended products for what we perceive are our ailments. This could lead to trouble if dosages are too much or we’re taking the wrong thing. Micronutrient testing can help solve this unique symptoms puzzle and show your actual deficiencies which are usually linked to a debilitating symptom or myriad of symptoms.
Hormone testing using saliva, urine, or blood is also available. The type of hormone testing used is dependent on your specific symptoms and your health circumstance. Salivary testing shows your bioavailable hormones (hormones available to your organs and tissues) on a cellular level; urine testing helps to show how well you’re breaking down your hormones and which metabolites are harmful; blood or serum testing shows the amount of free or total hormones circulating in the bloodstream that are not in your cells.
It is important to note that finding out your nutrient or hormone levels sooner versus later can help to identify your deficiencies or imbalances early to get a jump start on managing your symptoms and stave off disease.
Conclusion
CBD can play a very important part in helping our bodies work toward homeostasis. Because inflammation appears to be the root of all disease, CBD with its anti-inflammatory properties can play a role in our health and healing. However, our body runs on fuel (micronutrients, hormones, probiotics, etc.) and CBD is a fuel additive, not the pure fuel that we need to keep us running more effectively and efficiently. Get tested to see what key ingredients your body is missing in order to fuel up the right way for a more healthy body and better quality of life.
If you have questions about CBD and how to use CBD in conjunction with your medication, or want to learn how to wean off your opioid medications, please contact us and speak to one of our trained pharmacists. TLC Medical also provides micronutrient, hormone, adrenal, and neurotransmitter testing to help you put the pieces of your health puzzle together for a more healthy body and a brighter outlook on life. Please call and make an appointment with our board certified integrative functional pharmacist to help you to achieve your health goals.
Zoom Heaton is the owner of TLC Medical Centre Inc., and Independent Community Pharmacy, and Medical Equipment facility located at 190 Crepe Myrtle Drive off Silver Bluff Road. A pharmacist, she is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. She is a Certified Diabetes Educator and is certified in Immunization; she is also the chief compounding pharmacist at Custom Prescription Compounders, LLC. inside TLC Medical Centre, Inc., specializing in Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy and Women’s Health. Call 803.648.7800 or visit noonesoerx.com for more information.
