Читать книгу CBD For Dummies - Blair Lauren Brown - Страница 52

Receptors are proteins that bind to neurotransmitter molecules to create a signal that tells your body to perform a particular function. This binding and linking is like a lock-and-key system that unlocks a series of events. For example, the way that CBD attaches itself to receptors is a key that can unlock (that is, cause or accelerate) a reaction that addresses imbalances and promotes equilibrium.

These receptors exist all over the human body, from the brain to every internal organ. You have a host of receptors in your body — in your skin and throughout your organs — that interact with CBD, which makes you a great candidate for supplementing with CBD. (Unless you aren’t a human, in which case the research is still out for you.)

The ECS is composed of two notable receptors: the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1, found in the brain and nervous system) and cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2, found throughout the immune and other operating systems). These receptors are designed to receive information through cannabinoid chemicals. The body naturally produces these cannabinoids, and they’re also delivered through foods and nutrients. CBD has been shown to interact with the receptor system by interfering with other cannabinoids’ ability to directly bind to the receptors. Imagine a game of billiards. The pockets are the receptors; the solid balls are CBD, and the striped balls are another cannabinoid — for example, THC. The striped ball’s (THC’s) goal is to get into (bind with) the pocket (receptor). If a solid ball (CBD) stops just in front of the pocket, it’s technically interacting with the pocket by preventing the striped ball from going in.

The evidence doesn’t actually suggest that CBD and THC are in opposition (as balls in the billiards example are). Some theories that suggest they’re actually complementary; plant medicine history lends itself to those theories because every strain and variety of the cannabis plant has both CBD and THC in some concentration.