Benefits of Terpenes
It’s not easy to escape from the assaults of modern living: unhealthy foods, chronic use of prescription drugs, environmental toxins and pollutants, emotional stress and so on. Our busy lifestyles make it difficult to strike a balance with healthy eating, exercise, quality sleep and meditation.
Therefore, we may not often feel our best. Cannanda™’s products address the rebalancing of one’s body via the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to bring about health and wellness.
Our customers have told us time and again how Cannanda™’s products have helped them improve their every day lives. Whether it is to reduce anxiety, control pain or improve sleep or more, you can read literally hundreds of testimonials here. Learn more about what scientific research is saying about CB2 activation here, how CB2 activation works here and why CB2 is a better alternative to CBD here.
What is my ECS?
Discovered by researchers only about 30 years ago, your endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a messenger and receptor system that has the main function of regulating the other systems in your body by promoting homeostasis (balance) for all over wellness.
The terpene blend targets, bind to and activates CB2 receptors that can lead to a rebalancing of the ECS.
How do Terpenes Work
Terpenes are aromatic botanical compounds, often considered the active components of essential oils. By harnessing the power of terpenes in Cannanda™’s precisely formulated CB2™ blends, you can optimize the function of your ECS by activating one of its main receptors, a receptor called cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2). There are numerous benefits to activating this receptor without activating the CB1 receptor (the receptor THC activates and is responsible for the “high” associated with cannabis). The terpene blend targets bind to and activate CB2 receptors that lead to a rebalancing of the ECS. This may help to:
- Reduce pain and inflammation
- Protect the cardiovascular and nervous systems
- Ease joint pain
- Reduce anxiety & depression
- Protect the gastrointestinal tract
- Improve mitochondrial function (overall health & longevity)
CBD vsCB2™
While CBD and CB2™ will often result in very similar results, their work is different. Our Cannanda™ CB2™ terpene blend is formulated to directly activate CB2 receptors, which are one of the main receptors of our bodies’ endocannabinoid system. CBD, on the other hand, has a very low affinity for CB2 receptors, so direct activation of CB2 receptors does not happen with CBD. Instead, CBD can help our endocannabinoid system in indirect ways, including:
- “Allosteric modification” of cannabinoid receptors. These receptors can take on various configurations and can be found in “inactive” forms, so CBD can “prime” them, making them easier to activate.
- CBD is a competitive inhibitor of FABPs (fatty acid binding proteins), which are the proteins that bind our endocannabinoids for removal from the body. CBD binds to FABPs, preventing them from shuttling our endocannabinoids out of the body.
- CBD also activates the 5-HT receptors (similar to serotonin) and D2 receptors (like dopamine does) along with a number of other potential receptors (either as an activator or inhibitor)… but again, not so much a direct activation on either CB1 or CB2 receptors.
How does CB2™ Work?
The unique blend of terpenes in CB2™ works by activating your body’s CB2 receptors. How much of a benefit you feel will depend on several factors related to your physiology.
First, your body must produce enough CB2 receptors in the area where you are looking for relief. For example, if you sprained your ankle, your body would normally up-regulate the expression of CB2 receptors around your ankle so that when you use these terpenes, you’ll find relief. If your body doesn’t adequately up-regulate CB2 receptors, there will not be enough receptors to activate, so you won’t feel the benefits of the terpenes as much. BUT pay attention to other areas of your body… you might find that other aspects of your health are improved (those areas where CB2 receptors are present in sufficient quantities).
Second, the CB2 receptors’ conformation must be in the “open” configuration. This allows the terpenes to activate CB2 receptors
and transmit signals into the cell. If, however, the receptors are in the “closed” configuration, the terpenes might not be able to
activate the receptors, or the signal might not be transmitted as it should. (Aside: this is when CBD becomes useful as it acts as an
“allosteric modifier”).
So you’ll notice benefits from the CB2™ products assuming you’ve got plenty of CB2 receptors in the areas you want/need and
assuming they are in the right configuration. If one or both of the factors discussed are sub-optimal, the benefits you experience
might be muted (although you might still get benefits to other areas of your body in unexpected ways).
