Should healthy people start using cannabis?

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been republished with permission.

With increasing awareness of the health benefits of using cannabis to treat a variety of ailments, it would be normal for a healthy individual to wonder if there are any benefits to using cannabis.

The truth is that cannabis can still be therapeutic and can help even the healthiest of people. You don’t have to be sick or ill to enjoy its health benefits. This plant medicine is extremely effective in mitigating even the smallest occurrences in our daily lives that accumulate over time and can make us ill – either mentally, emotionally or physically.

Photo by ArtistGNDphotography via Getty

Understanding the endocannabinoid system

Before knowing how cannabis works in the human body, be it in sick or healthy people, it is important to understand the endocannabinoid system (ECS).

As humans, we have another system that biology classes of the past didn’t teach us: the endocannabinoid system. This complex system was first identified in the early 1990s, and while much of it remains mysterious, experts know it is vital in regulating many of the processes that keep us healthy. These include regulating our appetite, mood, sleep, fertility, reproduction, memory, inflammation, and more. It does this through the massive network of cellular receptors and chemical signals within the ECS.

Meanwhile, the CB1 and CB2 receptors, located both in the brain and other parts of the body, regulate other neurotransmitters. In this way, cannabis helps increase or decrease bodily functions such as sleep or hunger to achieve homeostasis. These receptors are further stimulated by endocannabinoids, which are compounds similar to the cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant, except our human body produces our own. While we have our own endocannabinoids in the body, the cannabinoids in the plant help the endocannabinoid system work more effectively and even treat minor ailments to promote balance.

RELATED: Study: Cannabis makes people better by increasing empathy and feelings of selflessness

Because the endocannabinoid system helps regulate so many complex functions in the body, it doesn’t take a disease for us to benefit from cannabis. Instead, think of cannabis as a vitamin or nutritional supplement that helps keep us even healthier in the absence of illness, as it’s able to address issues like endocannabinoid deficiencies and nip potential illnesses in the bud.

How cannabis benefits healthy people

Even the healthiest of people are prone to certain things like stress at work, occasional anxiety, and vitamin deficiencies to name a few. Here’s how cannabis can help you stay healthier:

• Emphasize: Everyone is vulnerable to stress to varying degrees. Whether stress is caused by work, the pressures of parenthood, family life, or anything else, it’s been scientifically proven that constant exposure to stress can kill you. This is why millions of people rely on cannabis for life’s stressful moments – it simply makes you feel better instantly, but more importantly, it addresses internal processes that are compromised by stress.

These can include fatigue, high blood pressure, migraines, headaches, cardiac arrhythmias, insomnia, and more. Stress can also cause anxiety and depression. Studies show that micro-dosing cannabis is the most effective way to benefit from its stress-busting properties, so you don’t have to smoke a whole joint to benefit when you’re having a rough day.

• muscle recovery: Regular exercise is vital to health, but paying attention to muscle recovery is also important in fitness programs. Hit the gym, try a new yoga flow, or experiment with a new workout—no matter what your fitness regimen, muscles are prone to soreness, aches, and cramps.

It’s no secret that even top athletes rely on cannabidiol (CBD) as well as THC to aid in muscle repair and recovery after intense or light workouts. Delayed muscle soreness, also known as DOMS, is a common side effect of the exercise regimen. Athlete or not, people who exercise regularly are prone to it, but lighting up a hit or taking CBD by mouth can greatly reduce the inflammation and pain associated with exercise.

RELATED: Want a higher quality of life? Use cannabis daily, says a new Brazilian mental health study

Photo by RODNAE Productions via Pexels

• Mental health: Sure, your tests show you are physically fit and healthy. But what about your mental health? If you occasionally experience anxiety, mood swings, depressive episodes, or any other mental health condition, cannabis is here to help.

People suffering from these ailments don’t turn to cannabis just because it makes them happier or feel better. Studies show that THC plays an important role in regulating emotions, suggesting that the endocannabinoid system helps us process our emotions in a healthier way. Regular use of cannabis can therefore help us deal with negative emotions so as not to damage interpersonal relationships or increase our stress levels.

• mindfulness: It can become too easy to get caught up in the trivia of everyday life, so much so that we forget to live in the present moment, especially when most people become addicted to their cell phones. Because of this, the practice of mindfulness has become increasingly attractive to people from all walks of life. The American Psychological Association (APA) says current research points to mindfulness practices as beneficial for improving cognitive processes that could otherwise lead to problems like heart disease and stress later on.

Various forms of cannabis can already help manage the stress and anxiety that prevents us from reaching a mindful state. Whether it’s with the relaxation that CBD provides or the mild psychoactivity of THC, a little is enough to feel happier and more centered, no matter how busy or stressful our day would be without cannabis. Use it as a tool for your meditation and yoga sessions, or for reflection at the beginning or end of your day.

Conclusion

Given these tremendous benefits, there is no reason why even healthy people cannot utilize the effects of cannabis on the human body.

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been republished with permission.