A Fascinating Tale of Gut Microbiota & the Endocannabinoid System
BY RUTH HILL R.N.
An emerging field of medicine, microbiome research, investigates how the bacteria that live in and on our bodies affects our health. Living inside and on each of us is a vast population of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Cumulatively, the microbiome includes as many cells as the human body and encodes 100 times more genetic material than the human genome. Up to 1,000 different species of bacteria live in the gut.
New things pop up daily that links the gut to bodily health: gut-heart connections, gut-lung connections, gut-kidney connections. Disturbances to this system, also known as the gastrointestinal or digestive tract, have been associated with obesity, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
In the most basic sense, humans and other animals influence the “bugs” in their gut primarily through their diet, including the intake of so-called probiotic foods that promote a healthy microbiome. These bugs in turn help break down food and make nutrients more available to the body. We provide them sustenance and an amenable place to live, and they help us extract as much nutrition as we can from food in the digestive tract.
The endocannabinoid system, an ancient biological signaling network, regulates numerous physiological processes, including intestinal function, glucose metabolism, and the stress response. A dysregulated endocannabinoid system is implicated in metabolic and bowel pathologies and many other diseases. Researchers know little about which specific “bugs” from among the roughly 1,000 species of bacteria in the gut are modulated by the ECS, or which species are themselves able to modulate the ECS.
According to the CDC more than two (2) in five (5) U.S. adults have obesity. Some groups more than others, are affected including non-Hispanic Black adults and adults with less education. Many adults with obesity have other serious chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. It makes sense to explore studies on how the microbiome affects the pandemic of obesity and neurovegetative diseases.
Few studies have investigated the effects of cannabis use on the human gut microbiome, but in 2017, researchers found key differences among 19 lifetime users and 20 non-users. Cannabis users possessed bacteria populations associated with higher caloric intake but lower BMI, though diet was thought to also play a role. Gertsch studies discuss the different, yet complementary, roles of the cannabinoid receptors—CB1 and CB2—pertaining to diet, digestion, and energy metabolism.
Nagarkatti’s lab has shown that THC treatment in mice leads to increased levels of bacteria in the beneficial genus Lactobacillus, often found in fermented foods and dietary supplements. How do edibles affect your gut microbiome, and your response to edibles. Is the gut microbiome going to change those cannabinoids, make them more or less active?
THC alters the microbiome in the gut in a way that’s beneficial in suppressing inflammation because bacteria that are favored by THC seem to produce short-chain fatty acids that suppress inflammation. In spite of the munchies, using THC-rich cannabis is associated with lower weight and a smaller risk for Type II diabetes.
Gertsch’s provocative thesis is that chronic metabolic disorders, currently a worldwide pandemic, are rooted in “a mismatch between ancient genes and high caloric diets” that ensued with the introduction of agriculture. “The multimillion-year evolutionary process during which nearly all genetic change reflected the life circumstances of our ancestors [was] suddenly disturbed” when “carbohydrate farming” supplanted the “hunter-gatherer diet rich in animal food.
The interplay between diet and the endocannabinoid system is key to understanding today’s obesity/diabetes crisis and its potential remediation.” Cannabis Corner recommends taking a daily dose of Bloom Essential Digestive Tincture for microbiome health.
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