What Is Homeostasis?
Homeostasis – the process where living things are able to self-regulate in order to survive different conditions. i.e. when the temperature rises, the body cools down via a range of mechanisms, such as sweating, etc.
In-part Homeostasis in humans, is regulated by the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
While not well-known, the endocannabinoid system (ECS), plays a significant role in maintaining the balance of different functions in our body.
That is to say, without the ECS we’d be a hot-mess.
Receptor Site
Above: Balancing Act - Exchange and Binding of Cannabinoids - Response to Stimuli at the Point of Interaction (at the cellular level).
Homestasis in Action
(Above) The body regulates itself to ensure that it can cool down or warm up as needed. The stimulus creates a response. e.g. stimulus = rising temperature, response = sweating
The Feedback Loop
Surprisingly the ECS operates in a feedback loop. To clarify, our body responds to a stimuli. As a result the ECS ensures that it regulates the body’s response, so it’s not too much or too little.
At any rate the immediate feedback system helps regulate a multitude of things e.g. hunger (full/empty), temperature (hot/cold), pain (agony/relief), sleep (tired/alert), etc…
It’s not an overstatement to say that most people are unaware of the role of the ECS.
By the same token, most people don’t realize that we naturally produce cannabinoids, similar to those found in cannabis plants. Endocannabinoids, (human’s naturally-made cannabinoids), can result in an inhibitory effect or a stimulating effect, for many functions in the human body.
In addition, the ECS also helps with learning and memory. Imagine if you will how overloaded your brain would become if we remembered every single thing, every single sense i.e. sounds, smells, touch, tastes, visuals etc. Given these points, we start to understand the importance of the ECS.
Homeostasis is regulated by the endocannabinoid system ECS
(Above) the ECS operates in a feedback loop. To clarify, our body responds to a stimuli. As a result the ECS ensures that it regulates the body’s response, so it’s not too much or too little.
What does this mean?
Simply put, the ECS is a complex yet finally tuned balance that enables us to function normally.
Another little known fact, is that cannabinoids break-down relatively quickly and therefore do not linger around in tissues for long. For this reason, cannabinoids may hold the key in next-generation disease treatments,
Undoubtedly, as we discover more about the ECS, the scientific community have an new opportunity to uncover gaps with respect to uncurable diseases.
