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CBD: the Ultimate Holistic Approach

posted:

8/19/2024

@caroline__potter

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Caroline

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*Disclaimer: The information in this post is intended as educational and informative. This is not medical advice designed to treat or cure. Please always consult your medical professional first before trying any vitamins or supplements.

Can I be the first to say there is NO such thing as a one stop shop, quick fix or cure all. There is however a foundational, root cause holistic approach to nutrition and feeling great both in the moment and big picture.

Enter CBD.

Collage of various positive feedbacks from Flourish readers and clients.

Is CBD Worth the Hype? Start HERE >

Bringing the Body Into Balance 

The more I learn about the endocannabinoid system and the beautiful power of the hemp plant, I truly am amazed! As a holistic nutritionist, I always look at the big picture—asking “How can we support the body for life?”

I have seen CBD be a powerful tool in my holistic toolkit and the lives of so many of you too! 

My body can do “more” with “less” all because it’s getting the right, foundational support.

Think of CBD as your house’s foundation or a tree’s strong roots. The stronger the roots, the stronger you are!

Your endocannabinoid system (ECS) is the only system interconnected to every other system in the body.

Your body is equipped with cannabinoid receptors that span from head to toe.

image showing a drawing of a body filled with dots, from head to toe, showing where the cannabinoid receptors should be.

That means with a balanced ECS you are also strengthening your other 12 body systems:

  • immune system
  • nervous system (brain, spinal cord, eyes)
  • reproductive system
  • digestive system
  • endocrine system (thyroid, adrenals, pituitary, pancreas)
  • circulatory system
  • lymphatic system
  • skeletal system
  • respiratory system
  • integumentary system (skin)
  • muscular system
  • urinary system

See how beautifully holistic this approach is?

Want to balance hormones? Start with the ECS.

Want to improve bloating, digestion, and absorption? Start with the ECS.

Want to have more energy and focus? Start with the ECS.

Want to get deeper sleep? Start with the ECS.

Want to encourage natural detox and lymphatic drainage? Start with the ECS.

Your endocannabinoid system is the GLUE that holds everything together.

CBD shifts your body out of “fear” or “fight or flight” mode.

CBD directly impacts the central nervous system—if your nervous system is in a state of stress (fight or flight) or fear, all the best healthy living strategies will not be as effective. 

Once we make the brain and body feel safe, everything else starts to fall into place. 

Your brain and body will have energy and a fighting chance all because the foundation is strong and balanced. 

Other ways you can shift your body out of fear mode?

  • Facial ice baths or cold plunging
  • Consistently eating meals (something is better than nothing)
  • Hydration with minerals
  • Micro-moments of calm and quiet throughout the day
  • Exercise in a way you love
  • Add joy to your daily routines: Joy boosts oxytocin which naturally lowers cortisol 
  • Consistency of habits and rhythms: your body + brain crave predictability
  • Decluttering

These lifestyle rhythms are KEY. You can’t out ‘supplement’ a poor diet, over scheduled day or lack of sleep. Your daily hemp wellness, CBD routine will be that much more effective when it comes alongside daily nervous system practices.

Read: How to Support your Nervous System in an Overstimulated World >

Why you need less of other supplements when you focus on the foundation

When the body is stressed or in “fear” mode, it burns through nutrients at a faster rate—this is called the “burn rate”. So, you need more vitamins, nutrients, minerals, and supplements to experience the same benefits.

All the best supplements, diet, and mineral balancing won’t be effective if your body is in fear or stress mode.

CBD shifts your body towards balance and homeostasis (remember that word from biology class?) and shifts the body from fear mode to rest mode. Now the body’s stress response is calmed so that you can function at a higher level. 

With a daily hemp wellness routine, you’ll find you need less of other supplements because your body is in a state of balance and ready to receive the tools you give it rather than simply “burn through” them. Your supplements, exercise routine, nutrient-dense foods, and stress-relief techniques will all be MORE effective.

See how when you focus on a strong foundation everything branches out beautifully from there?

CBD plays a role in decreasing inflammation.

Acute inflammation plays a powerful role in healing—it’s the body’s response to invaders, pathogens, or wounds. Inflammation rises to help heal. ✔️ Acute inflammation, yes, good. ❌ Chronic inflammation, not so much. 

Chronic inflammation is the root cause of a disease.

Inflammation is the number one reaction in the body when something is going out of balance.

Inflammation can cause an overactive immune response, autoimmune conditions, fatigue, joint pain, weight gain, headaches/migraines, and hormone imbalances and can quicken the aging process. Yes, even skin health starts on the inside!

CBD and other cannabinoids from the hemp plant (like other antioxidants like Vitamin C, turmeric, berries, and glutathione) interrupt free radical chain reactions, capturing free radicals or transforming them into less active forms, and interrupting the formation of superoxide radicals.

CBD as a baseline for energy.

keywords: cortisol supplement, supplement for energy, cortisol levels

I have always struggled with energy, for as long as I can remember! With a daily hemp wellness routine, I can honestly say that now in my 30s with more responsibilities and less sleep, I have WAY more energy and stable energy. 

CBD has helped my body do more with less.

CBD is the ultimate supplement for energy because shifts your body out of fight or flight and balances your body’s stress response. A balanced stress response tames the ups and downs of energy giving you more stable energy to do what you love and need to do.

CBD + CBG as a baseline for pain management.

CBG, the “mother of cannabinoids” can play a powerful role in decreasing inflammation and pain. Together, CBD and CBG are a powerful duo and work synergistically together to enhance the effects of each other!

CBG boosts “anandamide” sometimes referred to as the ‘bliss molecule’—anandamide is a naturally occurring cannabinoid and neurotransmitter in the body that regulates pain and mood by altering pain signals to the brain and nerves. More of the feel-good stuff and less of the painful stuff.

CBG reduces pain signals when your body senses pain—it’s like it telephones you to say “OUCH!” CBG can reduce the activation of signals that detect pain and reduce the chemicals that send a message to your brain that it’s in pain. WOW! 🤓

Think of it like this: CBG can turn down the volume of pain!

Pair together: Daily Nano Jellies (baseline of balance for long-term pain) and Topical Pain Relief Cream (in-the-moment pain/tension relief)

CBD as a baseline for hormone balance (men + women).

We have CB1 receptors in our endocrine and reproductive organs, including the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, adrenals, overseas, uterus, prostate, and testes. CBD moves in to calm inflammation and bring balance so that these organs can function efficiently!

Stress has the biggest impact on reproduction (in men and women). When the body is stressed it goes into defend and protect mode, so reproduction is not high on the list! CBD helps regulate one of our stress hormones, cortisol. Regulated cortisol is key to hormone balance.

CBD can be a powerful tool to help regulate hormone cycles, perimenopause, and menopause. Hormone shifts are VERY stressful on the body and can shift anxiety, mood, sleep, energy, and mental focus. CBD not only brings balance directly to the reproductive organs but also helps the body navigate these shifts with more ease. 

Fun fact: we actually have CB1 receptors in our breast tissue. Could this positively impact breast cancer and breast milk production? Yes absolutely! 

CBD as a baseline for sleep.

The biggest difference I have noticed with a consistent hemp wellness routine is that on nights when I don’t get an “ideal” night of sleep (hello having 3 littles), I can still function the next day. Before I would feel that “hit by a train” feeling, but with CBD I notice I am tired, yet still present and able to navigate the day despite little sleep.

CBD shifts your body into deeper, more restorative sleep that gives you more energy, healing, focus, joy, and patience!

Sleep quality matters more than sleep quantity. 

CBD helps regulate the body and brain’s sleep-wake patterns, so you sleep deeper and wake up with more energy.

What you do during the day matters—sleep is a holistic, big-picture goal, not just about the moment that comes each night. 

What I love about CBD is that it brings balance to the body, enabling the body to do what it naturally needs to do. It’s not something that alters or puts you to sleep like melatonin.

Pair together: Take a daily Nano Jelly as your baseline of balance each morning and pair with Full Spectrum Hemp Flower Extract at night (if needed). Most often the daily jelly, with time, is enough to promote great sleep patterns.

CBD as a baseline for mood regulation.

One of the biggest differences I have noticed (and many of my clients as well) is that CBD gives the brain this buffer. Rather than reacting and spiraling downward, you can pause, and then react. 

CBD balances the endocannabinoid system, and the majority of our cannabinoid receptors are in our central nervous system and brain, so CBD can have a positive, calming effect on stress, mood, overwhelm, and anxious thoughts. The stressors and overwhelm will still be there, but your body and brain won’t notice them as much. It’s truly life-changing!

Overstimulation and feeling pulled in a million different directions increases anxious thoughts. CBD calms the brain and nervous system and brings the body more into the present. Anxiety is all about “what ifs”—if you are living in the moment you aren’t worrying about the “what ifs”. How beautiful is this proactive approach?

Read: Natural Remedies for Anxious Thoughts >

CBD as a baseline for digestion

Want to know what marketers of fancy ‘detoxes’ or gut cleansing protocols aren’t telling you? Your digestive system wants to work FOR you. Yes, when the brain and nervous system are in balance, they can communicate more efficiently to your liver and digestive system to do the work they naturally love to do!

Let’s go back to chronic inflammation! 

When chronic inflammation concentrates in the gut, this can manifest in digestive issues, irritable bowel, leaky gut, malabsorption or other health problems. CBD is highly anti-inflammatory, thus working on the root cause.

The main job of our ECS is to maintain homeostasis or a stable internal environment. Many major ECS receptors and enzymes are concentrated in the gut—when everything starts to get out of balance, CBD comes in and says “Hey let’s calm down and get in line.” Inflammation is calmed, bloating decreases, and absorption increases all so you start feeling better and getting more nutrients out of your food.

CBD calms the body’s stress response—stress shuttles blood and oxygen away from your digestive system and towards your heart and lungs, thus reducing effective digestion and increasing bloating, constipation, malabsorption, and stomach cramps.

You may notice digestive changes when you start a CBD routine, because bacteria, parasites and toxins don’t love CBD and are being killed off. This is called a Herx or ‘healing’ reaction—not fun in the moment but great big picture because we are encouraging the body to do what it naturally does!

Best Way To Shop + Save With Green Compass CBD

Start with the Balance and Restore Collection, it’s a buy-one-get-one free bundle that you can customize to fit your needs. I recommend starting with either the Full or Broad Spectrum Jellies and Collagen for your baseline of balance.

Click here for $10 off your first order, which does not apply to pre-discounted collections.

FAQs

  1. What is CBD and how does it work?
    • CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound found in hemp that interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system to promote balance and wellness.
  2. How does CBD help with inflammation?
    • CBD helps reduce chronic inflammation by interrupting free radical chain reactions and supporting the body’s natural healing processes.
  3. Can CBD improve sleep quality?
    • Yes, CBD calms the nervous system, promoting deeper and more restorative sleep without altering natural sleep cycles.
  4. What are the benefits of combining CBD with CBG?
    • Combining CBD with CBG enhances pain management, reduces inflammation, and boosts mood-regulating compounds like anandamide.
  5. How can CBD support hormone balance?
    • CBD interacts with CB1 receptors in endocrine and reproductive organs, helping to calm inflammation and regulate hormone cycles.

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