Endocannaboid System: ? Secret to Ageing and Metabolism

You may already be aware of how various hormonal and metabolic systems affect how we age, how we maintain our cognitive function, how we can prevent disease etc. For example, a sluggish Thyroid system can cause weight gain,, lack of energy, sleeplessness etc etc.

Yet, there is one system that is emerging as the potential motherboard that affects many systems in our body. The Endocannabinoid System (ECS for short). Your endocannaboid system can affect all your other hormonal systems. It may hold the secret to ageing and metabolism.

What is the endocannabinoid system?

The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is made of ligands (complex molecules made help by a small central substance), cannabinoid enzymes and cannaboid receptors. The ECS system influences metabolism and function of liver, brain, immune system, the adipose tissues, the intestines, the muscle and bone.

Diet and exercise influences how the ECS works.

Research shows that our body needs a balance between Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids to naturally produce the cannabinoid ligands and enzymes.

Those that are overweight or obese have more the the Omega 6 fatty acid in their blood than Omega 3 fatty acid. An imbalance in intake of this two fatty acids also can cause us to store more fat in our adipose tissues. It can also stop the fat from being released from the adipose tissues. In those that are obese or overweight, it seems that the ECS is overactive or out of balance. This means that it is easier to store fat in the adipose tissue, and more difficult to release that fat from the adipose tissue. An overactive or out of balance ECS may also influence the energy system including the hormone secretions that make us hungry, thus making us eat more.

In the modern Western diet, the ratio between Omega 6 and Omega 3 is mostly more towards Omega 6. Both Omega 6 and Omega 3 are “Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids ({PUFA). PUFAs do not act similarly.

A diet that has more Omega 3 in form of EPA and DHA (from fish) supposedly improves satiety and helps burn fat , supposedly by the way it influences ECS. It may be that getting the ECS  to work properly is the secret key to making  other system work efficiently in our body.

So what does this mean in practical plate terms?

Eat a variety of sources of food that provide various oils / fatty acids:

• natural plant oils (avocado, olive, seeds, nuts),
• regular intake of fatty fish and chicken (organic, grass fed, free range) and;
• other plants and herbs.

Your ECS  will produce what it needs on demand as you need it. Just give it the variety it needs.

So while we are still discovering the impact of the Endocannabinoid system on our health, simply increasing the sources of Omega 3s in our diet is a good start.