CBD Reshapes the Gut Microbiome to Enhance Endurance
In a new report in Nature, researchers have studied how cannabidiol (CBD) boosts endurance by reconstituting the microbiome in animal intestines.
The researchers treated animals for several weeks and monitored changes in their intestinal bacterial communities, muscle physiology, and their overall ability to exercise.
Treated animals, to their surprise, exhibited an extreme reorganisation of their microbiota, such as increased desirable bacteria to optimize metabolism and muffle inflammation.
The reorganisation of microbiota directly aligned with increased endurance: treated animals ran for longer distances and stayed capable for longer than their counterparts.
At the muscle tissue, tissues, investigators discovered, were fortified by heightened mitochondrial function and increased energy generation and diminished oxidative stress.
The antioxidant activity of CBD prevented harm to tissues and hence muscle recovery. The discovery hypothesized “gut–muscle axis” insofar as effects of CBD on microbiota in intestines indirectly improve muscle function by better nutrient uptake and systemwide modulating of inflammation.
Source: Nature
Frequent Cannabis Use Can Lead to Cavities, Severe Tooth Loss, According to UB Study
A study conducted by University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine’s Ellyce Clonan revealed clear evidence of regular cannabis use for leisure and poor oral health.
From data gathered in 2015-2018 NHANES, 5,656 participants between 18 and 59 years old were included in data. The data recognized participants who smoked cannabis on average at least once per month for 18 months and discovered them to have root surface and coronal caries and excessive loss of their teeth in contrast to cannabis-nonusers.
The study identifies several reasons for such association. Cannabis smoking is found to subject oral tissues to extreme dryness and heats on oral tissues by repressing salivation, required to desensitize acids and defend against enamel deterioration.
In addition, frequent use of cannabis is normally followed by munchies on foods and soft, fat, and sugars and soft foods and fluids, habits, apart from accelerating dental deterioration.
Dr. Clonan highlights having dental professionals directly inquire on intake forms if cannabis is ever used, by whom such patients may thus be recognized in time for special preventive interventions.
The suggestions include water drinking following cannabis, restricting excessive snacking, and strict oral hygiene habits to avoid such ill effects.
Source: Buffalo Edu
CBD Acts as an Antioxidant for Vaginal Bacteria
This new study sought to determine if and how marijuana’s ingredient, CBD, affects Gardnerella vaginalis, a bacterium that causes vaginal infections. The authors found low doses of 2.5 micrograms per milliliter to repress such bacteria’s reproductive function, and larger doses (5-10 micrograms per milliliter) to destroy them.
The researchers discovered how CBD works on such bacteria. It charges and destabilizes electric property of bacterial membrane, leaks bacterial membrane’s energy molecules (ATP), and slows down bacteria’s function. CBD works as an antioxidant by reducing harmful reactive molecules in bacteria.
When researchers added vitamin E to the solution, it suppressed bacterial-killer activity by CBD, showing that CBD works by releasing special types of molecules to kill bacteria.
CBD not only killed free-swimming bacteria but also inhibited and killed bacterial biofilms – strong bacterial communities attached to surfaces and resistant to treatment.
Under a powerful microscope, researchers saw that CBD-treated bacteria looked flat and shriveled compared to healthy, three-dimensional untreated bacteria.
The study found CBD to interact on protein for novel bacterial component formation. In spite of having killed bacteria, immune cells were able to clear dead bacterial cells, something vital in infection’s war.
The researchers suggest that CBD is likely to be an effective remedy for treating vaginal infections . Current treatments, including metronidazole, kill good bacteria, and so infections can re-occurr. CBD is found to have less cytotoxicity against healthy cells and therefore is expected to cause less harm.
The authors suggest treating recurring infections and preventing them using CBD, but admit there needs to be animal and human studies beforehand.
Source: MDPI
Cannabis Helps Mothers Be ‘More Present Parents’
A recent, government-commissioned study in New Zealand presents novel evidence on how medical cannabis (MC) affects mothering in a positive manner.
In their qualitative assessment, 15 mothers who were using cannabis to alleviate such conditions as anxiety, endometriosis, and arthritis were interviewed to evaluate cannabis’s impact on their mothering.
The mothers found using medical cannabis to alleviate their physical discomfort and psychological distress to feel more in their mothering, connected, and emotionally regulated.
The study discovered mothers to take MC only after having met their maternal demands, typically in the evenings, to protect their children against their influence.
The “responsible use” therefore helped them to reconcile health maintenance and mothering. The studies, nonetheless, discovered serious barriers: legal medical cannabis product cost, stigmatization in general, and legal vagueness were oftentimes cited to have barred access.
These barriers compelled mothers to access MC through informal routes, or to abstain in dire circumstances.
Notably, the studies revealed racial and socioeconomic disparities affected access and legal decisions, and various mothers complained of potential law enforcement biases.
The evidence is such that, responsibly utilized, cannabis is capable of encouraging parental attention and the development of healthy children.
Source: CannabisMoment
Sleep Researcher Solves the Question of Whether Cannabis Helps You Sleep Better
A recent trial by sleeping specialist, University of Basel’s, Christine Blume, in Germany, sought to verify if cannabis is truly an enhancer of sleeping quality.
In their pioneering trial, participants smoked cannabis prior to sleeping to have their influence on their sleep observed.
The findings in their trial is that cannabis use before bed shortens sleeping time in REM, irreplaceable time for consolidation of memories and mood. Surprisingly, participants did not always feel rested in mornings, suggesting that shortened sleeping time in REM might not translate to sleep quality.
Blume explained that participants subjectively reported improvement in sleeping, but improvement might be due to massive doses of a placebo effect, where expectation for good sleep affects their feelings.
The study compared the effects of THC, cannabis’s psychoactive constituent, and CBD, cannabis’s non-psychoactive constituent. The effects of THC on sleeping pattern disruption were found to be greater, while evidence for treating insomnia through CBD was inconclusive.
The study also describes how in Germany and other places, various types of CBD, including teas, oils, and sprays, have made their way onto store shelves but their efficacy for sleeping disorders is yet to be conclusively proved.
Source: (Spanish) Huffington Post
