Researches have hinted that an early outbreak of menopause has links with endocannabinoid deficiencies. Further, evidence indicates that the female hormone estrogen uses endocannabinoids to control mood and emotive reactions. This explains as to why mood fluctuations frequently occur during menopause when the levels of estrogen plummet.
Luckily, cannabinoids like CBD bind with the endocannabinoid receptors and creates effects that helps to alleviate a range of health conditions including menopause.
What does Menopause indicate?
Menopause denotes the time frame generally year long during which a woman’s period or menstrual cycle terminates. This happens generally in the age group of mid forty to fifty. A woman’s menopausal age commonly starts from 51. Menopause represents the stretch of 12 months after the last period of a woman when ovulation halts and levels of estrogen drop substantially. Post-menopause starts after menopause finishes and its symptoms subside.
What Comprises Menopause Symptoms?
Menopause can result in a range of side effects as a new process of homeostasis sets in. Some of the symptoms associated with menopause include:
- Hot flashes
- Fluctuations in Mood
- Insomnia
- Pain
- Increase in weight
- Exhaustion
- Osteoporosis
- Low libido
Further, the start of such side effects often leads to anxiety or anguish in some women.
CBD Assists In Bringing Comfort To Menopausal Symptoms
Menopause brings in a dramatic change that a woman’s body bears in her lifetime. With a marked shift in the reproductive system since puberty happening in menopause the experience does not seem to be pleasant. Fortunately, CBD acts as a helpful ally in overcoming the distress caused by menopause. CBD can prove useful in treating menopausal symptoms due to its inherent qualities.
CBD Helps To Control Hot Flashes
The endocannabinoid, anandamide is also known as bliss molecule helps to regulate your anxiety. But they are also responsible for controlling body temperature. CBD curbs FAAH enzyme from disintegrating anandamide and helps to retain it longer in the body.
Regulates Bone Loss
Estrogen controls the cell regeneration process inside the bones, hence a low estrogen level can result in osteoporosis. Studies have revealed a link between the genes responsible for coding cannabinoid receptors and osteoporosis emerging post menopause. In patients, having undergone ovariectomy, there was evidence of a reduction in bone loss after being treated with cannabinoid such as CBD. By stimulating bone growth CBD helps to curb osteoporosis postmenopausal.
Effectively Manages Body Weight
Putting on weight during menopause is quite common and occurs due to hormonal levels, age and a host of unavoidable factors. CBD may assist in lowering food intake and bolsters metabolism which contributes towards weight loss.
Animal studies have also hinted at the potential of CBD to influence weight by communicating with CB1 and CB2 receptors within lymphoid tissue and the brain that affect body metabolism and intake of food.
In addition, brown fat accounts for creating heat by melting calories. People who have a healthy weight maintain a higher level of brown fat compared to overweight individuals. Test-Tube research has displayed that CBD causes browning in white fat cells and promotes the expression of particular genes and protein that facilitates brown fat. Interestingly, CBD assists in “browning“ of fat cells, reduces appetite and promotes metabolism which helps in maintaining body weight.
Eases Body Pain
During menopause, changes in hormones can generate a slew of distressful side effects. Migraines, menstrual cramping, and joint pain add to the woes and make pain hard to bear. CBD is a renowned analgesic and treats neuropathic, muscular and nociceptive pain as it has an impact on the alpha3 glycine receptors which acts as a pain regulation point. This interaction of CBD with the alpha3 glycine receptors endows CBD with its analgesic property and helps in lowering persistent inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Besides, the endogenous cannabinoid Anandamide regulates pain and CBD augments anandamide levels within the serum by curbing its degradation.
Stabilizes Mood Swings
It has been already established that estrogen has a decisive role in using endocannabinoids for regulating mood and emotional reaction. Such a decrease in levels of endocannabinoid leads to anxiety and depression. Luckily, CBD acts as an antidepressant and can interact with various receptors within the brain and nervous system in the manner as antidepressants do.
Final Thoughts on CBD For Menopause Symptoms
CBD exercises a recuperative effect on your body and controls its smooth functioning by working upon the cannabinoid receptors and the neural pathways. By helping the endocannabinoid system to boost the process of homeostasis and ensure proper body functioning CBD helps to manage a wide gamut of menopausal symptoms from insomnia, weight gain, hormonal imbalance, body pain, and osteoporosis to name a few.
