This page could become very long! Our optimal health relies primarily on what we put in our mouths on a regular basis. I will start with the topics most close to my heart, and make the most difference in my quality of life.
To keep things more simple, eat foods as close to the natural form and without packaging if you can.
Some simple changes or an elimination diet can help find relief from some symptoms. Avoiding anti-nutrients in plant foods is a missing link, in my experience with positive changes when I eliminated them.
Another site I recently found is Deep Roots at Home for great tips on gardening, making medicine, emergency preparedness and more.
Hemp and cannabinoids have a 12,000-year history of use and farming, and a 5,000-year history in medical use. Personally, my own health took a huge jump into the positive when I discovered these supplements. The pharmaceutical companies, Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Parke Davis once created their own strain of cannabis and used it for 60 years prior to the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, which along with influence from a newsletter magnate, who owned forests for tree-derived paper, and a family of synthetic fiber manufacturers, begin the abolition of this very important medicine, to take hemp fibers out of the public view. This deprived America of industrial hemp by lumping it in with the intoxifying version.
Oddly, the movie “ Reefer Madness ” came out about the same time. Once considered serious anti-drug propaganda, it portrays people becoming criminally maniacal when smoking the vilified Marijuana; something that typically does not happen. In 1969 in the case, Leary v. United States, 395, U.S. 6, (1969), part of the Act was scheduled to be unconstitutional as a violation of the Fifth Amendment, since a person seeking the tax stamp would have to incriminate him / herself. [1] [ In response, the Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, [3] which represented the 1937 Act. Since that time, there is a vast history of acts and legal arguments regarding the validity, toxicity, usefulness and addictiveness of cannabis. [4] In my opinion, nothing is safer to support the body during chronic and acute pain, seizures and many forms of cancer.
Pubmed.com has over 10,000 studies regarding cannabinoids. The research started in the late 1960's in Israel. It was found, Hemp and it's cousin, Cannabis aka Marijuana, provide cannabinoids to support our body in many ways. The endocannabinoid system (internal hormones) regulates all body systems from immune, nerve, digestive, bone building, circulatory, and reproductive processes. Scientists discovered these pathways only in the mid-1990's. To simplify the concept, our body is a network of closely connected systems. There are many reasons why this system becomes disrupted and may contribute to chronic pain and disease states. It is as if the telephone wires are cut, when the body is calling for help with inflammation. No help arrives, and damages add up.
Some people use THC only to try to fill this need, but it does not do the same as CBD, and a full spectrum formula is best. THC is the intoxifying cannabinoid activated by heat, and a tolerance is built along with possible exacerbation of some mood issues, especially with highly concentrated products found in modern vapes and other concentrates. Generally, this is not an issue with CBD. However, some patients find a better result, in very chronic or terminal conditions with a higher ratio of THC to CBD. Single molecule products are often extremely expensive and do not contain the “ entourage ” effect of the other constituents which support the CBD's action. Most research has found that a full spectrum hemp product with more CBD than THC is well-accepted by most test subjects. THC is well-used in very chronic or terminal conditions with a higher ratio of THC to CBD. Single molecule products are often extremely expensive and do not contain the “ entourage ” effect of the other components which support the CBD's action.
I have now tried several brands of products. Various health complaints are better. With a long history of digestive issues, I am also finding the bloating / inflammation (despite numerous dietary modifications already in place) is greatly reduced with my continued use of cannabis products. Pain symptoms I have struggled with for years have improved in the first month of supplementing with this hemp oil!
Sharing doses with others, I've received positive feedback, especially regarding immediate pain relief, and anxiety. With so many benefits to the body, I am choosing to share and promote this amazing Queen of Herbs. Please note, every person's experience will be different and I am not making guarantees, or attempting to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. The cannabinoids nourish the body to return to a state of homeostasis (balance) which supports all systems to function optimally. There is a guarantee found in my research: People on blood-thinning medications may need to have levels checked more often, as the cannabinoids seem to alter the metabolism of the drug.
There are some good, practitioner-quality hemp products on the market, and others that are less than effective. Trying them is the start. Look for companies that grow their industrial hemp on organically certified land while using revolutionary processes to provide us with a full-spectrum cannabinoid product, with a higher ratio of the CBD and 0.03% or less of THC. This permissible threshold amount is what makes the product legal in all states.
All cannabis and especially CBD-rich products are an investment, mostly due to the amount of raw material needed to extract it. I wanted to find one that is extremely absorbable to get the most value. When looking for THC-rich products, see your local dispensaries and ask questions about the lines. Please, do not vape or smoke this wonderful herb, for therapeutic effects. Look for tinctures (or make your own!) and other edibles. Or use a nebulizer. Be very cutious with dosage. If you can grow your own, do so! Control the soil conditions and use the plant fresh in smoothies! Remember, cannabis needs heat, if the THC is to become psychoactive. Eating this wonderful plant raw is also very therapeutic. See the resources below for additional instruction from people with much more authority than I can hold.
Mara Gordon, founder of Aunt Zelda's, California USA. Hear how she overcame health conditions with Cannabis.
United Patient's Group, John Malanca, founder of The Sacred Plant
Cannabis Saves Lives! Collection of several collaborators in the field
Dr. Sulak has a free program to help beginners wanting to try cannabis medicine for the first time.
[1] http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/e1960/learyvus.htm; [2] http://www.boulderweekly.com/features/weed-between-the-lines/marihuana-tax-act-of-1937-rises-from-the-dead/; [3] http://legislink.org/us/pl-91-513; [4] http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/how-did-marijuana-become-illegal-first-place; https://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
The science of the endocannabinoid system was just discovered in the 1990's! As our governments continue to allow us access to these plants, the more well we can become!
There are a number of decent mushroom manufacturers who are using clean substrates and sustainable practices. One of the best of these companies is Host Defense. I frequently recommend their products on Fullscript. The capsules use no fillers and pulan instead of gelatin or other materials. I love the powders for economical dosing. The liquids are easy to travel with and give us immune support on the go!
Thank you Fungi Perfecti and Host Defense Educators for sharing these charts with us! See Paul Stamets lecture below for more amazing testimonials!
Listen to the podcasts of the Health Ranger, Mike Adams. You can also find other resources and organic food for long-term storage on his site.