CAN CANNABIS CURE LIVER DISEASE?

CAN CANANBIS CURE LIVER DISEASE?

The liver is the largest organ in the human body with two distinct sources that supply blood to the liver.  So oxygenated blood flows in from the hepatic artery and nutrient rich blood flows in from the hepatic portal vein.

FUNCTIONS OF THE LIVER

• Bile Production

The liver regulates most chemical levels in the blood and excretes a product called bile. Bile helps to break down fats in the small intestine, preparing them for further digestion and absorption and also aides in waste removal.

• Production of certain proteins for blood plasma
• Production of cholesterol and special proteins to help carry fats through the body
• Store and release glucose as needed

All of the blood leaving the stomach and intestines passes through the liver. The liver processes this blood and breaks down, balances, and creates nutrients for the body to use. It also metabolized drugs in the blood into forms that are easier for the body to use. 

• Processing of hemoglobin for use of its iron content (the liver stores iron)
• Conversion of harmful ammonia to urea (urea is one of the end products of protein metabolism that is excreted in the urine)
• Clearing the blood of drugs and other harmful substances
• Regulating blood clotting
• Resisting infections by producing immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream
• Clearance of bilirubin (if there is a buildup of bilirubin, the skin and eyes turn yellow known as jaundice)

  

LIVER DISORDERS

Fatty Liver Disease

It has been discovered that certain Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are similar in structure to natural sex hormones such as estrogen. By mimicking natural hormones, they can have a number of adverse effects on humans as well as animals, including developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune system damage. The research presented at the Endocrine Society's 2015 annual meeting in San Diego, California, revealed that these chemicals, and especially bisphenol-A (BPA), could contribute to fatty liver disease later in life when exposures in fact occur shortly after birth.

An animal study was carried out at Texas A&M Health Science Centre's Institute of Biosciences and Technology and it was discovered that even just brief exposures to low doses of this chemical altered gene expression in the liver in a way that could contribute to fatty liver disease. 

"'Even a short exposure to these endocrine disruptors at the wrong time of development has a life-long effect on the individual."

This chemical is found in soda cans and other tins, plastic and food packaging, some tooth sealants, most foods, in the soil, water and air, some types of cash register receipts and vouchers, cleaning products, scented candles and most fragranced products as well as intimate feminine products.

NAFLD

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as an excessive buildup of fats, often accompanied by elevated enzyme levels, in your liver in the absence of significant alcohol consumption. While it's normal for your liver to contain some fat, buildups of more than 5 to 10 percent of your liver's weight can become a problem.

Alcohol consumption is a leading cause of fatty liver, but in the case of NAFLD, it occurs in people who are overweight or obese, have high cholesterol, or high triglycerides, and who consume little or no alcohol. So this condition is directly related to dietary consumption of foods high in non-saturated fats and sugars which have flooded markets and society.

NAFLD often may cause fatigue, jaundice, swelling in the legs and abdomen, mental confusion, depression and if left untreated, it can cause the liver to swell-up this is called non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH), a more severe form of NAFLD, and even contribute to liver cancer or failure.

The best way to deal with this condition is to take a careful look at what you are eating and specifically your sugars and fats, both actually are a lot like alcohol in the damage they can do to the liver. So just like alcohol, sugar is metabolized directly into fat. Also look at how you are exercising as these two factors can very often prevent this condition and can even reverse it still in its early stages. The liver metabolizes sugar in a similar way as it processes alcohol because they both convert dietary carbohydrates into fat which causes abnormal fat levels in the bloodstream and fatty liver disease. Sugar undergoes a reaction with proteins which leads to the formation of free radicals which can result in liver inflammation and disease.

HCC

HCC is also known as Hepatocellular Carcinoma and is one of the most common forms of liver cancer affecting mostly men over the age of 50. Long considered to be one of the more lethal cancer-related illnesses, HCC accounts for roughly 75% of all liver cancers. HCC, unlike metastatic liver cancer, starts and remains in the liver, and is caused by scarring within this vital organ. While there may be many root sources of this deadly scarring within the liver (cirrhosis of the liver), the primary players are; alcohol abuse, autoimmune diseases of the liver, and the hepatitis B or C virus.

Liver fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is one of the most common forms of liver disease and affects more than 400,000 patients in the United States and is the tenth leading cause of death in America.

It occurs when the liver, experiences “excessive accumulation of scar tissue” that results from chronic inflammation and the death of liver cells. Dying cells are replaced by those that are regenerating, a process that produces abnormal areas of tough, fibrous tissue called nodules. As more nodules form, the liver begins to literally harden.

Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis is a condition where the liver does not function properly, typically because of long-term damage. This damage is often due to alcohol abuse. Cirrhosis is a progressive disease and reveals itself very slowly, over months or even years. Personally ii watched my own father develop this disease over a period of twenty years and being a sailor he did not see fair to part with the holy water and his liver did end up failing leading to his passing.

It may result in patients being weak and tired and experiencing swelling of the calves and feet. They may also exhibit yellow skin and bruise easily. One of the most dangerous symptoms of cirrhosis is the accumulation of abdominal fluid, which may become very rapidly infected. Cirrhosis can also to lead to liver cancer.

THE CANNABIS COCONUT CONNECTION

In my 2014 dissertation ii presented the idea of the Cannabis Coconut Connection after almost ten years of studying this link and you can read more about it in my paper of the same title. So let us look specifically at how Cannabis and Coconut both can help the liver. The most important similarity between Cannabis and Coconut is that no one has ever died from consuming either.  There are however reports of people dying from coconuts falling on their heads and even these are far and few between.

For almost 60 years we have believed that coconut oil is a ‘bad fat’ and blocks our arteries leading to cardiovascular disease and worse heart attacks and even heart failure.One never seems to hear about the miracle healing power of Cannabis on television.  Is it really possible that not even the cure for cancer can supersede news of murders and robberies? One also never sees an advert for coconut oil or honey for that matter. Since the advent of the internet educating ourselves has become easier and by now most people do know of the healing abilities of Cannabis especially in respect of cancer and now there is also an explosion of information available on the health benefits of coconut oil.

CANNABIS	COCONUT
Anti-tumor (anti-cancer)	Anti-tumor (anti-cancer)
Immune Boosting	Immune Boosting
Anti-fungal	Anti-fungal
Anti-bacterial	Anti-bacterial
Anti-microbial	Anti-microbial
Regulation of metabolism (weight control)	Regulation of metabolism (weight control)
Anti-oxidant	Anti-oxidant
Skin care	Skin care
Osteoporosis treatment	Osteoporosis treatment
Fat soluble	Over 90% Saturated fat
No negative side effects no deaths	No negative side effects no deaths
Components found in human breast milk	Components found in human breast milk
Regulate circulation	Regulate circulation
Used for over 5000 years as medicine	Used for over 5000 years as medicine
At the forefront of medical research and breakthroughs	At the forefront of medical research and breakthroughs
Criminalized since 1930’s	Condemned for over 60 years
Controls regulation of fat	Controls regulation of fat
Raw plant has no psychedelic high	Raw plant has no psychedelic high
Aides nutrient absorption	Aides nutrient absorption

MEDICAL BENEFITS OF CANNABIS AND COCONUT

Contrary to popular belief coconut oil actually promotes a healthy cardiovascular system because medium chain fatty acids do not contribute to arterial plague and this is because of the way they are absorbed by the body. It also regulates metabolism and controls appetite and therefore weight gain, making coconut oil a valuable remedy in the fight against diabetes and obesity.

The medium chain fatty acids cause the body to store fat as an expendable energy in the liver instead of as fatty cells in the tissues which is exactly what long chain fatty acids do. Coconut oil is also known to support proper functioning of the thyroid gland which makes it a suitable natural anti-obesity remedy. Cannabis has already proven to play an important role in metabolic regulation and there are many studies underway around the world investigating the role of Cannabis in obesity and diabetes.

Coconut oil is a very important immune system booster because of its anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties and we now know that Cannabis shares the exact same properties. Numerous studies have proven that coconut oil is proving helpful in preventing and curing liver disease, kidney disease, Crohn’s disease, cancer and many infectious illness such as the flu, herpes, bladder infections, candida and even ringworm and aluminium poisoning. Scientists are starting to realise the powerful combination of Cannabis and Coconut oil and this is because of the similarity in healing properties and the ability of both plants to fight free radicals. Because coconut oil is directly absorbed by the liver it is the perfect delivery system allowing easy access of Cannabinoids into the liver.  

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS 

Vitamins interact with other nutrients in processes such as metabolism, digestion and developing blood cells and some vitamins slow down the ageing process, prevent cancerous cells attacking the body and strengthen the immune system. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins which are absorbed from fats in the intestine and are then stored in the liver until needed which means that they do not have to be consumed every day.

Vitamin A is important for bones, teeth, skin and mucous membranes and is also a powerful antioxidant with serious immune boosting properties. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium to strengthen bones and teeth and is therefore important for the treatment of osteoporosis. As ii have written many times before ii do believe that all disease including mental disease stems from the gut and further ii do believe that Vitamin D is the number one factor in point because Vitamin D breaks down fat in the small intestine, so again overall health has a lot to do with fats and sunshine the natural source of Vitamin D and ii do believe that one of the reasons we see so many sick people in the northern hemisphere is directly related to the fact that there is not enough sun and therefore most of these people are actually Vitamin D deficient.

Vitamin E is also a potent antioxidant which protects the cells and tissues from harmful substances and free radicals. Vitamin E also has anti-cancer properties and is known to play an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular and heart disease. Further it has been discovered that Vitamin E may help relieve the majority of symptoms associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the more severe form of NAFLD. Low levels of Vitamin E are linked to liver disease, fat deposition and other signs of liver injury like scarring. 

Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting which is also one of the functions of the liver. Since the body produces Vitamin K which it gets from green leafy vegetables, deficiency is rare in healthy people but bleeding and bruising is a sign of deficiency. Coconut oil has the ability to help the body increase absorption of some of the B vitamins and the fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, K. 

Another interesting similarity between Cannabis and Coconut is that neither have any serious side effects and no recorded deaths with only a few cases of coconut allergies have ever been reported, and these have been scarce, and each are actually believed to be peanut related allergies, and it is also true that most people who are allergic to peanuts can tolerate coconut as an alternative.

Both Cannabis and Coconut are made up of unique combinations of chemical compounds which cannot be found anywhere else in nature and these chemical compounds do not work in isolation and the fact that these unique components have such similar healing properties should have us all convinced that truly this is one of the many secret natural herbal combinations provided by Mother Nature to heal a variety of medical disorders.

GOOD HEALTH IS ALL ABOUT GOOD FATS!

The importance of the ability of coconut oil to increase absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, together with the fact that Cannabinoids are fat soluble gives clear evidence to the fact that coconut oil has the ability to maximize Cannabinoid extraction, because it is a highly saturated fat and Cannabinoids have a natural affinity with coconut oil providing the best type of fat for the Cannabinoids to bond to. Yes Cannabinoids need fats to bond onto in order to do their work in the healing process.

All research results are pointing towards total Cannabinoid extraction when using coconut oil for extraction and this is also true in the case of Cannabis edibles. This all means that when you use coconut oil to extract Cannabinoids you will be producing a pure and potent medicine.

Everyone knows that the human body is around 60% water but did you know that our brain is 60% fat?  This is a very interesting link when you start studying the effect of Cannabis and Coconut on the human brain.  In medical matters some repetition is necessary, so again we must take note that Cannabinoids are fat soluble and coconut oil is a highly saturated fat and the brain is mostly fat, so it does make a lot of sense that this combination has all the essentials to go a long way to assisting us to maintain optimum health and longevity.

Cannabis oil extracted with coconut oil is lighter in colour than oil extracted with alcohol or butane gas which is dark and thick like treacle or tar.  This is because the alcohol strips all the water soluble parts of the plants as well, including the chlorophyll giving it this dark colour. Coconut infused Cannabis oil when solidified at room temperature is amber/avocado in colour, because it only extracts the fat soluble components of Cannabis so you can be sure that you are getting pure Cannabinoid extraction without all the water soluble parts like the chlorophyll concentrate. This is not to say that chlorophyll is bad for you because chlorophyll also has highly beneficial medicinal properties in other applications.

Chlorophyll concentrate in Cannabis oil has produced some cases of diarrhoea and upset gastric systems which are common side effects of chlorophyll. In less vulnerable patients they might feel brief spells of queasiness which is the action of the chlorophyll. This does not happen when using coconut oil because the chlorophyll is not stripped in the extraction process and second coconut oil is not readily absorbed into the gastric tract, it is absorbed straight to the liver.

This is what the oil looks like when melted.

Coconut oil is the perfect pure and natural extraction and delivery method for Cannabis medicine especially for people who do not care for smoking.

Coconut oil has a smoke point of 171 degrees Celsius so at 100 degrees and less it cannot produce any dangerous fumes because it will not create smoke at this temperature. You can experiment with this by frying two eggs one in normal yellow oil and one in coconut oil and you will notice that coconut oil does not produce the brown grease rim around the egg which is the ‘bad fat’ part of the egg.

Above is the egg fried in coconut oil and below are eggs fried in normal sunflower oil.

A NOTE ON SOLVENTS

Personally I have the utmost respect for anyone who successfully manages to produce pure and potent Cannabis oil for medicinal purposes as I personally know exactly how hard it is to do so. I am however extremely concerned with the solvent of choice, and this is expressed with no disrespect to Mr Rick Simpson, or any other healers using these methods. Over the years I have become increasingly concerned with the poisoness content of solvents like alcohol, naphtha (also known as Benzene) which is also used as paint thinner, ether and even butane gas.

Not only are these solvents poisoness but are also highly flammable and incredibly dangerous to work with due to the dangerous fumes which are present during this process of extraction. Some solvent components like hexane and benzene may also be neurotoxic.

According to many manufacturers, naphtha and petroleum-ether are considered potential carcinogenic, and some products which are sold as naphtha may contain added impurities for example those of Coleman ® fuel, which may have harmful properties of their own.Cannabis oil which is produced with an alcohol extraction is usually concentrated by evaporating the solvents that were used in the extraction process. The more concentrated the extract becomes, the more difficult it is to remove the residual solvent and in this case, applying more heat will increase solvent evaporation, but at the same time valuable components like the Cannabinoids and terpenes may also be damaged or lost resulting in a lower quality of oil. My advice is to keep your medicine as natural as possible.

HOW DOES CANNABIS CURE?

HOMEOSTASIS

Personally ii feel that the most important function of The Endocannabinoid System (EC System) is that of Homeostasis and ii believe this is the number one factor in the biology of all living things and is best described as the ability to maintain a stable and balanced internal environment despite the constant fluctuations in the external environment. The ability to maintain homeostasis is necessary for survival and medical disorders and disease are the direct result of the body’s inability to maintain homeostasis.

So we now know that Cannabinoids are responsible for promoting homeostasis at every level of biological life, right from the sub-cellular to the organism, and perhaps even to the community and beyond. Over and above regulating our internal and cellular homeostasis, Cannanbinoids also influence a person’s relationship with the external environment. On a social level, the consumption of Cannabinoids clearly changes human behaviour, and often promotes feelings of sharing, humour, positive vibrations and creativity.

AUTOPHAGY

The EC system controls the process of autophagy, a process involving cellular destruction of unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components for example cancer cells and ‘free radicals’. So this process breaks down damaged organelles, cell membranes and proteins, but does not damage or alter healthy cells at all, unlike many cancer fighting drugs which kill off healthy cells as well as damaged cells. The failure of the process of autophagy is largely believed to be the main reason for on-going cell damage and the aging process.

This makes a lot of sense and we all know about the role of free radicals they quickly multiply and become uncontrollable in the absence of antioxidants to flush them out of the body.  Besides causing cancer and other diseases, free radicals also cause inflammation throughout the body thus intensifying other conditions commonly connected with the aging process such as arthritis.

The Cannabinoids CBD (Cannabidiol) and CBC (Cannabichromene) are known to relieve inflammation and THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBN (Cannbinol) are known to act as antioxidants.  These are two very important factors in maintaining homeostasis and overall health. The death of cancer cells, in turn, promotes homeostasis and survival at the level of the entire entity in both humans and animals alike.

CANNABIS AND THE LIVER

Over the past few decades there has been a lot media attention surrounding the issue of alcohol versus Cannabis for recreational use. Not only does Cannabis offer a healthier euphoriant than say whiskey or vodka but it can also help repair the damage which alcohol imposes on the body especially the liver.  The anti-inflammatory properties of Cannabis, makes this medicine appealing for a variety of diseases including cancer and liver disease.

It turns out that patient’s with active cirrhosis of the liver feature CB2 receptors in their liver cells, whereas those not suffering from the disease lack these receptors. This is a very interesting medical expression and many researchers believe that this is the diseased liver’s way of preparing to accept Cannabinoids with the goal of restoring health and balance via the EC system and its control over the immune system. So in other words the EC system displays a protective role in a variety of liver diseases and overall immune system function.

A 2005 study conducted at Hebrew University Medical School concluded that Endocannabinoids — the body’s own internally-produced Cannabinoids that are intimately involved in regulation of the immune system and nervous system actually help control things like vascular changes and the modulation of inflammation. In addition, it found these Endocannabinoids to be critical to proper neurological function and helpful for those suffering from liver diseases like fibrosis and cirrhosis.

“Endocannabinoids appear to be involved in several aspects of acute and chronic liver disease.”

Earlier ii referred to the function of Autophagy and in a 2011 study at the Hebrew University’s Medical School which was published in the journal Cell Death and Disease revealed that CBD causes malignant cells in liver fibrosis to appear to literally commit suicide.” The study concluded:

“Collectively, these results, coupled with the excellent safety and tolerability profile of Cannabidiol in humans, strongly suggest that it may have great therapeutic potential to treat a variety of liver conditions”

A further study released in 2013 in the journal Clinical Infectious Disease revealed that regular Cannabis consumption does not accelerate the progression of liver disease, specifically fibrosis. This was a comprehensive human study involving 2000 participants. The scientists at Hebrew University discovered that even man-made Cannabinoids inhibited the growth of HCC leading to a healthier liver. 

No part of the Cannabis plant is useless and while the buds and leaves usually take center stage, it now turns out there are more to the roots than what many of us assumed and in fact, people have been incorporating Cannabis roots into medicine for thousands of years. 

It has been determined that Cannabis roots contain a substance known as Friedelin which is considered to be an antioxidant, with hepato-protective (liver-protecting) properties. Cannabis roots contain a rich source of medicinal properties and may be far more valuable than we ever imagined and it is very true that we have hardly scratched the surface when it comes to understanding the consciousness of the Cannabis plant as a whole. But it’s high time for this to change and we need to explore this plant to its full potential, roots and all.  

So, what do YOU think, can Cannabis cure?

In Cannabis we have a truly extraordinary healing plant and evidence now shows that Cannabis is actually an amazingly tranquil substance that in fact poses no risk of overdose and only a slight risk of addiction, alike to that of craving coffee or chocolate or a walk in the park. Through the teachings of my elders and the numerous healings ii have personally witnessed truly ii do believe that in Cannabis we have the single most useful herbal remedy for the treatment of the widest range of health care issues mental, physical and spiritual problems. Many experts also now believe that the psychoactive properties of Cannabis are most likely to only be short lived and in fact do not pose any risk of long term brain damage.

More and more doctors are beginning to realise the truth about Cannabis, however, they lack the scientific research to adequately administer this medication and as such so much more research is required on the part of the medical world. It seems certain that pretty soon medical practitioners will be forced to learn about the healing powers of Cannabis from their own patients.

WHAT MAKES CANNABIS SO SPECIAL?

When a neuron or cell is under attack, the cell in front of it is activated and is known as the pre-synaptic neuron, and the neuron behind the stressed cell is known as the post-synaptic neuron. The EC system communicates its messages in a unique way because it essentially works in reverse, where other neurotransmitters are released and attach themselves to receptors on the post synaptic neuron forward to the presynaptic neuron.  Cannabinoids are now deemed to be among the most common and the most important of all neurotransmitters.

When a neuron is activated, the chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) of the EC System, Cannabinoids, are produced on demand from the fat cells already present in the neuron. Cannabinoids are then released from that cell and travel in reverse to the presynaptic neuron and attach to the Cannabinoid receptors of that cell. The importance of this is that Cannabinoids can actually act on presynaptic cells and therefore they can control what happens next when these cells are activated. This is very exciting medical technology.

So Cannabinoids then work like a “dimmer switch” for presynaptic neurons by limiting the amount of various different neurotransmitters that gets released and this affects how messages and hormones are sent and received and processed by the cell. The sole purpose of this function is to protect the cells from homeostatic imbalances which, is essential to sustaining life and optimum health as well as adjusting to environmental changes which are constantly changing and sadly not positively. All evidence indicates that Cannabinoids can act as both stimulants and inhibitors of the CB1 and CB2 receptors, and this is particularly evident in the research we have already seen on how Cannabinoids affect appetite control, metabolic regulation as well as auto immune functions, and it seems clear that whatever stress the body is under from external sources, where there are Cannabinoids present they will rectify the situation and avoid any medical disorder.

The medical world and government enjoy saying that there is insufficient evidence in support of Cannabis medicine when in reality this is absurd because there are hundreds of thousands of case studies which have been presented since the discovery of the EC system in the early 1990’s. But for mainstream medicine which is dominated by the pharmaceutical industry, the only real evidence is the double blind placebo controlled drug trial, typically required for most drug approvals and as long as Cannabis is illegal we will never have any of these tests but there is a lot of activity right now in the field of testing Cannabinoids. It is my personal feeling that it is wrong to believe that the only  form of “medical evidence” consists of a double blind placebo controlled drug trial, and all else is “not evidence” , because honestly these tests simply mean they are comparing a drug to... well...nothing at all in fact. In my opinion the art of clinical observation in the field of medicine has been lost and the pharmaceutical industry has just become more and more consumed with criminal mischief.

Be Blessed Be Healthy!

 

SOURCES

Endocrine Society's 2015 annual meeting in San Diego,

Texas A&M Health Science Centre's Institute of Biosciences and Technology

Mercola.com

Hebrew University Medical School

Tel Aviv University

Xhosatyles.blogspot.com

National Geographic

High Times

www.cancerdefeated.com

www.naturalnews.com