Transcript of Episode 147: How to Balance your Endocannabinoid System
With Dr. Daniel Pompa, Meredith Dykstra, and Dr. Philip Blair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5qOo3lw8Z8″
Meredith:
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Cellular Healing TV. I’m your host, Meredith Dykstra, and this Episode #147. We have our resident cellular healing specialist, Dr. Daniel Pompa, on the line, of course. Today, we welcome a very special guest, Dr. Philip Blair. Dr. Blair is no stranger to Cellular Healing TV. He’s been on the show twice before, Episode 84 and Episode 90. Dr. Blair is an expert on CBD oil, or cannabidiol oil, and healing properties of this really amazing compound from the hemp plant. We’ve delved into it a lot before, 84 on that episode was an overview, and Episode 90, we discussed the power of CBD oil and how it impacts Alzheimer’s and different brain conditions. It’s such a hot topic, so we brought Dr. Blair back on Cellular Healing TV to delve in a little bit further. We’re going to talk about the ECS today, or the endocannabinoid system, and all the benefits that CBD oil can have on that system. We’re going to delve in a lot more.
Before jump in, let me tell you guys a little bit about Dr. Blair if you’ve missed the other shows, and then we’re going to delve into this really exciting topic. Colonel Philip Blair, M.D., is a retired family physician recently relocated to the Florida Space Coast, which I guess is no longer correct because you’re out in Washington State. I’ll have to get the updated file next time. He graduated from West Point in 1972, and attended University of Miami School of Medicine, and trained as a family physician. After retiring from the army in 1996, he managed workers’ injuries and provided primary care above the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Kodiak Island, and Newfoundland, Canada. In 2000, he became Vice President for Disease Management at AWAC Incorporated, an insurance claim management company, where he developed a highly successful interventional approach to chronic kidney disease. In 2011, he formed his own company, consulting for employer-based health insurers and providing a revolutionary style of chronic disease management, achieving success in over 75% of patients with diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. In addition, he’s a skilled computer database developer and instructor for speech recognition software on PC and Apple platforms. He also enjoys ballroom dancing and public speaking. What a well-rounded guy. Welcome, Dr. Blair, back to Cellular Healing TV.
Dr. Blair:
Meredith, it’s great to be here again. I’ve got such exciting information to share, things that I’ve discovered in my studies and my experience with cannabidiol so really excited to be here, especially after the conference in Las Vegas where you guys did such a magnificent job.
Dr. Pompa:
You can see all of our doctors that know, and teach, and really participate and practice cellular healing use the cannabidiol. It’s such an amazing cellular product. It’s very part of our system. We’re excited to gain more information. Trust me, all of those doctors, and their clients, and patients are watching. We’d better bring them some good information, man. I can’t wait to hear it.
Dr. Blair:
I was always perplexed by why is it that all of these alternative care – because I’m an allopathic. I’m a family physician, and I was trained that many of these alternative pathways had really no significant value. They were unproven. Over time, I’ve seen very clearly they are very effective, and they are healthy. The dietary changes that we’ve been told in medicine have been wrong. What is it? What has been the transition that makes these other therapies or how is it that these therapies work when we’re not able to define them in the typical allopathic fashion? Why do they work? I wanted to explore that.
Dr. Pompa:
Exactly, this is information that more people need to hear. I think that right now, people are hearing a lot about marijuana, whether we legalize it, not legalize it. I think that we could have an easy solution for everybody if everybody understood. There are benefits to the THC. However, that’s where most of the debate lies. Why, because it causes the psychological, the high, if you will, the part of the brain that we need to keep functioning driving a car or whatever. I think there are some studies showing that there are some negatives to THC in higher amounts, what it does to the brain.
However, what we’re talking about today has nothing to do with that. What we’re talking about, the CBD, the cannabidiol portion, that’s the portion that hey, this is really what has the greatest health benefits, everything. If we’re going to legalize everything, which this is already legalized. This is really where the conversation should. Bringing in our listeners, this is what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the part of marijuana that’s already legal, the part of marijuana that really has the most health benefits. Most people don’t get the separation, Doc. Maybe we should start there and then back into the conversation.
Dr. Blair:
That’s a really good point. I want to make a clear distinction that we’re not talking about the THC portion, the part that makes you high. We’re talking about the healing portion which is in the cannabidiol. That’s what medical marijuana is all about. It contains the cannabidiol in high concentrations so it can affect those particular healing pathways. That’s very, very important that people understand that. When we’re talking about marijuana, we’re really talking about the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant comes in two varieties. This is simplistic, but we’re talking about it comes either as marijuana, or it comes as hemp.
Hemp is the part that contains the cannabidiol, and it doesn’t contain hardly any of the THC. As a result of some of the legislation and confusion, the cannabidiol is legal when it comes from imported sources. There are several good companies that are providing really high-quality cannabidiol from clean sources that have analysis, that are transparent, and you get consistent product continually.
Unfortunately, sometimes in some of the states that have legalized marijuana, you get a variable quantity in terms of the mix of what is there. You don’t always get the effect, and then you are at risk of getting the high that comes along with THC. So many people don’t want to have anything to do with that, anything that will cloud their thinking or their thought processes. They definitely want to stay away from that as well as those patients who have restrictions in terms of their exposure and are being drug tested on a regular basis, a very good point, Daniel.
Dr. Pompa:
Starting there – as a matter of fact, Meredith, you might want to just hold off the one that we carry because he did say that there’s a few companies. You don’t have it to hold up?
Meredith:
No, I’m at home. I don’t have it.
Dr. Pompa:
We’ll get the name. There are a few companies that really have a quality supply of the cannabidiol. We have one guaranteed at 8%. There’s no chemicals because you’re right, Doc. You have to be very careful in this area of what you actually utilize. Meredith, you can just tell him the one that we carry, and the name, and how to get it.
Meredith:
It is the Elixinol brand that we like to use. I believe it’s 18% CBD in the syringe form that we have. There is the Elixinol syringe, which you can get it. It’s in a liquid form. There are also tinctures, as well, of the CBD oil. We also have it in capsule form, too. You can get those at revelationCBDoil.com.
A quick question just to follow up to it: you were saying a lot of people call in and are wondering if I take this CBD oil, is it going to show up on a drug test?
Dr. Blair:
We try not to insert ourselves into drug testing area, but the cannabidiol and the Elixinol products don’t contain any significant amounts of THC. There’s definitely no psychoactive effect in terms of getting high, or feeling drowsy, or having those particular effects that THC causes. I can’t promise that people won’t in terms of drug testing. I can just tell you that the Elixinol does not contain any significant amounts of THC, which is the only thing that drug testing tests.
Dr. Pompa:
I’ve had a couple people get tested when they’re taking the CBD, and they were fine. My kids are on ski team here in Park City. They get tested. They take CBD for obvious benefits. With that said, let’s now get into the benefits. After we’ve talking about some of these benefits and why you, and I, and our doctors feel this is such an important product that we all should take – and there’s many reasons why. I want to get to which products. Meredith brought up that we have the 18% guaranteed CBD oil straight up. We have a tincture, and we even have pills so we can give our viewers – because, Meredith, we always get that question, too: when to use what. What are these for? What is that for? We’ll talk a little bit about that, so benefits and which products to take and when. Yours, Doc.
Dr. Blair:
What I want to do is that recent information has come out about the endocannabinoid system. Not very many people really understand that we have this complex system within our body that is the homeostatic and the regulatory system for all of our other systems. What the evidence is showing now is an amazing amount of disease that is focused really right on the endocannabinoid system. We can’t say that it’s causal, that things like migraines, or irritable bowel syndrome, or fibromyalgia are caused by the endocannabinoid system, only that these problems are related to dysfunction or deficiencies in the endocannabinoid system. As you look at these other diseases, whether it’s cancer or it’s PTSD, what we’re seeing is consistent disregulation, discordant elements of the endocannabinoid system that are showing disease models. What we may be dealing with in many of these complex diseases that are so difficult to control, especially the chronic ones, is some perturbation of the endocannabinoid system that causes a dysfunction leading to these particular diseases, which is why we’re encountering some of these problems.
Dr. Pompa:
Just to back up for our viewers and listeners, the endocannabinoid system. What is it? We understand the endocrine system, meaning our hormone system. We understand our cardiovascular system, meaning our heart and blood flow, right? What is the endocannabinoid system?
Dr. Blair:
It’s very similar to the endocrine system in the sense that it’s endo, meaning inside, and the cannabinoid. The cannabinoid is the kind of molecule that actually prompted the discovery of this system in 1992. We really didn’t even know it existed. Since that time, we’ve made connections with all of these other different systems. That’s what I want to point out is the endocannabinoid system is the interface between the outside and the inside as well as the inside to the outside in terms of how we manifest ourselves, and our personalities, and our characteristics, and our health.
The endocannabinoid system is composed of ligands or agonists that interact with receptors that are on the cell membrane and even in the nucleus of the cell as well as it includes some of the metabolic factors that degrade as well as synthesize the endocannabinoids that are circulating within our system. The endocannabinoid system has the –it’s located in the brain, and in the immune system, and in nerve tissue, but it’s also very highly located in the gut.
Dr. Pompa:
Could you say then it’s a communication network, if you will, helping the body communicate system to system?
Dr. Blair:
It is, yes, but it even – very interesting. It’s almost like a translator. It’s taking our thoughts and ideas, and it’s translating them into performance, into body functions. What we’re seeing is that with people who are stressed out, and anxious, and they’re worried about things, that’s translating into dysfunction in different areas probably through this translation function that the endocannabinoid system facilitates. The same thing is true for things like dysbiosis, where we’ve got the wrong bacteria in the gut, that it’s causing problems. That’s actually feeding back to the body and to the brain, whether it’s creating depression, or anxiety, or dysfunction, and health issues. We have this wonderful communication system, when it’s working properly, that’s great. That’s very healthy, and it allows us to recover. When it’s not working properly, what do you do about it? How can you enhance and recover the endocannabinoid system?
What I want to talk to you about today is how all of the systems that cellular healing is using is enhancing those endocannabinoids, and it’s restoring the endocannabinoid system so that we get back to normal. We restore ourselves and recover from those traumas, from the diseases, from the errors in our dietary, and our environmental issues that we’re facing with.
Dr. Pompa:
I was just going to say look. Everything about health is how our body’s communicating, whether it’s from bacteria to cell, cell to cell, system to system. In simple format for our viewers, this is what the endocannabinoid system does in so many aspects and probably a lot of aspects we haven’t even discovered yet.
Dr. Blair:
I think that’s a really good point. We’ve only gotten through the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s going on with this. There are so few people who understand or even know about the endocannabinoid system, and I’m talking about medical professionals who don’t even know it’s there, then to realize that it is at the heart of so many of the other systems, that communication between the brain and the hormones or the brain, and the heart, and the neurologic system, all of these interfaces going on here. It’s a little bit like – okay, with hormones, that’s like a sledgehammer. You use this corticosteroids example. They have a tremendous, powerful effect, but it’s a sledgehammer. If you use that too often, you’re going to destroy other systems that are involved. What we’re dealing with in the endocannabinoid system is the fine tuning. It’s the ball-peen hammer that is very focused in terms of making changes and normalizing the body rather than pushing it off in one direction that actually can develop other types of diseases.
Meredith:
I have a question Dr. Blair. I know you had mentioned that a lot of diseases that are manifested today are possibly caused by a deficiency or a dysfunction of the ECS. Do we know what is causing this deficiency or dysfunction of the ECS?
Dr. Pompa:
Endocannabinoid system.
Dr. Blair:
As a result of the different environmental things, whether it’s a toxin, or it’s a lack of exercise, or it’s the wrong foods that we’re taking in, these things are making changes in the endocannabinoid system that are subtle, but over a period of time they will manifest disease. That’s why diet is so important. That’s why probiotics and prebiotics are so important because, in essence, they are making changes to the endocannabinoid system and signaling the body to make overall changes.
In good health, when we’re doing all the things that we’re supposed to be doing, whether that’s diet, exercise, meditation and prayer, relaxation techniques, all of those things – that’s great. Then we can restore the endocannabinoid system. We’re using those as endocannabinoid enhancers. When we get to a point where we’re just at too low a level, or we have toxins that are interfering with that recovery, or we have a major injury, then you’re not going to be able to recover. You’ve got to boost that system. That’s what I see as why we as allied health professions can all work together in terms of recovering the endocannabinoid system and restoring health to so many individuals.
Dr. Pompa:
This is where the CBD oil comes in. How does it balance the system? What does it do?
Dr. Blair:
That’s one part of it because you’ve got the therapies that you know work. I was talking with a chiropractor in Australia, and he was lamenting to me that it used to be that osteopathic manipulation was great and that resolved 90% of the problems. That doesn’t work anymore. The therapies that have been tried and true aren’t working anymore on today’s population. There’s something more going on. What it is, I think that’s open to debate and concerns. There’s lots of evidence for these other types of problems, whether it’s in the foods that we’re taking in, or it’s chlorine, or it’s lead, mercury. All of those things are probably playing a role, but it’s not working anymore those simple therapies. That’s why a combined approach is so very important in terms of restoring the endocannabinoid system.
What you do with regard to diet, with regard to sleep, with regard to exercise, those are all very positive and herbal supplementation. You’re enhancing the endocannabinoid system. That’s where the phytocannabinoid cannabidiol really comes into play because it can work as an enhancer for the endocannabinoid system, whereas some of these other things are pushing in one direction. It’s the sledgehammer approach. What we want to use is some fine tuning and restoration rather than pushing the body in one direction only.
Dr. Pompa:
Let’s talk about it. Doc, I know you’ve done so much research. You send us emails all the time about a research article on cannabidiol and Alzheimer’s. Here’s one on Parkinson’s. We know the research is piling up as far as CBD, cannabidiol, and its impact in these nerve degenerative conditions, depression. I can go down the list. You’ve sent me many different. Share with our viewers some of those studies and some of the effects on some of these conditions.
Dr. Blair:
I mentioned three already, about the migraine, and the irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome. These syndromes, that’s another word for things that we don’t know what’s causing it but it has all of these symptoms put together. They’re all characterized by a central hypersensitivity. The migraine, or the irritable bowel, the chronic fatigue, they all have this central sensitivity to almost anything that they are exposed to. If they get too much of anything or get under too much stress, then they manifest worsening disease. These particularly are excellent at characterizing the endocannabinoid deficiency-type of syndrome. What it comes down is these diseases may be the first of the endocannabinoid system dysfunction deficiency that can be corrected and can be targeted with the endocannabinoid enhancement therapy that we’re all using.
In other areas like the brain, you mentioned the Alzheimer’s disease. There’s also Parkinson’s. There are others. ALS has been shown. All of these conditions are now showing endocannabinoid dysfunction. That means that either the endocannabinoid hormones are too high, or they’re too low, or the receptors are wonky. They’re just not around in the right concentration. That indicates that it’s really a balance that’s going on. It’s not a matter of being too much or too little because almost every tissue, every part of the body, behaves differently and reacts differently due to these different levels. Instead of trying to control one with pushing the level higher or lower, it’s a matter of let’s get it back in balance. A lot of the things that we do that are healthy, diet, exercise, sleep, are all important for balancing those and restoring normal.
Dr. Pompa:
I think it brings up the obvious question. We always get this question, right Meredith, the dosing of it. How do we dose CBD? Do we dose it differently per condition? Do we start low? Talk about it. We’ve talked in some of the past shows about the dosing of it. That brings us into the conversation of what products. We have the syringe which really gives the highest punch. Then we have the tincture that I’ll oftentimes start with people who I just want to start slow with. Of course, it has a nice pleasant taste. That helps, too, for the kids. Then, of course, we even have the pills. When would we use that? Share a little bit from that.
Dr. Blair:
Let me get to that, but I just want to mention about behavioral diseases like PTSD. There is very clear evidence on PET scans these people have abnormal CB1 receptor functions and their anandamide levels, or their natural endocannabinoids, are decreased. In the area of depression, schizophrenia, these are all showing endocannabinoid dysfunctions, irregularities.
The same is true with the gut. The same thing is happening there in inflammatory bowel disease as well as irritable bowel disease. It goes on to the immune system in terms of the hyperactivity and the autoimmune diseases as well as the hormones. The hormone functions, the stress hormones, cortisol particularly, is regulated by the endocannabinoid system.
That goes into a lot of the drugs that we use. We usually think well, we’re using this drug. How does that drug work? It turns out that many of those drugs are actually using the endocannabinoid system. Things as simple as Tylenol, acetaminophen, are using the endocannabinoid system as well as the corticosteroids, and the antidepressants, and the antipsychotics. They’re all going through this particular system, but they’re the sledgehammer approach. It’s not a balanced approach.
Dr. Pompa:
I can tell you first hand that many of my clients have major pain. They start taking the CBD, and they notice a difference right away without having to take their pain meds that they were literally stuck on. Likewise, you had mentioned the gut conditions. At some point, we always want to try the CBD oil because of the antiinflammatory effect and the balance that it has on the microbiome in the gut. It’s remarkable. Just about every condition we’re dealing with today, there is some gut component. Anxiety, sleep, I always reach for CBD in these areas: Anxiety, sleep, gut, pain, go down the list. You’re right. I’ve experienced it clinically.
Meredith:
Personally, it’s really helped me with sleep and any anxiety issues, as well. I notice I had to take an extremely high dose to notice an impact. I don’t know if you could speak to that in regards that some maybe need a much less dose than others and why that would be.
Dr. Blair:
I want to address that in particular because dosing is a particular problem, and understanding that, and what goes on with it. I want to get to the concept here of what cannabidiol, what this phytocannabinoid does differently than the other substances that are out there that work on the body and the endocannabinoid system. What is that?
What we’re seeing with cannabidiol is it’s restoring the endocannabinoid system. It’s rebalancing the number of receptors, the amount of endocannabinoids, as well as working with some of the other cell-to-cell communication that is going on. It’s like a medic working on so many of these systems, returning them to a normal function. It’s balancing some of the synthetic hormones to make more of our natural endocannabinoids as well as decreasing the amount of degradation or the amount of destruction of those enzymes, those substances, so that you’re maintaining levels.
As you do that using the cannabidiol, we’re seeing a restoration of the endocannabinoid system so that it may be that over time, when we have enough experience, we can show that as the endocannabinoid system is restored, less and less of the cannabidiol may be required. Less and less of those other therapies may be required because you’re getting the body back into balance.
When you talk about, Meredith, you mentioned that some people require more. You’re absolutely right. I start with a standard dose and recommend about 15 mg twice a day for most people. That is a really good starting point because that allows you to move forward in terms of increasing the dose or to decrease it very naturally. I like patients to use it according to what their needs are because every patient is different. You don’t have to use – it’s not the same amount of diet, activity. It’s not the same amount of exercise for everybody. Everybody is an individual, and so is true for the endocannabinoid system and their level of dysfunction. Naturally, you want to adjust it to their particular needs. Because cannabidiol doesn’t have any, at least the Elixinol product, doesn’t have any significant side effects, or toxicity, or adversity, and there’s no addictive component to it, you use as much as you need to to get to that target symptom that you’re trying to control. If you need to double the dose, you double the dose.
Meredith:
Does that mean if you need to take a really high dose that your ECS is much less functioning than normal or does that correlate?
Dr. Blair:
It does suggest that, but we don’t have the studies to prove it, in fact. What I’ve found is that I really haven’t had to go more than 180 to 200 mg of CBD for anybody in order to get the benefits to it. Interestingly, many people who get the analgesia, and they get the anti-anxiety, and those other things that go on, or they don’t get those particular things, but they do get the other side benefits. I think what’s unique to the cannabidiol is that it has all these side benefits. We’re always talking about the adversity of the different drugs and substances. You’ve got to watch out for this side effect. The side effects in the sense of these positive benefits that occur with cannabidiol are quite remarkable. As you said, Meredith and Daniel, in terms of sleep, relaxation, and improved healing, what wonderful side benefits that come along with it even if it’s not your main topic and target.
Dr. Pompa:
Probably so much of it is that it has such an amazing anti-inflamatory effect. Obviously with that alone, you will affect so many pathways. You had brought up in one of the past shows its effect on the cell membrane. The cell membrane is pivotal to how many different things with our health. This is how you turn bad genes on and off. This is how your cells move things in and out, your receptors to every hormone are on the cell membrane, and yet it has an amazing effect on the cell membrane, which by the way is my R number two of my Five Rs, regenerating the cell membrane. CBD oil plays a significant role in the membrane.
Dr. Blair:
The way that it does that may be in terms of restoring some of those endocannabinoid receptors on the cell membrane so that the endocannabinoid system can function better. There is even more. There are receptors that we’ve now identified that are on the nuclear membrane. There are endocannabinoid receptors that are there. They get transported from the cell wall and the membrane to the nucleus to trigger epigenetic changes that go on within the cell. That’s very similar to the ketones and how ketones function in terms of signaling through the certain receptors that are on the nuclear membrane.
Dr. Pompa:
I have to ask that question because we’ve talked a lot on this show about epigenetics, and for new viewers, we used to think that hey, you have a thyroid condition or diabetes or you got that particular cancer because your mom or dad had it. We know today that most genetic conditions are turned on, meaning we trigger these genes of susceptibility. The good news is studies show we can turn these genes off, right? You talked about ketones. They have the ability to turn things off. STAT’s and Bruce Lipton’s work, who we’ve had on the show, fixing the membrane and how that turns off those genes. Are there studies? You mentioned one that it affects the receptors, the cannabidiol receptors, on the nucleus. That’s where the DNA is. Are there studies now showing that CBD oil has an effect on turning bad genes off or good ones on?
Dr. Blair:
Yes, I think there are some incredible studies that show that it’s working. Cannabidiol is specifically working through the PPAR receptors. That’s P-P-A-R gamma receptors. If you’re familiar with ketones, they’re working through the PPAR alpha receptors that are on the nuclear membrane. The PPAR gamma are also working there, and they are changing the enzymes and the activated genes that are producing enzymes as well as some of the proteins that are being produced in the body. It’s that control point, the nucleus, in shifting the genetic makeup. That’s how also that CBD orchestrates some of the changes in the enhancement of the endocannabinoid system, by affecting those genes that are involved with improving the endocannabinoid system but also those other measures, turning off those bad genes, particularly the oncologic genes that are there as well.
Dr. Pompa:
Is there a length of time in any of these studies that people staying on CBD saw the benefit of the gene expression?
Dr. Blair:
I don’t have any of the studies. I can’t quote anything of that factor. In terms of clinical experience, what I’ve seen is that two to three months out, people are able to dramatically reduce their dosage so they’re not having to use high levels, and they’re getting sustained benefits. They’re not having a falling back into their previous states. I think that’s an indication that some of these things are going on, but we certainly don’t have the evidence at this point. This is such a fledgling science that’s going on.
Dr. Pompa:
No doubt about it. On the dosing again, I know that the 18%, the one that we have, the syringe-looking one, it has pumps, which is nice. Remember the old days. I don’t want to bring up the old days. Every pump, it delivers a nice 15 mg dose. It makes it a lot easier to take a dose in the morning and a dose later. That’s where I start as well. I typically start someone with one squirt of that twice a day. What about the higher-end doses?
Dr. Blair:
That’s a great way to start in the X-pen that you’re talking about. I just want to make one correction there. The old product that first came out from Elixinol was a syringe, very much syringe style. That was 18%. The new product is actually only 10%. It had to be reduced because it was too thick. You remember, there may have been some difficulties in terms of squeezing it out. In order to make that delivery system consistent, it has been reduced in terms of viscosity so that it can be easily expressed and deliver that 15 mg.
The X-pen is a great device, and I think it’s the premiere device and product that Elixinol offers because it delivers a full blend of the natural cannabinoids as well as the terpenes and flavonoids that go along with it. Exactly, I think the X-pen is probably the premiere. It’s got some supplemental cannabinoids that are there. Not endocannabinoids, that’s only inside of us, but it has actually some extra cannabinoids that are not psychoactive whatsoever but really enhance the effectiveness of the cannabidiol in the body.
Dr. Pompa:
Starting with one pump, it’s one squirt of that. There’s your 15 mg, and you do that twice a day, great starting point. Where do we go from there? Someone says okay, I want more. I have ALS or I have a condition that I think might demand more. Pain might demand more, right? Where do you go from there on the high end?
Dr. Blair:
I think you just increase the dose. You increase it very quickly. I haven’t seen any reason to wait. If you have any toxicity or adversity then go ahead and double the dose. Get to the point where you’re getting a resolution of some of those symptoms that are really bothering you. If it’s pain and you need analgesia or it’s anxiety, increase the dose until you get that effectiveness. That can be just in a day, or two days, or three days. You don’t have to wait a long time as if you would with an antidepressant.
Dr. Pompa:
I always tell them to keep it under their tongue as long as they can. That gets a little bit difficult, but what’s your recommendations there? We want full absorption maximum dose.
Dr. Blair:
I think that under the tongue and what I call transmucosal absorption is some of the best. That means that it’s absorbed anywhere in the mouth. The back of the tongue may be the best. Under the tongue is very effective, but to hold it in the mouth is great because you get the direct absorption. When you get direct absorption through the mucous membranes, you’re bypassing the metabolic effects, the first pass effects, of the liver. You’re getting immediate penetration into the blood stream, to the brain, and to the tissues throughout the body. I think that’s an excellent approach.
How long? It’s whatever you can really tolerate, whether that’s two minutes or if it’s five minutes. You’re going to swallow it after, and it’s going to get well-absorbed through that particular system, so you’re not going to have any difficulty with it. It just takes a little bit longer to reach effectiveness when you swallow it, let’s say a capsule, where it has to go into the GI tract versus you taking the X-pen and you’re swishing that in your mouth.
I don’t have them hold it under the tongue. I have them swish it in the mouth because I really want to get the absorption all over the mouth. You know, Daniel, you can use that. It’s any membrane. If somebody wants to use it rectally, it’s very possible to use it. You can have special suppositories made, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can actually use the capsules directly into the rectum without any difficulty.
Dr. Pompa:
Let’s talk about some of their other sources because I think we carry as well, or at least Revelation Health does, they have the tinctures which is a lower dose. It tastes better. Let’s talk about how that would be a benefit. They also have it in capsules, so you mentioned a few things there. Talk a little bit about that.
Dr. Blair:
The capsules are great because they – that fits in with our current paradigm in terms of taking pills and taking capsules. This is truly for a healthful substance. Each capsule is 15 mg, so it matches the X-pen in terms of the dose. The standard that I recommend is 15 mg, one capsule twice a day. That’s what the bottle is. It’s 60 capsules. That’s got a nice blend of the other cannabinoids and the flavonoids so really valuable product.
Then we step down to the tinctures which have different concentrations. You’ve got the 100 mg bottle that has about 3 mg per ml. Then you’ve got the 300 mg bottle that has 10 mg per ml. Then the 3,600 has 30 mg per ml. You’re getting pretty high concentrations of 3% in the 3,600 product. When you’re looking for longevity and you’re going to be looking at continuing this, this is a great item to get because you can really maintain your health. You don’t have to worry about reordering or having enough. If you’ve got a 3,600 mg which has 120 ml, it’ll last for quite a while in most cases depending on what the dosage is.
Meredith:
Now Dr. Pompa, you often suggest taking the CBD using with a fat, right? Perhaps some MCT oil, some coconut oil, and that would increase the absorption, right?
Dr. Pompa:
They mixed the product up. Before, it was a little different. Now, like Doc’s pointing out here, they’ve made this product in a combination of different things. Doc, back in the day, we were mixing with different things to help the absorption. They’ve really solved that. Elixinol made it a lot easier that you don’t have to do that as much.
Dr. Blair:
Right, and I do agree with you, Daniel, in terms of using a fatty food or a fatty meal afterwards is excellent because we’re talking about the same sort of absorption process. We’re talking about activating the lipid system and the fat. I don’t think that’s any problem for you guys and the network because they’re all into and realize how important healthy fats are in the body. That’s really important.
Realizing that that’s not for everybody and not everybody can do that, the Elixinol has made a new product called liposomes. These are actually water soluble. Because they’re water soluble and they’re wrapped with a phosphate skin, they’re more absorbable. They have a better bioavailability than the tinctures. You can get sometimes five or even ten times the effectiveness using the liposomes as you do get with the tinctures or some of the other formats.
Meredith:
Do you guys carry any topical products? What do you think of the topical or the transdermal absorption of CBD?
Dr. Blair:
We have just come out with a healing cream, a healing balm, that can be used on the skin. It’s got great effects. It’s a wonderful application that can go on irritated areas containing a modest amount of cannabidiol to get that absorption.
I have to tell you one thing. You look back at flax, and flax bandages were what people generally used in Europe and in different wars. Flax actually contains some cannabidiol of itself which may account for the extra healing effects that have occurred with that. Topical is very true.
Generally, I recommend that you can use either the liposomes or you can use the tinctures as a topical application. I recommend it for rashes of all kinds, whether that’s just irritation, or it’s viral infections, or it’s trauma where you have incurred some injury and damage. In those cases, I’ve seen advanced and accelerated healing for large wounds as well as analgesia to take care of it. Not too long ago, I was not paying attention, didn’t put my cup of my hot tea down properly, and I burned my lip on it. I immediately put the CBD on it. It just absolutely quenched the pain and discomfort as well as preventing any blister formation. It’s great for the medicine cabinet and for those injuries that we have along the way.
Dr. Pompa:
I think our viewers are right now are probably going yes, I want to try it, but I don’t know where to start. We talked about the X-pen, and we talked about the tinctures, and we talked about liposomes. Then we talked about transdermal flax. Kind of give our viewers where do I start? What are the benefits of the tinctures, the liposomes? When do I do which one? I know they’re going to ask the question. Meredith, we’re going to get that question. I’m trying to nip it in the bud for you.
Dr. Blair:
Let me get that taken care of, but I just want to go back to one of the first questions you had is, Meredith, you said I have to take a whole lot of this. What’s going on? Why do I have to take a whole lot? I’ve encountered patients who have not responded at all. One of the things that will not allow you to respond to the phytocannabinoids and CBD specifically is a lack of Omega-3 fats within the body. If you’re deficient in Omega-3s then – the Omega-3s, they work by creating a lot of the receptors and a lot of the hormones that are part of the endocannabinoid system. If you don’t have those Omega-3s in the proper balance or if you’re overwhelmed with Omega-6s, then you’re not going to be able to have the playing field that cannabidiol can work on and can activate in the endocannabinoid system. Whenever I encounter people who are less than an ideal response, I want to make sure they’re getting adequate Omega-3s within their system. That’s one of those caveats. I wanted to make sure that you got that message in there.
Now, are you deficient, Meredith, in Omega-3s? Probably not. It’s just is probably your individuality. Because we’re all individuals, what’s the best for anybody? In my looking at it, you want to look at those other things. You want a whole body approach. You want a whole person approach. It is diet. It is exercise. It is sleep. You’ve got to take care of those. The phytocannabinoids, the cannabidiol is there for that enhancement taking it up to the next level to get them recovered or get their symptoms controlled right away.
Then, what is the product, what is the route that they would be most comfortable with? If we’re talking about people who are really used to the standard paradigm of pills and capsules, then the capsules are a great way to go to get them started with it. If you have to make fine-tuning adjustments, though, you’ve got to think in terms of tinctures where you can adjust the dosage. You can use the dropper to figure out how many milliliters or fractions of a milliliter that you want to do to get the exact dose that you’re using. If you want something real quick and easy, then the X-pen delivering one shot of the CBD into the mouth. For kids and young people or people who have really terrible, difficult taste concerns like autistics. They have a real problem with taste. The liposomes are a great place to start with them because they’re a very attractive taste. They’re flavorful, and they can mix with water or they can mix with other substances, and they can easy to get into people to have them use.
Any of these things can be used depending – and what is the best one? The best one is the one that they’ll use. The best exercise is the one that people will do. You’ve got to integrate it into their particular lifestyle.
Let me just point out one thing on the liposomes. Because of their increased bioavailability, I generally recommend – I have a typical standard that I recommend. I reduce that. I find that the liposomes are about five times more potent in most people and so you don’t need to take as much. In some people, they’re just not as effective as the tinctures, or the X-pen, or the capsules. They’re very, very good, and they’re very effective especially for behavioral issues and anxiety but sometimes not as effective for the chronic pain and for the high doses that you might require.
In terms of topical dose, your fallback position is always – if people really can’t stand the taste, and they really have difficulty, or they think there’s some problem that they’re developing as a result of using an oral formulation, put it on the skin. Have them get some absorption through the back of the hand, or on the abdomen, or the back. My wife has some pain issues, and I use some applications onto her back. It’s very, very effective for systemic absorption as well as using topical relief of some aches and pains. When I get a shoulder pain or a knee pain, I use it there. I get systemic absorption. That’s pretty clear. Maybe not as much as an oral dose, but it’s effective.
Dr. Pompa:
I have just a quick question. We’re coming at the top of the hour here, but why if the liposome was five times more potent as far as absorption because it’s surrounded by a fat molecule, why would it be less effective for some of the other conditions?
Dr. Blair:
I can’t answer that. It’s wrapped by a phosphate molecule, and the phosphate makes it more bioavailable as a result of that: better absorption, better transmission and absorption through the gut. I don’t know what that is. We don’t understand that exactly. We do know that it’s better absorbed and maybe the other formulations are having difficulty going across the membrane. They’re get metabolized more quickly. Something within that process that is interfering with the delivery and the bioavailability. If we can get it in then it’s more effective that way.
Dr. Pompa:
Maybe I misunderstood. I thought you said the liposome was five times more potent. However, it didn’t work as well as some of the other deliveries with certain conditions.
Dr. Blair:
That’s right. That’s exactly so. Where did I lead you astray?
Dr. Pompa:
Maybe I’m mixed up. Meredith, make us both clear.
Meredith:
I don’t know. I wasn’t really following that very clearly.
Dr. Blair:
Let me reiterate, then. What I see with the liposomes is it’s got improved bioavailability so it appears to be more potent. When you take in one pump, which is one milligram of the liposome 300, then it’s like taking 5 mg of the tincture. Why wouldn’t you just say well, just let me stick with the liposomes. I can get five times the effect with it. That works in many people, but it doesn’t work in everybody. What I find is that the X-pen is better. It’s got a better blend and a balance of the other cannabinoids and the other substances. Same is true for the capsule. The tincture also has a little bit more. The liposomes are your bare bones cannabidiol. You don’t get a lot of the extra things that go along with it. It may be the other extra things that are missing.
Dr. Pompa:
That’s it. You answered it, right? Because the other factors aren’t there, it’s just straight CBD. Although better delivered, it doesn’t have some of the extra factors as would the X-pen or the tinctures. I got it.
Meredith:
–different tools, too, because as we know, everyone reacts differently to different things. Some work better for some than others. The tools and just all the options are wonderful to have.
Dr. Blair:
That’s great. Here, you have the flexibility of doing what you need to and making adjustments. Rather than one size fits all, it’s a matter of customizing for that individual’s need. Along with your other therapies, I don’t want to deemphasize those at all. I want to really make a point that those other therapies are also important for the long-term, whole-person concept.
Dr. Pompa:
We preach and I teach a multitherapeutic approach. Why people are getting sick is, yeah, certain genes are getting turned on. Certain stressors, toxins included, are turning on those genes. Then we have a disruption in the microbiome today that’s making this whole thing a perfect storm. If we’re not working in all of those areas together with the multitherapeutic approach, we’re not going to get well today. We’re not. We’re not going to function in good health. It is everything. This is a tool that me and my doctors, we absolutely love. I think you brought more clarity, at least, to our viewers as far as how to use these tools.
Dr. Blair:
I brought some resources, too. Meredith, I don’t know if it’s possible if you could show some of those references. Here’s a collection about the endocannabinoid system and the clinical endocannabinoid deficiency syndrome that we are seeing. These are excellent. These are full articles that you can download and you can see and review. I really welcome you to take a look at these and find out what those sources and take a read on these articles. I found them fascinating, but I find that any of these studies on endocannabinoid system as well as cannabidiol are quite remarkable. It’s going to fulfill my many years, I’m absolutely convinced.
Dr. Pompa:
No doubt about it. Thank you for that because I’m no doubt certain that it’s resources that everybody needs to look at, so thank you.
Dr. Blair:
Also, with you, Daniel, in terms of what you’re doing and in terms of the whole-person concept and restoring balance to the body, and the cellular healing, that’s very critical, as well. You have to have all of your major points have to be addressed if you’re going to get maintained health and restoration of health.
Dr. Pompa:
Absolutely. We always enjoy having you on, Doc. There is no doubt about it. We appreciate you coming on, always a wealth of knowledge especially in this area. I know it’s one of your loves. You research a lot of things, and you are an absolute wealth of knowledge in this area, that’s for sure.
Dr. Blair:
I sure appreciate the opportunity to share this because I think it’s so critical and unrecognized in all of our health professionals that we can integrate all of these approaches. As an integrated approach, it’s a wonderful way. It also combines all of us as medical professionals along the same line using the same system for the benefit of others.
Dr. Pompa:
Thank you.
Meredith:
Awesome. Thank you, Dr. Pompa, and thank you, Dr. Blair, for sharing all of this amazing information with us. Dr. Blair gave us permission to upload this PowerPoint, as well, with some of the highlights of what we talked about, all of those resources, as well, that you can check out. That’s going to be on podcast.drpompa.com on the podcast page along with the full transcript of this episode.
In closing, thank you so much, everyone. Thanks for watching, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next time.