Aug-09-2009 19:13 CBD and Diabetes Part 3

Storm Crow for Salem-News.com CBD is a very effective neuroprotectant- it stops the damage which lead to neuropathic pain. Conventional treatments for neuropathic pain are rather limited- even addictive opiates don't always work on nerve pain.



(NORTHERN Calif.) - Diabetes has been described as a "major epidemic" in the US- over 230,000,000 Americans have diabetes. Diabetes is a major cause of amputations and blindness in adults. Almost 16,000,000 Americans have had their vision affected by diabetes. And once again, cannabidiol, CBD, comes to the rescue to help diabetics in several ways.


Dr. Gregory Liou, a molecular biologist at the Medical College of Georgia, has been investigating how CBD can prevent blindness in diabetics. (see: Neuroprotective and Blood-Retinal Barrier-Preserving Effects of Cannabidiol) Diabetic retinopathy begins when low levels of oxygen start to kill off the nerve cells in the retina.


The eye starts growing extra blood vessels to compensate for lower oxygen levels caused by high glucose levels.



Unfortunately, these blood vessels are often leaky and make the problem worse. The body responds to the dying nerve cells by changing microglial cells into efficient little scavengers that devour the dying cells.



The normal chemistry of the retina goes all out of whack, producing excess nitric oxide and superoxides, which are poisonous to cells. More cells die from these toxins, and things go from bad to worse.


CBD puts a stop to all of that. Just as it does in cancer, CBD slows or stops the growth of those extra and leaky blood vessels by limiting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).



CBD also protects the nerves from damage by preventing inflammation and reducing oxidative stress. The microglial cells stay in their normal, non-cannibalistic form. In a more readable article about his study (see: Marijuana Compound May Help Stop Diabetic Retinopathy), Dr. Liou says “Cannabinoids are trying to ease the situation on both sides. They help save the neuron and, at the same time, make sure the microglial cells stay in microglial form. How good do you want a drug to be?”


How good do we want a drug to be? How about this- CBD may prevent diabetes!


Yes, that's what I said, CBD may actually prevent diabetes! (see: Non-Psychoactive Cannabinoid Reduces Incidence Of Diabetes, Study Says) Mice and humans usually react in a similar fashion to drugs, which is why we use mice as lab animals. So, although these are just "mouse studies", chances are, the results in humans will be much the same.

And the results were pretty astounding- "injections of 5 mg per day of CBD significantly reduced the prevalence of diabetes in mice from an incidence of 86 percent in non-treated controls to an incidence of only 30 percent."
Allow me to rephrase that- almost 9 / 10 of the untreated mice developed diabetes, compared to less than 1/3 of the CBD mice! I think that qualifies as statistically significant.


And in a second experiment, all of the control (unmedicated) mice developed diabetes before the age of 20 weeks, while at 26 weeks, 60 percent of the CBD mice were still diabetes free. Again, those numbers look pretty impressive to me.


And then there's diabetic neuropathy, a major complication of diabetes that shows up as numbness, tingling, or pain in your hands and feet. Antioxidants protect nerves. Many of us take a daily dose of Vitamin C (ascorbate) or Vitamin E (α-tocopherol ) as antioxidants, but "Cannabidiol protected neurons to a greater degree than either of the dietary antioxidants, α-tocopherol or ascorbate."


BHT is a powerful antioxidant frequently used in food as a preservative. CBD is just as effective, and apparently safer in some respects, than BHT. "Although cannabidiol was similar in neuroprotective capacity to BHT, cannabidiol has no known tumor-promoting effects [unlike BHT] " (see: Cannabidiol and (−)Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol are neuroprotective antioxidants) I wonder if some day we will see CBD as a health promoting antioxidant in our foods, instead of the carcinogenic BHT?


CBD is a very effective neuroprotectant- it stops the damage which lead to neuropathic pain. Conventional treatments for neuropathic pain are rather limited- even addictive opiates don't always work on nerve pain. So why shouldn't all diabetics be given CBD to prevent nerve damage and blindness, or even diabetes itself, before it happens?


Preventable complications from diabetes cost us millions of health care dollars every year. CBD won't get you high. It is safe even in massive doses, up to 700 mg/day have been given without adverse effects. And unlike THC, CBD won't saddle you with a massive case of the munchies, sending you running to the nearest convenience store to grab a giant slurpie and an arm-load of twinkies and Snickers bars!


As a Type 2 diabetic, I'm looking forward to when this amazing cannabinoid is freely available. CBD may, some day, be given along with insulin and other medications to stop the damage from diabetes. But until it is rescheduled, the only diabetics who will benefit from CBD are a few diabetic lab rats.


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Part 1 in this series: CBD- The Other Healing Cannabinoid - Storm Crow for Salem-News.com
Part 2 in this series: CBD and Cancer: - Storm Crow for Salem-News.com

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Also a Type II diabetic, and while I used MMJ for another illness I know my blood sugar levels were much more stable. In fact, many of the system in my body were working much better, including the re-activation of my thyroid gland. My MD was shocked to see that, after more than 10 years of it doing nothing it started producing enough stuff that he had to reduce my thyroid med's!

ISO

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I recently had to cut back on my thyroid meds because they were sending me off in a tizzy! I kept losing my temper at trivial things. Haven't told my doctor yet, but I feel much better on the lower dosage!

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"Granny's Master list"- New style format- http://cannalink.org/granny/
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Simple format- http://www.greenpassion.org/f11/gran...-2009-a-13858/

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i.wantgrannyslist(at)greenpassion.org

im on a very high amount of synthroid right now. 200 mcg+ :-/. i was hyperthyroid then got radioactive iodine and now im hypothyroid...

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For a couple of years now I have been border line diabetic, they test me every six months and nothing had changed until this last test. Reading this makes me wonder just how much my smoking mmj contributed to a good test result. I had gone through a long period were I wasn't smoking because of a breathing scare awhile back.. in the past eight months I have been using mmj for anxieties and pain along with other health issues I deal with..So now I see it is helping to keep me safe from diabetes!!!!!!

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glipizide here


interesting stuff! - thanks

I am also a Type 2 Diabetic.

In June 2001 I went into the ICU at the local hospital with a blood sugar level of 1088. All the health care professionals I have spoken with tell me I should be dead.

I believe the reason I didn't die was that I have smoked cannabis for the previous 20 years and that God needed me alive to help others.

As anyone with medical issues, I learned everything I could about my Diabeties and its causes and effects. I learned to control my blood sugar with diet, exercise and insulin. As time went by I found controling my diet difficult so I increased the level of exercise and insulin. The more I exercised the more I felt pain from the nuromuscular issuses associated with Diabetes. Two years ago the pain became sporatic and unbearable when it accured. My doctor suggested pain meds. I told him that they haven't worked for me in the past and that I wanted to try MMJ. He refused to talk about it. I found a local doctor who gave me an authorization for MMJ.

The cannabis I had smoked in my past was for recreation. I used various strains that were of high THC content. After getting my authorization and introduction into the local MMJ community I started looking for strains that were focused more on nuromuscular pain. I found a strain called Plum. It greatly eases the pain with a minamal high effect. I smoke it daily and am able to fuction in public to the point that no one is aware. After a year of smoking this strain I find that I an able to exercise more with very little pain and that I'm taking less insulin.

I now consider myself one of the heathiest Diabetics I know. I use MMJ for sleeping and stress relief as well. I believe my quality of life and longevity have been increased thanks to MMJ.

God put this plant on earth and has given us the genetics to use it. We are born with CBD receptors.

I look forward to the day that everyone will have the opptions to explore how they can benifit from MJ.

Peace to all who seek it.
Joe

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