Autoimmune Disorders

Common autoimmune diseases include the following:

 

Autoimmune disorders refer to problems with the body's immune system response. In an autoimmune reaction, antibodies and immune cells target the system's own healthy tissues by mistake, signalling the body to attack them. This can happen in almost any part of the body - it could be your muscles, skin, eyes, joints, digestive tract, kidneys, brain, nerves, heart, lungs, glands or blood vessels.

Typically, autoimmune disorders cause inflammation, with the site depending on the part of the body that is being targeted. Inflammation can be present in several sites. 

The cause of autoimmune diseases is unknown, and probably a combination of factors play a role - genetic and exogenous. 

 

Cannabinoids and autoimmune disorders

Cannabinoids have been shown to be effective in treating disorders involving over activation of immune response and the associated oxidative stress. Cannabinoid receptors are found on the cells of the immune system. Cannabinoids like CBD trigger these receptors which stimulates immunoregulation as cytokine and chemokine production is down-regulated and t-regulatory cells are up-regulated. In other words, it is thought that CBD improves the ability of the immune system to recognise the difference between normal internal body functions and foreign entities, keeping the body from attacking itself. 

Cannabinoids can help with the pain caused by chronic autoimmune diseases (through analgestic properties and reduction in inflammation). 

 

Using CBD 

It is difficult to generalise treatment for chronic autoimmune disorders because they affect the body in such varied ways. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to dosages, and you will need to monitor the effects. We suggest keeping a diary to do this, since you may need to tweak your dosages. 

If you are using CBD 800 to treat yourself, use the micro to standard dose. If you are using CBD Plus (we recommend this product because of the higher bioavailability), start with one pump in the morning, and depending of the effect you may want to up the dose to two pumps. If you are using both, start with one dose of CBD Plus in the morning and micro dose with CBD 800 at night. These are merely recommendations to reduce inflammation and address the immune hyper response. 

To note: an animal study conducted in 2014 showed that THC may also be useful in autoimmune diseases (through the suppression of immune response). Please note that we do not sell or advocate the use of THC as it is currently illegal in South Africa.