Israeli Scientists Discover This Plant Extract Helps Build and Repair Bone
I’m so thankful to live in a day and age where technology is allowing us to understand the mysteries of nature in such a profound way. This is especially exciting in the field of health and medicine, where scientists are working constantly to find natural ways to treat and prevent bodily disease and dysfunction.
In a study published by The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Tel Aviv University scientists found that a non-psychoactive extract from the cannabis plant (also known as marijuana) significantly sped up bone healing after a fracture. In addition to that, they found that the same extract called Cannabidiol (CBD), also increased bone density and protected bones against future injury.
Here’s an excerpt from the University blog article explaining the findings:
The study, conducted on rats with mid-femoral fractures, found that CBD — even when isolated from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive component of cannabis — markedly enhanced the healing process of the femora after just eight weeks.
The research was led jointly by Dr. Yankel Gabet of the Bone Research Laboratory at the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the late Prof. Itai Bab of Hebrew University’s Bone Laboratory.
The same team, in earlier research, discovered that cannabinoid receptors within our bodies stimulated bone formation and inhibited bone loss. This paves the way for the future use of cannabinoid drugs to combat osteoporosis and other bone-related diseases.
“The clinical potential of cannabinoid-related compounds is simply undeniable at this point,” said Dr. Gabet. “While there is still a lot of work to be done to develop appropriate therapies, it is clear that it is possible to detach a clinical therapy objective from the psychoactivity of cannabis. CBD, the principal agent in our study, is primarily anti-inflammatory and has no psychoactivity.”
According to Dr. Gabet, our bodies are equipped with a cannabinoid system, which regulates both vital and non-vital systems. “We only respond to cannabis because we are built with intrinsic compounds and receptors that can also be activated by compounds in the cannabis plant,” he said. The researchers found that the skeleton itself is regulated by cannabinoids. Even the addition of a non-psychogenic compound acting outside of the brain can affect the skeleton.
“We found that CBD alone makes bones stronger during healing, enhancing the maturation of the collagenous matrix, which provides the basis for new mineralization of bone tissue,” said Dr. Gabet. “After being treated with CBD, the healed bone will be harder to break in the future.”
The researchers injected one group of rats with CBD alone and another with a combination of CBD and THC. After evaluating the administration of THC and CBD together in the rats, they found CBD alone provided the necessary therapeutic stimulus.
“We found CBD alone to be sufficiently effective in enhancing fracture healing,” said Dr. Gabet. “Other studies have also shown CBD to be a safe agent, which leads us to believe we should continue this line of study in clinical trials to assess its usefulness in improving human fracture healing.”
Pretty cool stuff huh?!
Because I work with so many people that are concerned about the strength of their bones, I knew this would be good information to share. My personal opinion is that once CBD is further researched it will very likely show that it has the same effect on other collagenous tissue such as joint cartilage, tendons, ligaments, skin and others. Imagine a future with fewer cases of arthritis, fewer surgeries, faster recovery from the most common injuries and less use of pharmaceutical drugs. That’s a future I want to see!
On top of that, because of CBD’s large spectrum of other proven benefits such as inhibiting cancer growth and providing significant anti-inflammatory and pain relieving effects, there’s a good chance that it will one day be seen as a supplement worthy of lifetime daily use.
If you are curious, I suggest you speak with your physician and/or do some extra research yourself.
Happy Healing!
Founder: Non-Fiction Fitness