Dr. Melissa Morgan joins Heather and John to discuss the endocannabinoid system and its role in maintaining balance within the body. Dr. Melissa, a cannabis physician with a background in ER and Ayurvedic medicine, explains the system's influence on various functions like cognition, mood, sleep, and immunity. She emphasizes that it's not about treating individual problems, but rather rebalancing the system for optimal function.

The conversation touches on the historical context of medicine, with Dr. Melissa highlighting the shift from plant-based remedies to industrialized medicine. She points out that while modern medicine has its merits, it sometimes overlooks the importance of diet and lifestyle in overall health. The group discusses ways to nurture the endocannabinoid system, including diet (especially omega-3 fatty acids found in flax, chia, and hemp), exercise, and managing stress. Dr. Melissa debunks the endorphin theory of runner's high, explaining that it's actually the endocannabinoid system being activated. They also briefly touch on cannabis and its historical medicinal use. The key takeaway is the importance of a holistic approach to health, focusing on prevention and balance rather than just treating problems as they arise.

"A neuromodulatory system in the body - it partially regulates everything from cognition, memory, learning, movement. It plays a significant role in just about every single function you can think of in all vertebrates, not just humans, all animals, anything with the spine. Everything from learning, memory, mood, regulation, sleep, appetite, like hunger, thirst. It plays a huge role in immunity as well as protection when the endocannabinoid system is activated. That signals antioxidant, inflammatory properties. It's involved in hormonal regulation, plays a significant role with that as well. Even things like fertility, pregnancy, the development of eggs, the attachment of eggs. Again, just about every single thing you can possibly think of, it's always going to go back to the endocannabinoid system." - Dr. Melissa

"A lot of it, it goes hand in hand with Ariveda because this ties right into Ayurveda. It's not about treating anything. That's conventional medicine. This is broken, let's fix it. In Ayurvedic medicine, in endocannabinoid medicine, it's more about, let's rebalance the system because the system can actually function optimally when it's balanced and correct whatever is going on." - Dr. Melissa

"With the runner's high, when you exercise, you go to the gym and you get that burst of energy and you feel like, wow, I feel strong. I feel so energetic. For a very long time, it was thought that that was due to endorphins in the brain, which activate certain receptors that secrete serotonin and all that, we now know that was completely wrong. That's the endocannabinoid system that is being activated." - Dr. Melissa