Tag: Endocannabinoid system

JAMA, Medical Cannabis and the Endocannabinoid Blind Spot

Posted on December 18, 2025December 18, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

There is a saying in science: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. But in the case of the recent JAMA review on the therapeutic use of cannabis, I would propose a correction: Absence of mechanistic insight leads to the illusion of insufficient evidence. A new medical cannabis review published this…

Critical analysis

Silhouette of a person running on a treadmill with a glowing ribbon of blood or plasma flowing behind them, shifting from red dots on the left to organized teal and gold particles on the right, illustrating how the body transforms exercise stress into ordered molecular signals.

ECS and Exercise: The Invisible Architecture of Fitness

Posted on December 10, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

The body keeps secrets in its blood. On a Tuesday morning in late 2024, 491 men and women stepped onto treadmills and cycle ergometers across several research institutions. None of them knew they were about to reveal something profound about the mechanics of human fitness. They simply pushed themselves toward…

Drug Policy

Medicine cabinet with three shelves. Top shelves labeled "Pain Relief" and "Chronic Conditions" show accessible medication bottles in blue. Bottom shelf labeled "Cannabinoid Medicines" shows green bottles but is secured with a large red padlock and chains. A gold price tag reads "cost barrier 60,000 SEK/year". Faded patient silhouettes visible in background. Title: "THE SWEDISH SIN" with subtitle "When Evidence-Based Medicine Meets Bureaucratic Barriers"

The Swedish Sin: When Evidence-Based Medicine Meets Bureaucratic Barriers

Posted on November 17, 2025November 17, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

Sweden claims to have medical cannabis. We tell patients it’s legal. But TLV threatens to make it financially inaccessible (60,000 vs 2,900 SEK/year), regions threaten to fire doctors who prescribe it, and medical schools don’t teach the biology. How bureaucratic ignorance kills a medical intervention without ever banning it.

Endocannabinoid System (ECS)

Diagram showing how diet and exercise modulate brain endocannabinoid system through substrate dynamics. Left: Western diet activates PLA2 leading to CB1 changes. Center: Brain with reduced hypothalamic and increased cortical CB1 receptors labeled. Right: Exercise activates PLA2 similarly. Bottom text states outcome of regional CB1 receptor changes.

How Diet and Exercise Modulate the Endocannabinoid System

Posted on November 5, 2025November 5, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

New Evidence for the Substrate-Driven Model I came across a fascinating recent study this week in Nutritional Neuroscience that really validates something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Lima and colleagues just published research showing how diet and exercise reshape the endocannabinoid system in the brain. It all fits beautifully with what I call the substrate-driven model of ECS function. Let me walk you through what they found and why it matters. The Study: Diet, Exercise & Brain ECS The team took young rats and divided them into groups. Some got standard lab chow, others got a “palatable diet” (think: high in omega-6 fats and sugar, like a Western diet). Some rats didtreadmill training for eight weeks, others didn’t. Then they looked at CB1 receptors and NAPE-PLD enzyme levels in three key brain areas: • Hypothalamus – your energy regulation center • Frontal cortex – handles reward and decision-making…

Autism Spectrum DIsorder (ASD)

Decoding Autism: Lipidomic Dysregulation Meets ECS Dysfunction - Illustration showing a person looking in mirror reflecting labels of lipidomic dysregulation and ECS dysfunction, symbolizing two aspects of the same condition

Lipidomic Markers Predict Autism Through ECS Dysfunction

Posted on October 29, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

Autism research has long struggled with a fundamental question: why do so many disparate findings (maternal nutrition, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, environmental exposures) all seem to correlate with ASD risk? A new systematic review may have inadvertently provided the unifying answer, though the authors themselves haven’t yet connected the dots. A…

Endocannabinoid System (ECS)

Satirical cartoon depicting a biochemical plateau where molecules cluster in a safety zone while warning signs point to an arachidonic acid canyon and inflammation zone below—illustrating the hidden dangers of excess linoleic acid in modern diets.

The Biochemical Plateau: Rethinking Linoleic Acid and Heart Health

Posted on October 23, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

The Linoleic Acid Paradox: Protection or Peril? For decades, linoleic acid has enjoyed a privileged place in nutritional policy. It is the cornerstone of “heart-healthy” messaging, the molecular mascot of seed oils, and the quiet passenger in countless processed foods. But beneath this reputation lies a paradox: the very molecule…

Commentary

Split-screen comparison of enzyme inhibitor effects: Day 1 shows dramatic metabolic improvements (53% insulin drop, 23% reduced food intake) when DAGL and NAPE-PLD are blocked, but Day 7 reveals complete failure as arachidonic acid substrate reroutes to inflammatory COX/LOX pathways, causing weight rebound, inflammation, and glucose dysfunction

The Enzyme Inhibitor Paradox: Why Anti-Obesity Drugs Keep Failing

Posted on October 19, 2025October 19, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

A new study just proved something remarkable: researchers found a way to slash insulin levels by 53% in just two hours. Food intake dropped 23%. Body weight fell within 24 hours. The pharmaceutical industry should be celebrating. Except there’s a problem. By day seven, it stopped working. Completely. The mice…

Endocannabinoid System (ECS)

Metaphor graphic comparing diet to a hybrid car: omega‑6 and omega‑3 “power lines” route to the engine, while a floor unit symbolizes microbiome energy integration.

Beyond the ECS: Why you absolutely need a balanced diet

Posted on October 8, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

Your body produces its own cannabis-like molecules. Right now, as you read this, your cells are manufacturing compounds that interact with the same receptors that THC targets. But here’s what most people don’t realize: this system extends far beyond what we traditionally call the “endocannabinoid system”, and the food on…

Endocannabinoid System (ECS)

Soybean oil and linoleic acid tipping gut lipid balance: diagram showing linoleic acid driving arachidonic acid toward eicosanoids while endocannabinoids decrease, with a bottle of soybean oil and soybeans.

Soybean oil, linoleic acid, and the gut ECS

Posted on September 19, 2025September 19, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

A recent study titled ‘Diet high in linoleic acid dysregulates the intestinal endocannabinoid system and increases susceptibility to colitis in Mice‘ shows that eating a lot of linoleic acid from soybean oil changes lipid chemistry in the gut in a way that weakens the protective endocannabinoid system and strengthens inflammatory…

Announcements

Illustration announcing “Peer‑review passed” for a publication in the journal “I JCMCS: International Journal of Clinical & Medical Case Studies,” with a facing page reading “Bridging the gap: Integrating the endocannabinoid system into medical education” beside cartoon figures of a lab‑coated clinician holding a clipboard and a person at a laptop, green molecular icons and a cannabis leaf in the background, and a footer line stating “The ECS.education community has a milestone to celebrate.”

From Preprint to Peer Review: ECS.education Paper Accepted in IJCMCS

Posted on August 29, 2025August 29, 2025 By Stefan Broselid

The ECS.education community has a milestone to celebrate: our manuscript, “Bridging the gap: Integrating the endocannabinoid system into medical education,” has passed independent, double‑blind peer review and is now published in the International Journal of Clinical & Medical Case Studies (IJCMCS). Built around three cornerstone ECS.education analyses, the paper consolidates…