Everything You Need to Know About CBG and Digestion

Digestion is an essential biological process. It plays an important role in helping the body get all the nutrients it needs from the food we eat. During digestion, food is broken down into its basic building blocks for the body to absorb. This is how we meet our nutritional and energy requirements. 

The digestive process may be negatively affected by a variety of issues along the digestive tract. Such hindrances to the digestive process can lead to a situation where the body is unable to get all the nutrients it needs from the food we consume. Furthermore, digestive issues can also lead to pain and inflammation in and along the digestive tract. These digestive issues have been know to significantly impact a person’s quality of life. 

According to recent research findings, CBG, or cannabigerol in full, has shown a lot of potential. In particular, this compound may be beneficial to aiding in digestion and dealing with various digestive issues. While more research is still needed to support this claim, preliminary findings are quite promising. 

Read on below to find out more about CBG and its potential impact on your digestive health. 

Cannabinoids and the Endocannabinoid System (ECS)

To understand how CBG could help improve your digestive health, you need to start by understanding how cannabinoids interact with your body’s digestive system. 

Like all cannabinoids, including CBD and THC, CBG produces its many potential health benefits by interacting with the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is a complicated system of receptors that are found all over the body. In fact, ECS receptors can be found in every organ system. 

Made up of CB1 and CB2 receptors, the ECS plays a major role in maintaining homeostasis in our bodies. CBG, just like CBD, acts as an agonist when interacting with CB1 receptors. This means that this active compound significantly inhibits the activation of these receptors. It can, therefore, counter the psychoactive effect of THC. In fact, CBG, like CBD, does not have any psychoactive effects itself. 

On the other hand, when it comes to CB2 receptors, it’s thought that CBG acts as an antagonist. In fact, it may activate CB2 receptors in the same way CBD does. This could help create a variety of positive effects. Some of these effects may include acting as a potential anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and it may even help to counter symptoms of depression and anxiety. 

As you can see, CBG and CBD have a number of common effects in the body. However, it is not clear which compound is more effective than the other. What’s more, CBG might also help to improve digestion. 

What Is CBG?

Cannabigerol, or CBG, is one of the many active compounds found in cannabis plants. However, this specific compound is mainly found in hemp cannabis plants. While CBG is thought to have a variety of physiological effects when consumed, remember, it does not lead to the psychoactive effects. CBD and THC have, up until recently, been the most popular cannabis compounds. However, the growing interest in CBG has propelled this compound to similar popularity levels.

CBG is commonly known as the mother of other cannabinoids. This is due to the fact that other cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, and CBC (cannabichromene), all come about as a result of the natural breakdown of CBG. In fact, younger cannabis plants normally have higher levels of CBG than older plants. This is because most of the compound is yet to be broken down into other cannabinoids. 

CBG can be found in purely CBG products or in the form of full-spectrum CBD products. 

The Potential Benefits of CBG on Digestion

Now that you have a clear idea of what CBG is, let’s dive into CBG and digestion. 

As previously mentioned, CBG interacts with the ECS to create homeostasis in the digestive system. These preliminary research findings suggest that this compound has shown potential in managing symptoms of various digestive issues. Some of these issues include Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD). 

According to research findings, CBG may have the power to relieve intestinal inflammation. In this study, researchers observed in mice that intestinal inflammation is controlled by the ECS. 

During the study, researchers observed that intestinal inflammation is normally caused by an overactive immune response. This immune response is meant to keep the gut free of harmful micro-organisms. However, without the right balance, this response may end up destroying the intestinal lining. 

The ECS helps restore this balance by deactivating this overactive inflammation targeting the intestinal lining. While this ECS action is normally facilitated by endocannabinoids produced in the body naturally, phytocannabinoids, such as CBG, extracted from cannabis plants may also help facilitate this process. This is especially important in individuals that suffer from a cannabinoid deficiency. 

Given the above CBG effect on intestinal inflammation, the compound is now said to have a lot of potential when it comes to managing IBS. However, additional research is still needed to demonstrate how CBG works to create this effect and whether the same can be replicated in human beings.  

In addition to relieving intestinal inflammation, CBG may also help relieve any associated pain or discomfort through its analgesic properties. This might make it a great option for stomach aches as well. 

Other Potential Benefits of CBG

CBG has also been observed to have a number of additional potential benefits including the management of symptoms of the following conditions: 

Colon Cancer

In addition to promoting homeostasis in the digestive system, CBG may also have the potential to help the body fight against colon cancer. According to one study, this cannabinoid was found to be capable of interacting with various targets that play a role in carcinogenesis. 

From the observations made by researchers in the study, it’s suggested that CBG may help prevent the occurrence of colon cancer. What’s more, it was also recommended that more research be conducted to investigate its potential as a cure as well. 

Glaucoma

In another study, CBG was seen to have the potential to manage glaucoma. In the study, researchers observed that CBG has the ability to reduce intraocular pressure, one of the main indicators of glaucoma.  

Bladder Dysfunctions

Bladder dysfunctions may also find help from CBG according to the findings of a study conducted in 2015. The study was aimed at investigating the potential effects of various cannabinoids on bladder contractions. It was concluded that CBG had the most significant effect on these contractions.

However, it’s important to note that while these studies show promise, further research is needed to fully understand CBG’s effects.

Choosing CBG Products

From the above, it is clear to see just how powerful CBG could be when it comes to managing digestive issues as well as a variety of other conditions. 

However, if you want to get the full benefits of using this supplement, it is important for you to take high-quality products. CBG products come in the form of pure CBG extracts or as part of full-spectrum CBD products. 

Pure CBG products have a higher concentration of CBG and are produced from younger hemp plants. Younger hemp plants naturally have a higher CBG concentration.

However, by choosing full-spectrum CBD products as your main source of CBG, you also get to benefit from the entourage effect. This simply means that you get to enjoy the full effect of all the beneficial compounds found in cannabis plants. According to the theory behind the entourage effect, cannabinoids work together to create a greater overall effect on users. 

At Tanasi, our full-spectrum CBD products are derived from high-quality industrial hemp. To demonstrate their quality, and give users an assurance of the same, these products are lab tested by a third party as well. 

Conclusion

Over the last few years, a lot has been said about THC and CBD, two of the most popular cannabinoids extracted from cannabis plants. However, these two compounds only represent a small percentage of all cannabinoids contained in cannabis plants; which number in the hundreds. 

CBG is one of the lesser-known cannabinoids also extracted from cannabis plants. This compound has been getting a lot of attention recently, thanks to its many potential health benefits. Several research findings from a variety of recent animal studies have reported CBG’s great potential. 

One of the main areas of research that scientists have focused on when it comes to this cannabinoid is CBG and digestion. It has been observed that CBG, through its interaction with the ECS, has the potential to improve gut health by countering intestinal inflammation. This has also led scientists to conclude that CBG may be useful in managing symptoms of IBS. 

In addition to promoting digestive health, CBG is also said to have the potential of targeting colon cancer, at least according to existing research findings. 

CBG may hold promise to its many potential effects, however, it’s important to note that more research is needed to support the above claims relating to its potential benefits when it comes to human subjects. 

While the use of CBG is considered to be free of any side effects, it is recommended that you consult your physician before you add it to your daily routine. This way you can be advised on any potential drug interactions.