Demystifying the Power of CBD with Carl Germano
Cannabinoids. We here the term pretty frequently these days, but there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding the topic. Cannabinoids are active compounds found in plants, not unlike what you would find in curcumin, echinacea, and ginseng. Most people are familiar with CBD, but this is only one of many cannabinoids found in hemp. So what exactly do they do? That’s still up for debate as research continues to emerge. But what we do know, is that the endocannabinoid system plays a vital role in some of the most essential and basic human functions.
Meet Carl:
On this week’s episode we speak with Carl Germano, RD, CNS, CDN, a registered, certified/licensed clinical nutritionist presently appointed to the NY State Board of Dietetics and Nutrition and a frequent radio guest and lecturer. He holds a masters degree in clinical nutrition from New York University and has over 30 years experience using innovative, complementary nutritional therapies in private practice and in product development. For the past 25 years, he has dedicated his efforts to research and product development for the nutritional industries (dietary supplements, functional beverages, medical foods), where he has been instrumental in bringing cutting-edge nutritional substances and formulations to market. We talk with Carl about his new book, Road to Ananda, the importance of the endocannabinoid system, how it can provide balance for the body, and why we should probably be supplementing with hemp.
Some Topics We Discussed:
What is the endocannabinoid system? (4:07)
What cannabinoids do we produce? (6:36)
What is the difference between marijuana and hemp? (7:56)
What are some of the benefits of CBD? (9:34)
What are terpenes? (13:36)
What is the correlation between low omega 3 and low cannabinoids? (19:01)
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
Your body produces cannabinoids, and your body feeds off them. And without them, the illness will ensue. (5:36)
The endocannabinoid system is like the conductor of this massive, beautiful symphony of communication within the body within all organ systems. (7:29)
Hemp and marijuana are very different plants. (7:55)
Look for brands that utilize other cannabinoids, not just CBD. (15:01)
Products + Resources:
Get Social With Carl:
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT
Brian Strickland 00:43 Hey gang, welcome back to The Holistic Navigator Podcast where we talk about all things holistic health, and hold firm to the belief that the body has the ability to heal itself, if given the proper nutrients and care. My name is Brian Strickland. I'm the producer of the show and today we have another episode with Carl Germano talking about the endocannabinoid system. I won't waste any more time so we can dive straight into this conversation. So here's your host, Ed Jones.
Ed Jones 01:12 Thank you again, Brian. This is Ed Jones with The Holistic Navigator back with more information that's incredibly valuable to your longevity, your health, and your quality of life. I say this often, when people ask me, I bet you'll live to be 100. You know, I truly don't think I'm going to extend probably much more than were the clocks kind of set already within. But I can tell you one thing, I want to have a far better quality of life, whatever those years may be. Here I am 62 actually feel better at 62 than I did at 42. Or sometimes at 32. I've just had to learn a lot. And that's why we are here on The Holistic Navigator as an encyclopedia for your knowledge. Well, one thing that is of course, in the top of so many conversations, is the whole conversation about hemp, and CBD and endocannabinoids. And today, we have a guest that I consider probably one of the most experienced and knowledgeable and long term, committed person to this whole conversation. And before I introduce him, I had him in a local setting about six years ago, and I'll never forget we were talking about he was giving a lecture on sports nutrition and how to make wise choices. And at the end, he was getting ready to leave and I remember very well saying Carl, is there anything new on the horizon coming up? And this was six years ago and he said yeah phytocannabinoids. I said what I had, and I'm well read people, as you know. And he explained to me about this whole system of these molecules from a certain plant that's going to probably have more potential to improve our health, perhaps than almost anything that's been discovered in a long time. So we're going to learn about this special endocannabinoid system from Carl Germano. He is a Board Certified clinical nutritionist and vice president of Verdant Oasis has a master's degree in Clinical Nutrition from New York University and has over 35 years experience in product development all the way across the board including medical foods. He's written many books and Misled Athlete, Nature's Painkillers, The Osteoporosis Solution, The Brain Wellness Plan, and now the probably the ultimate book on this conversation the Road to Ananda. Welcome Carl Germano.
Carl Germano 03:46 Thank you, it is a pleasure to be here.
Ed Jones 03:48 You know, since the day that you opened my eyes to this special molecule, and back six years ago, you know as well as I do, there wasn't a lot of really good readability information that people like me could access. Yeah, you know, we could, we could kind of go into it in a general sense. But we've learned so much about the potential of this, this system in the body called Endocannabinoid and how the bright product from hemp can balance this which then gives you hundreds of potential benefits to our health. So for someone who is spinning their head with this big word endocannabinoid, tell people what that is.
Carl Germano 04:32 Sure. First of all, it's a shame that it's taken this long for the information to get out about the endocannabinoid system. So let's start with the simple stuff. What is cannabinoid? Cannabinoids refer to compounds. Compounds either the body produces or compounds we find in plants primarily from hemp and cannabinoids are no different than the active compounds you find in other plants. You look at curcuminoids and curcumin, ginsynthesize in ginseng, echinaciasize and echinacia. On and on and on. So cannabinoids, you find are the active class of compounds found in hemp. And the endocannabinoid system refers to a system within the body, endo, that accesses utilizes and relies on cannabinoids. Now this is a surprise to many. And I say to people out there, you're just going to have to get over it. Your body produces cannabinoids, and your body feeds off them. And without them, the illness will ensue as you'll soon to see. The endocannabinoid system was discovered in the 90s. The 90s was a very important decade of discovery. At the helm of this discovery was Dr. Raphael Michelum out of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and many of his colleagues at the National Institutes of mental health here in the US. And so what is this system all about? Well, it is a physiological system that involves receptors. These little windows that are on all the cells of our body that bring in information receptors that accept cannabinoid compounds. So with all these receptors on every single organ system that has an influence on all organs, you have to ask the question, well, the body must be making something to target or influence these receptors. And the answer came in the late 1990s as well. We produce two cannabinoids. One is called Anandamide, and Ananda this the prefix there Ananda in Sanskrit it means bliss. And anadamide was termed and characterize as the first cannabinoid we produce because it hits receptors in the brain that affect mood behavior, similar to the effects that you get with endorphins and opioids and what have you, albeit at a milder level. The second cannabinoid we produce is called 2AG or two arachidonic glycerol. Regardless, the body relies on it producing these compounds, so that it can hit all these receptors on every organ system, so that every organ system can work efficiently, properly and so it modulates. The endocannabinoid system is like the conductor of this massive, beautiful symphony of communication within the body within all organ systems. Now, why are we having schools teach this high school, college, practitioner school? It is because of the stigma that's been attached to cannabinoids. And this all boils down to the relationship to marijuana. Now, marijuana and hemp are two different animals, just from a genus and species point of view. They are both cannabis sativa and that's where the similarity ends. Marijuana physically is a shorter plant squatty or wider leaves. And its dominant cannabinoid is THC, which is intoxicating, so it has recreational value. In small doses, it absolutely has medical value, but that's still a drug, we won't go there. Hemp, on the other hand, is a very tall plant, grow anywhere from three four up to eight feet tall, thinner, narrower leaves, and it's most dominant cannabinoid is CBD or cannabidiol. But remember people that CBD is one of 100 different cannabinoids in the plant. And while we've been focusing on just CBD, it's a minor myopic story. Nevertheless, in what I was getting to is that cannabinoids had this stigma attached to it. Marijuana was a drug, hemp was dumped into the Control Substances Act. And for 80 years, the United States has been in the dark ages with respect to hemp's cultivation, commercialization, consumption, and even research. And that's tragic because your endocannabinoid system which dates back millions of years ago, in simple cell organisms, all invertebrates is the master modulator of all physiological activity. And that's the global picture. Get down to the cellular level. Pain, inflammation, stress, anxiety, insomnia, ocular health, bone health and neurological health are just some of the physiological attributes that the endocannabinoid system is responsible for. Now when we don't produce enough cannabinoids deficiencies result and we see this in fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and migraine headaches, neurological inflammatory conditions that are showing that the body's not producing enough cannabinoids to hit all these receptors, and we must rely, therefore on dietary sources, and your best source is hemp. But this stigma has really put us in a bad place. It is slowly being dismantled. December of last year, the farm bill of 2018 passed, which finally took hemp out of the Control Substances Act. So we can cultivate it, commercialize it, and now study it. Meanwhile, the rest of the world, especially Europe has been lightyears ahead of us in terms of all of those things, including research and we have to get this message out. So The Road to Ananda, if you want to get to the road to bliss internally, we have to learn how to feed, nourish and support the endocannabinoid system in the body. And we cannot be afraid or stigmatized about the term cannabinoids or the term hemp. Hemp is not marijuana, it's not going to get you high, it's going to get you healthy.
Ed Jones 11:10 Wow, that is a head spinning explanation. But it's so clear, because I know everyone's seeing the signs for hemp CBD with all the claims, and they have no idea the physiological process that this molecule is working on. And I have constantly use the analogy that to me, that molecule is like an orchestra director. And when you if you can you imagine the music that would play if the director did not show up one day and all the instruments were just doing their own thing. And I want to make sure and I know that you agree with this, let's not look at this molecule as something specifically to always just treat something, we get over it, then we quit taking it. It's actually part of the probable core list of balancing and nourishing nutrients. And that's where conventional medicine falls off is they don't believe in nourishing. They don't believe in homeostasis. They don't believe in the fact that we get ill because we lack balance over the long term of our life. And so bring back balance will create so much improvement of mental, physical, and emotional health. I mean, you know, we could talk endlessly about the opiate addiction that we can use these products to help people get over that. We have we use it a lot for pain and for all these symptoms, but I'm really focusing a little bit more on this is something to do every day, even though I feel well. I'm doing it somewhat almost every day, but I can tell you one thing, Mr. Germano, after hearing what you spoke last night in front of a group of people, this will be part of my all every single day. I will use a small amount. And then on days where I perhaps have an issue, I might use more of that. But so when people get into this number one is they can get brands that have THC so they could fail a drug test. So we want to make sure people understand that and are aware that they need to take steps to ensure that. Don't believe the manufacturers always. Don't believe all these stores popping up. You are exactly right. Europe has been ahead of us for a long time. And we are it's kind of scary. There's some I think he used the word Frankenstein kind of development of products, which means it's not the original, it's kind of gone a little bit haywire. I don't think there's harm involved in it, but it's not what the future is going to hold for people who really know their stuff. Now the word terpenes that is what?
Carl Germano 13:41 Well, the plant has many different compounds and quite frankly phytocannabinoids are terpenoid structures and of themselves. The fact that they influence the endocannabinoid system in the body they've been classified as phytocannabinoids, but there are other terpenes in the plant myrcene and there's dozens of them, that give rise to the flavor smell and scent of the of the plant itself. But they're very volatile. So people who have been, you know, been getting the story that oh, we have terpenes it's kind of misleading, because of their volatility, after processing to make a cannabinoid oil like CBD, most of those terpenes are gone. If not, will be gone over a short period of time. So you're really looking to preserve the cannabinoid molecules that are in the plant. And again, the focus on CBD has been so myopic to think that one molecule in the plant is going to feed, nourish and support the endocannabinoid system is really absurd. And we are learning very rapidly that the rest of the family are equally if not some more important than CBD. So we should be looking for brands that talk about hemp that talk about the whole class of phytocannabinoids, how they nourish the endocannabinoid system. And it is the endocannabinoid system, you mentioned homeostasis before, not until the American Journal of Medicine in 2007 published an article about health, well being, and balance is really what the global picture of what the endocannabinoid system does. If we don't have enough of these cannabinoids around, we can never be healthy, we can never be in balance. And that's the global picture and then you go scale down to the organ level. And we look at the role of cannabinoids like CBD in neurological health, protecting the brain from further damage if the stroke or trauma usefulness in neurological diseases including epilepsy in children, important for inflammation and pain and there have been several published articles about the mechanisms of action or how your endocannabinoid system and the cannabinoids you produce or the cannabinoids you take in through hemp extracts helped to regulate all of the inflammatory pathways. So along with curcumin and boswellia and fish oil and quercetin, phytocannabinoids are at the heart and soul of any protocol addressing pain and inflammation. When you look at stress and anxiety. We know all about a lot of the compounds in the marketplace like l-theanine and lavender and what have you but we know that the endocannabinoid system governs neurotransmission. It reduces the excitability that's going on in the brain. And it is the heart and soul of any protocol addressing anxiety and stress. Even post traumatic stress disorder. Insomnia helps to regulate the sleep cycle. In bone health, besides calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, MK 7, your endocannabinoid system works on the cells that build up and break down bone osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Why they give estrogen postmenopausal woman. This is the major reason. We know the problems with estrogen and cancer risks. Well, your endocannabinoid system and the use of Phytocannabinoids can work on those cells that break down and build up bone by keeping the ones that build up bone high keeping the ones that break down bones low. I can go on and on for hours to talk about how to nourish your endocannabinoid system because it is intimately involved in all physiological functioning of the human body.
Ed Jones 17:38 Wow, that was definitely a huge mouthful. And I know people are appreciating to get a bigger, more specific picture of how this is working instead of just jumping on it for an ailment which is not what I'm about. I'm about nourishing the soil. So the soil then will grow the right plants and the right offspring so that everything falls into a balance. I will want to ask you a question. I heard you say last night about CBD's or endocannabinoid system being a regulatory process for the skin and maybe maybe a lot of this. Two questions here. Maybe a lot of this epidemic of skin cancer is might be related to the fact that we have less or unbalanced cannabinoids in the endocannabinoid. And then secondly, in your personal opinion, do you think that if there was a test, and I don't know if there is or not that we could test what level of endocannabinoids do I have at this moment? Do you feel that 50 years ago, people would have had a far greater level because people seem to be sturdier, more resilient, and less diseased in certain ways other than their bad smoking habits that would kill them. But do you think that that was a truth that we are have less today than we probably ever had?
Carl Germano 18:53 Probably because, you know, having a Endocannabinoid deficiency in the body is related to a lot of things. One of the most interesting relationships is the relationship between your omega three status and Endocannabinoid health. We know that people who are omega three deficient are also Endocannabinoid deficient. Their cannabinoid receptors are not as active and omega threes are used as backbone structures to produce cannabinoids in the body and so anybody taking hemp extracts Phyto cannabinoids, CBD should be taking an omega three and looking out for the die. But we know that stress, anxiety, pain, inflammation there were a number of diseases that are related to low levels of the cannabinoids we produce in the body and then demoed in to ag as I discussed before, and they are testing them in the blood in the cerebral spinal fluid, and we see low levels and migraine headaches, low levels and anxiety states, on and on and on. So it's interesting to note that our cannabinoids we produce an N divided to ag are now being looked at as like biological markers for disease states and, and risks for diseases when they get too low. And so it behooves us to look at Phyto cannabinoids two ways. As you mentioned before, low dose levels of Phyto cannabinoids are like a multivitamin for the endocannabinoid system and I find them to be one of the foundation products that I recommend to every human being walking the planet, along with a multi, a probiotic, fish oils, Phyto cannabinoids. Those are your base products that everybody should be on before we talk about a condition or other illness that we have to address. Above and Beyond that, if you are fitting in any of the categories that I mentioned, pain, inflammation, stress, anxiety, insomnia, ocular health, bone health, neurological diseases. Now we jack, the Phyto cannabinoid levels up, we use other accessory nutrients. And what we're going, what you're going to find is that Phyto cannabinoids, like CBD are going to be the heart and soul of all nutritional protocols dealing with all disease conditions.
Ed Jones 21:10 You know, Carl, that is truly exciting, because all over my 41 years, and I know you're a great observer of people's health, there's been almost like a little missing link of these people who would do certain things very well, eat great, and then they had these like, a lot of things would pop up that really wasn't expected. Well, maybe the endocannabinoid was simply was the part because we didn't even know about it, that was less functioning. And so now this is like the last bastion of stuff we didn't know. And it is enormously throughout our body, and a ton of these receptors are in the brain. And so you know, maybe that's the reason we have chronic, you know, so much epidemic of anxiety. And I mean, people today are, you know, in the 1950s, 1/3 of our population would probably go to a mental institution because of the heaviest levels of stress that is being exhibited. And now it's become the norm just like obesity has become the norm. Now and I'm going to close this really quickly. I know as far as all those core products you talked about. You know, I personally know that this industry of nutrition is very safe across the board compared to others, but there always is a level of good, better and best. As far as a company you recommend, is there one in particular for the core nutritional things like the magnesium and the calcium and omega threes?
Carl Germano 22:34 Well, here's what I would say. Unfortunately, because we've been in the stone age's for 80 years, plus, here in the US, there's no real industrial hemp being produced. What's being produced are marijuana hybrids, so genetically manipulated, materials that are coming out, and for various states. And that's quite tragic, because these are strains that have never been consumed by humans in the past. Whereas there's a whole host of strains that you can find on the EU Commission's website, for certified acceptable strains of industrial hemp that have been consumed by humans for decades, while before 1994, which is The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which has legal implications. And so it's a buyer beware out there. And I would ask for a couple of documents from every company that is selling material. Number one, show me an affidavit of the strains that you're using, and whether they've been used and consumed by humans prior to 1994. Two: show me a DNA analysis that you're truly producing from industrial hemp, and not from marijuana hybrids, or worse yet, using CBD isolate, which is a drug hands down, avoid it like the plague, and then last for chromatograms and lab essays to look at the Phyto cannabinoid profile, it's very easy to see if it's coming from marijuana or true hemp by looking at certain ratios. And so, unfortunately, is buyer beware, because the FDA has not acted quick enough. They should have put a stop to a lot of the nonsense years ago. They have jurisdiction over Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, and could have stopped this nonsense that's going on today. But in time, it'll all come to the surface.
Ed Jones 24:30 That is what valuable information were people who are who there's no way you can know this unless you access humans like you that have the experience. I do want to say that I have started a sideline company called the CBD guide. And the website is the CBDguide.org. And what we're going to do on that is we're going to be posting the COAs, the lab reports of the terpene content and because of our conversation, Carl, we're going to then add to this protocol as we can request for them to release the type of strains and the DNA to show that it is from industrial hemp. This site is not going to sell anything. This is only for the purpose of clarity in this country, because it is a jungle out there and it's not going to get better quickly. But I hope I can play some role in the truth bearing that comes with this whole conversation. And I want to say that your book The Road to Ananda is unbelievable. Dr. Mercola wrote the foreword. I interviewed him a few months ago. I value him greatly tell people how they can purchase this book or learn more about this whole conversation, please?
Carl Germano 25:49 The website is www.roadtoananda.com. It's easily available on that website. And I know Amazon has it, but I think it's better priced on on the publishers website.
Ed Jones 26:07 Thank you for taking your time. And I'm just so impressed to always with how you're on top of the game. In fact, you were what, in my opinion, you were at least four years ahead of the whole cannabinoid conversation. And because I did not hear anybody speak of it for two to three years after you explained it to me, so I'm indebted to you. Well, thank you, everyone for listening to The Holistic Navigator. And as I have said, off and on before Hippocrates, 460 BC, "Everyone has a doctor in him or her. We just have to help it in its work and the natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force and getting well. Our food should be our medicine and medicine our food." Guess what people? Hemp is medicine and food. Thank you so much. Please subscribe, please pass this along to other friends and family. And that's the fuel that keeps us going is the subscriptions and we will welcome you back next time to The Holistic Navigator.
Brian Strickland 27:10 The information on this podcast and the topics discussed have not been evaluated by the FDA or anyone of the medical profession and is not aimed to replace any advice you may receive from your medical practitioner. The holistic navigator assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader these materials. The holistic navigator is not a doctor nor does he claim to be please consult your physician before beginning any health regimen.
“The endocannabinoid system refers to a system within the body, ‘endo,’ that accesses, utilizes, and relies on cannabinoids… You’re body produces cannabinoids and your body feeds off them. And without them, illness will ensue which you’ll soon see.”
-CARL GERMANO, RD, CNS, CDN