Across the world, juicing is gaining momentum. From pressing vegetables to juicing cannabis, the health benefits are many. Given what science has to say, it is not surprising that more and more patients, their caregivers, and their healthcare practitioners are recommending it in droves. The definition of a vegetable: “An herbaceous plant grown for an edible part, usually eaten as part of a meal.” Cannabis?
Oh, yes! Generally, this refers to the root, flower, stem or leaf of an edible plant, any edible plant. Back in 1967, they changed the official definition of a vegetable to, “any plant cultivated for food, edible herb or root,” which is the same thing. You can eat some vegetables raw, but not all. Some you have to cook first in order for them to be edible. Still some you have to order through weed delivery.
However, when you heat certain fruits and vegetables, they denature. This means they lose most of their crucial and healthy nutrients and enzymes. Marijuana is the same, with just a few extras. Despite the fact that weed is officially a vegetable, with the same vitamins and nutrients as other leafy greens, such as calcium, iron and fiber, it also contains cannabinoids, which are exclusive to cannabis plants.
Juiced marijuana is nutritionally dense. Packed with nutrients. It is also has potent medicinal properties, but without tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive compound usually activated by heating the plant. When juiced raw, the high cannabinoid concentration, coupled with essential fatty acids, improves cell function significantly, and it reduces the destruction caused by “free radicals,” as well.
However, there is more. The benefits of juicing raw cannabis are many. They include the facilitation of two-way cellular communication throughout the body, as well as a notable reduction in inflammation. Cannabinoids are antibacterial, antipsychotic, and anti-nausea, anti-everything, and some cannabinoids are even anti-tumor, all of which are readily available and easily absorbed when you juice raw cannabis.
Health Benefits of Juicing Marijuana
While most patients who order weed delivery buy products that they can smoke or vape, which are effective medicinal therapies, juicing raw cannabis is better. Pot juice can prevent health problems before they arise. Labelled by scientists the “most important vegetable on the planet” for its ability to assist immune and neural function, lower inflammation, and improve bone metabolism, weed is king.
In fact, research shows that medical pot might even inhibit the growth of cancer cells. According to Dr. William Courtney, a raw cannabis dietary specialist and strong advocate of its healing prowess, “you are actually walking away from 99 percent of the benefits cannabis provides when you cook or smoke it.” Although heating weed has its own advantages, like getting you stoned, it kills much of its goodness.
In its raw form, marijuana contains both tetrahydrocannabinolic-acid, or THCA, and cannabidiolic-acid, or CBDA, two powerfully medicinal cannabinoids. In order to convert them into THC and CBD, respectively, you must heat them first. This is decarboxylation. Only when you heat THCA does it become THC, which is the psychoactive compound that makes you “high.” THCA is non-psychoactive.
Furthermore, the body is better able to tolerate larger doses of these cannabinoids when you consume them raw. It also absorbs them easier. This is because when you inhale weed, the now-converted THC acts as a CB1 receptor antagonist, which makes absorption more difficult. In its THC form, your body is only able to absorb around 10 milligrams at a time, and you lose the rest.
As Dr. Courtney explained, “If you do not heat marijuana, you can go up to five or six hundred milligrams and use the plant strictly as a dietary supplement by upping the antioxidant and neuroprotective levels which come into play at hundreds of milligrams of CBDA and THCA.” In English, this means that you can maximize the health benefits of these compounds simply by juicing it raw.
He also said, “It is this dramatic increase in dose from 10 milligrams of psychoactive THC tobetween 500 milligrams and 1,000 milligrams of non-psychoactive THCA, CBDA, and CBGA that comprises the primary difference between traditional medical marijuana treatments and using cannabis as a dietary supplement.” In a rare turn of events, the U.S. Food and Safety Administration agree with this.
The FDA actually approved a tolerable dose of 600 milligrams of CBD per day as a new investigative substance. This means that the medical potential of drinking a juice that contains 600 milligrams of CBDA is notably higher than when you heat the weed first. Since most CBD percentages are lower than one percent in the majority of strains, it is impossible to smoke enough in a day to get that dose.
How to Juice Cannabis
It is important to be realistic when juicing weed for health reasons. You cannot order weed delivery from just anyone and throw buds into the juicer, hoping against all hope it will come out a magic healing potion. No. Juicing needs raw, properly grown, fresh picked buds free of any plant materials that may have had exposure to microbiological contaminants and pesticides. You need laboratory-tested flowers.
Always remember these tips when juicing raw weed:
- As with all vegetables, fresh is best.
- Do not use marijuana dried and prepared for smoking, as it is not suitable for juicing.
- Do not expect your local medical dispensary to have a fresh supply of raw weed available. Most patients must grow their own medicine if they want access to quality flowers for juicing.
- Dr. Courtney advises juicing 15 big cannabis leaves and two big buds every day, between two and four inches long.
- Harvest the flowers when THC trichomes are clear, as opposed to amber in color.
- Mix other vegetables into your juice to make it taste better. Cannabis can be bitter. Carrots are a popular choice, for which the consensus is to use a ratio of one part cannabis to 10 parts carrots.
- Divide the juice into three portions and drink one with each meal.
- You can store pot juice in a tightly sealed container for up to three days in the refrigerator.
What Science Says about Juicing Cannabis
The primary cause of inflammation in the body is a lack of communication, specifically one-way traffic between nerves. When this happens, the nerves start attacking immune cells, with nothing to tell them to stop doing it. Studies show that cannabinoids can reopen a two-way communication, which drastically reduces inflammation and helps the body prevent and fight disease.
Our bodies contain their own endocannabinoids, which bind to various receptors and are effective at regulating optimal function, including nerve, bone and immune functions. The endocannabinoid system acts as modulator, ensuring optimal working of all body systems. Supplementing the endocannabinoid system with plant cannabinoids helps to heal all associated illnesses.
Author Bio:As a blogger for Pot Valet, a leading weed delivery company in California, John Levy has massive experience in the cannabis industry. For over five years, he has been advocating strongly for marijuana legalization and educating the world about the health benefits of pot.