Ancient Wisdom Modern Mission
Over the past 30 years, the chronic health disorders in society have ravaged from autoimmune conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis to neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. In addition, obesity and inflammatory disorders are cropping our society, taxing our social support systems, and enslaving a generation to the pharmaceutical industry.
“The majority of people will go to western doctors and then finally come to us [Chinese medicine practitioners] and expect that we're going to cure every ailment that they have with three needles. It takes a little time. Chinese medicine is not magic, it is medicine, but it is an essential medical system,” Chloe Weber L.Ac., Founder and CEO of Radical Roots Herbs, mentioned.
Western medicine providers put a band-aid on top of symptoms, whereas Chinese medicine truly respects and honors the body’s ecology. Herbal medicine is a way to heal ourselves and heal the environment, which is vital to know about hemp. “Hemp, when it's grown in a no-till biodynamic way, leaches toxins out of the Earth, so it cleans the Earth, and it also increases topsoil. If you're getting hemp products that are grown the way that they should be, then you're helping heal the Earth,” Chloe stated.
“As an herbalist and a mom of a child with a rare genetic disorder, I became obsessed with cannabis and started looking at how Chinese herbal medicine can be used to help support rare diseases. In particular, where western medicine will not have many options, there is no funding to find a cure to support children and adults with rare diseases. However, as a Chinese medical practitioner, a lot of people with different issues coming through our door, and every single person can be helped by Chinese medicine in some way or another,” Chloe mentioned.
“I love that biohackers are so passionate about anti-aging and optimizing ourselves and our health. But I want us all to start looking at the next generation and seeing what we can do as a community to help these children: one out of 6 kids has a developmental disorder, 2.5% of kids have an allergy, one out of 54 kids has autism,” Chloe said.
How to deal with that? Again, the same things that we're addressing as biohackers - optimizing the gut, optimizing mitochondrial function, getting in contact with nature doing all of these things will help us bring back health to our children.
What is Chinese herbal medicine? How does that work?
Chloe explained that Chinese herbs don't look for a one-to-one cure but instead look at the underlying disharmonies within the body. “We look at the body as a microcosm of the macrocosm. It means that five thousand years ago, when Chinese medical practitioners were developing Chinese medicine, they didn't have stethoscopes and microscopes.”
They used descriptions of the environment to describe the body’s ecology and different pathogenic factors that attacked the body. If you go to a Chinese medical practitioner, you'll often hear terms like ‘wind,’ ‘damp,’ and ‘phlegm.’
Another interesting thing with Chinese medicine is that they also look at the different elements as wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each element is associated with a different taste, a different smell, a different sound, a different energetic action, and a different process within the body. The most crucial element here is that different elements are not just the various elements as a one-to-one thing. It’s how these elements are interacting with each other.
This synergy truly honors the ecology of the body, and when herbs are grown correctly, responsibly, and ethically, it's respecting the ecology of the Earth. Moreover, it can be affordable medicine and accessible for a lot of people.
Chloe mentioned many lousy hemp products on the market, and she broke down why it's essential to get a good hemp product. “Endocannabinoid system is a group of endogenous cannabinoid receptors located in the brain and throughout the nervous system. It was discovered only in the 90s. It regulates the immune system, the brain, and inflammation throughout the body. We have the main two receptors, the CB1 and CB2 receptors. The element CB1 receptors are predominantly found in the brain and the nervous system. Whereas the CB2 receptors are found throughout the body and particularly in the immune system.” Make sure to biohacking your brain and biohacking your body with the right products!
The body creates its endocannabinoids called anandamide and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2AG). “Humans make their cannabinoids, and that's interesting to think of the evolution of humans and hemp; because we have been deeply intertwined throughout our entire history. CBD and THC are the most well-known and most well-studied cannabinoids, but there are about 113 species that we know of so far,” Chloe added.
When a person is under stress, they are releasing more cannabinoids which are then broken down by enzymes, and then, at a certain point, a person runs out of endogenous cannabinoids. So that’s why exogenous supplementation of cannabinoids with CBD oil has been such a massive success for many people as we are running a deficiency state.
Stress is one of the main reasons why people go to CBD and cannabis medicine. The vagus nerve is vital in terms of helping anxiety. There's been research showing that trauma is stored along the vagus nerve, and that's something that Chloe sees a lot in her practice: “When you're able to give patients CBD, it helps them release their trauma, and it's compelling in conjunction with acupuncture. Recent research shows that acupuncture is activating and supporting the endocannabinoid system, and it’s also a beautiful synergy with those two together. CBD also increases neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and the hippocampus stores memories, so that's one of the ways that it's so powerful in treating PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and CTSD (chronic traumatic stress disorder).”
Another reason why many people turn to cannabis medicine is pain management. It's another epidemic in our society.
There's a lot of research showing that cannabis and hemp can be helpful for neuropathic pain, and that's likely due to their ability to calm the mind. Neuropathic pain is deeply intertwined with brain function, and it also clearly reduces inflammation. THC is significant for pain modulation, and many people are scared of its psychotropic effects. “I can get a supplement that has either two-to-one or one-to-one CBD to THC if my patients need that higher pain threshold. That's going to get them some psychotropic effects. CBD reduces the psychotropic effects of THC, so it helps you get an increase in the CB1 receptor activation without having significant psychotropic effects,” Chloe mentioned.
CBD has a multi-faceted effect and helps modulate the body overall. Hemp is a beautiful adaptogenic plant that humanity has evolved with for millions of years. Natural biohacking supplements.
Chloe gave some advice on how to choose the right product on the market: “I think that it's essential to get a good company producing hemp. Hemp will leach out toxins from the Earth, so you do not want to get hemp from a company that does not have available certificates of analysis. You should see recent certificates of research that show that there are no heavy metals, no pesticides, no mold, and that you do not want to add more toxins to your system through this medicine. You must be getting it safely.
“My farmer does biodynamic next to no-till farming technique. He has eight cover crops in Colorado that are native to Colorado and rotates them. He's potentiating the different minerals, and he's got the whole ecosystem. He gets spring water from the mountains to water the plants so you can feel the healing properties of the herbs you try.”
If you want to try the biohacking products made by Radical Roots, straight-up Chinese herbs, feel free to check it out at the section Top Biohacks on our website.
BiohackingCongress's Team is very grateful to Chloe Weber, L.Ac., for joining our biohacking conference and giving an educative lecture.
Watch Chloe's 40-minute lecture on Ancient Wisdom Modern Mission. As well as 50+ lectures, panel discussions, and performances from renowned biohackers and founders of biohacking technology with a BiohackingCongress year-long subscription. Get your access to a healthy future now! Follow this link.
Based on the lecture by Chloe Weber, L.Ac.
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