Spring has arrived, the daffodils are out in force while early cherry blossoms have transformed the bare-branched winter trees. The return of the sun at the Vernal Equinox has been celebrated with rituals for fertility, growth and balance for thousands of years . Many of our Easter traditions predate Christianity, most obviously, the Easter Sunday Egg Hunt, where children search in the garden for chocolate eggs left by the Easter Bunny.

Our modern day Easter Egg Hunt derives from the ancient festival of Ostara, the Celtic fertility goddess who took the form of a magical rabbit and her gift of eggs, a tasty symbol of fertility.

The change of the seasons reflects our planetary balance, the coming of Spring represents this with the regeneration of growth after winter.

Every living entity on Earth echoes the intrinsic patterns and cycles of our environment and is subject to the same laws.

We see this in our own physiology, where fertility, growth and balance are central to our best health. We get busy with Spring-cleaning with the desire to rid ourselves of clutter and cobwebs and make a fresh start .

Similarly the traditional fasting associated with both Lent and Ramadan gives our bodies the chance to reset through cleansing and correcting systemic imbalances.

We know that maintaining a healthy balance is what works for our physical and mental health, folkloric aphorisms; “All things in moderation” and “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy” are embedded deep in our cultural consciousness.

In this article my focus is on balance, particularly in reference to diet and supporting our endocannabinoid system (ECS).

Our focus at Synergy is to provide cannabinoids for health and well being and we are acutely aware that supporting the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is essential for best results. Homeostasis is the scientific term for correct balance in a living organism and medical science has revealed that the ECS is the essential balance mechanism.

To maintain the ECS we need a variety of nutrients, one of the more important are essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6, which are found to be the basic building blocks for endocannabinoids. These fatty acids are called ‘essential’ because they are not made in the body and must derive from our diet. For thousands of years the human diet had a balanced 1:1 intake of omegas 6 to 3, but the advent of industrialisation and processed foods and oils has drastically altered our intake to 20:1. Processed foods and fried foods are culprits in over-saturating our modern diet with omega 6, while healthier sources of the omega 6 fatty acid are found in eggs, turkey and vegetable oils. Making sure we have enough omega-3 is the contrary concern, sources are wide; oily fish, flax, hemp and chia seeds, meat, eggs and dairy.diet.

Cannabis provides once again, Hemp seed oil contains both omega 6 and 3 in a ratio of 3:1 (omega 6: omega 3) Hemp seed oil has a pleasant nutty flavor and works deliciously in salad dressings and baked goods and smoothies. And perhaps the easier way to ensure a good balance of omegas 6 and 3 is to avoid the excess intake of omega 6 from processed and fried foods. Maybe not so easy , so introducing hemp seed oil to your diet is a sound hedge against nutrient deficiencies.

By taking care to maintain our ECS we create a functioning environment for the cannabinoids to act upon and support our health and immunity. Our ability to bring balance to our bodies is remarkably simple, by eating well, exercising well, and sleeping well, we give ourselves the best chance for our ECS to provide a strong foundation to keep us in optimal health.