When you’re dealing with chronic pain or inflammation, finding a solution that works can be a long journey. But what if your body already holds the key? In recent years, a naturally occurring compound called Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) has gained attention for its potential to help manage these conditions.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- What is PEA?
- How Does PEA Work?
- What Conditions Can PEA Help With?
- Dosing and Important Considerations
What is PEA?
PEA, or Palmitoylethanolamide, is an endogenous fatty acid amide. In simpler terms, it’s a natural substance that your body produces on its own. It’s also found in certain foods, such as egg yolks, peanuts, and soybeans. As a supplement, it’s most commonly available in oral forms like capsules, and sometimes as a topical cream. Taking PEA supplements aims to boost your body’s natural levels of this compound, giving it more resources to help manage pain and inflammation.
How Does PEA Work?
When you experience chronic pain or inflammation, your immune system’s response can become overactive. It’s like a constant fire alarm going off, with immune cells working overtime to combat the perceived threat. This is where PEA comes in. It works by calming these overactive immune cells, specifically mast cells and glial cells. By doing so, PEA helps to reduce the inflammatory pathways they are involved in, which can lead to a reduction in pain.
PEA is also known to support the endocannabinoid system, a complex network in the body that helps regulate things like pain, mood, and sleep. This is why it is often compared to CBD. However, it’s important to note that PEA is not cannabis and does not produce the same central nervous system side effects, such as drowsiness, associated with some other pain medications. Instead, it works directly on the receptors involved in the body’s immune response to reduce pain.
What Conditions Can PEA Help With?
Due to its anti-inflammatory and pain-modulating properties, PEA has shown promise for a variety of conditions, particularly those involving chronic pain. It is often used in a compounding pharmacy setting for:
- Chronic pain conditions
- Sciatica
- Neuropathic pain
- Fibromyalgia
It may also be beneficial for other inflammatory conditions. Sometimes, it is used in combination with other pain medications to enhance their effects.
Dosing and Important Considerations
If you are interested in trying PEA, the first step is to discuss it with your doctor. They can determine if it’s a suitable option for you and ensure it won’t interfere with any other medications you are taking. It’s also a good idea to consult with a pharmacist who can provide more information on how PEA works and its potential benefits.
PEA is generally well-tolerated and doesn’t cause many side effects. For best results, it’s recommended to take it regularly, a couple of times a day. A typical dose ranges from 300 to 600mg. It’s crucial to be patient with PEA. Like many natural supplements, it doesn’t work instantly. It can take about three to six weeks of consistent use to notice the full benefits.
Since its discovery, PEA has a good safety profile and has provided positive results for many patients suffering from chronic pain. If you’re looking for a natural approach to managing your pain, PEA might be worth exploring with your healthcare provider.
Video Transcript
This is a pretty cool topic. It’s a relatively new product in the natural supplements of the world. Um, I want to just chat to you about PEA. And no, it’s not a vegetable. Um, it’s a natural compound that they’ve discovered over time, and it’s showing some really interesting and successful results in chronic pain and systemic inflammation. So what is PEA? I’ll try my best not to fall over my tongue, but Palmitoylethanolamide is the technical name. It’s an endogenous fatty acid amide. Basically, it means that your body produces this anyway, so what you’re doing is taking an external supplement to give your body more to hopefully help it do a better job. It’s found in egg yolks, peanuts, soybeans, and it’s generally in a in a oral dosage form like capsules. And sometimes we make it in creams which patients do find helps as well. Um, so what does PEA do and how does it work? Um, basically when you’ve got pain and inflammation, your immune system is just doing the best it can, but it’s running all over the place trying to put out these fires. Basically, PEA exerts its effect or works by calming these overactive immune cells. They’re generally mast cells or glial cells. What that then does in turn, is it reduces the inflammation pathways which they’re currently involved in, and hopefully that gives you the reduction in pain that you’re after. Um, it’s it supports the endocannabinoid systems. So it’s similar to how CBD works. You’ve probably heard of the of cannabis, but it’s not the same stuff. It just works on the pathway. Similarly. Um, and obviously it doesn’t PEA doesn’t give you any, um, CNS side effects like drowsiness or that type of stuff you might be familiar with. So it really works on the receptors in the body that are actively trying to work with the immune system to reduce pain. Um, so it’s it’s a sort of a cumulative effect on how it works. So generally we see it in our compounding pharmacy for, um, situations like chronic pain, um, sciatica, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia might be beneficial. And there are some other inflammatory conditions of which patients try it and may have the benefit of using it from. Sometimes it’s used in combination with other pain medications. So if you’re seeing your doctor and you’re interested in PEA, our first suggestion would be to chat to your doctor about it. Have a look online. We’ve got some really helpful resources to tell you a bit more about what PEA is and how it works, and you can share that with your doctor if they’re not familiar. And when you’re using it in combination with other products, generally chat to your doctor first or also chat to our pharmacist team as well, just to make sure it’s safe. Generally, you know, so from taking it position it’s generally well tolerated doesn’t cause many side effects. We do find that patients get the best effect by using it regularly a couple of times a day, and somewhere between 3 and 600mg is a normal dose, so keep taking it. You do have to be patient with it. Like all medicines, it doesn’t work straight away. You do need to take it for about 3 to 6 weeks to notice the benefits. Um, but look, from what we understand, in the last few years, the results have been good for patients and the safety profile has been really good as well. So as always, chat to your doctor if you’re unsure. Chat to our pharmacist team too. Um, but if you’re suffering from chronic pain, this might be something to consider. And we’re always here to help, so we look forward to seeing you soon.
