Can this theoretically be done? They function as a pain killer, so I think this would be medically useful to those with chronic pain.
Well the word endorphin stands for “Endogenous morphine”, or morphine produced naturally by the body. So yeah, there are a number of prescription opioids available, though they have their side effects.
Yes, you can grow your own and refine it.
So, are endorphins the same as opiates? My knowledge of chemistry is minimal. Endorphins produced by exercise are considered to be good for you, while walking around stoned on painkillers isn’t. I guess I don’t understand how the two are chemically different.
They aren’t the same thing (and there are multiple chemicals in each category), but sometimes your body can’t tell the difference as the drug mimics. And side/effects withdrawals occur when your brain begins to think that the doped up situation is normal, therefore off drugs it’s abnormally low.
Another effect depends on where in your nervous system everything is occurring. Sometimes drugs are more of a “shotgun effect” and don’t target precisely the same neurons.
Endorphins are peptides, they can be chemically synthesized. Opiates are non-peptidic compounds that happen to bind to the same receptors.
Since peptides get digested, they could not be taken as a pill or capsule, but would have to be injected. In addition, I do not know how well they cross the blood-brain barrier. Endorphins produced by your body are produced and released within the brain, therefore they do not have this problem.
The health benefits of exercise don’t come from the endorphins.
The so-called “runner’s high”, where you’re enjoying the act of exercise itself more than makes strict logical sense, IS an effect of endorphins.
So if you want health without exercise, endorphins aren’t the answer. And if you want a high without exercise, there are much better drugs than endorphins available.