Those looking to gain weight, increase appetite or treat stress might want to consider the benefits of medical marijuana.
What’s the reason behind the munchies after smoking marijuana? Why does it lead people to Taco Bell or Subway Sandwich? Turned out, it has something to do with the brain pathway called the endogenous cannabinoid system, according to Harriet de Wit, a University of Chicago’s psychiatry professor.
What does this system involve? The system has certain brain chemicals resembling some active ingredients in cannabis. These affect the desire to eat tasty food and the body’s stress levels. With the combination of those chemicals and the body’s natural chemicals, the ECS goes into overdrive.
Recent clinical studies also pointed out the roles of both the chemical, (Tetrahydrocannabinol) THC, and the cannabis plant itself, for increased caloric intake.
Interestingly, even big pharmaceutical companies are now exploring on and researching about cannabis-like drugs with the mission of increasing the appetite of HIV sufferers and chemotherapy patients.
If you’re someone looking to gain instead of lose weight with medical cannabis, what potential benefits can you actually get from taking it? Here they are.
Stimulating Appetite
Earlier, we’ve talked about how marijuana interacts with the body’s endogenous cannabinoid system and spikes desire for tasty food. Now, here’s another interesting part.
Lack of appetite due to cancer, for example, can lead to malnutrition and unwanted/unhealthy weight loss. As they may also suffer from nausea due to chemotherapy, they also avoid eating.
But marijuana can help with that because it can give patients a boost to kickstart their appetite.
With medical marijuana available at a license pot dispensary, cancer patients can now stimulate their appetite, eventually increasing their desire to eat more food.
And as they develop good eating habits, they can gain weight in order to be healthier.
On the other hand, the appetite stimulation from medical marijuana can also help those with anorexia and others with eating disorders.
A bit more about how medical cannabis stimulates the appetite: A source revealed medical cannabis could boost the appetite.
Just recently in July 2018, a study conducted by researchers from the University of Washington discovered that mice exposed to cannabis vapor had taken frequent small meals. And just about after two hours of exposure to the vapor, those that had just eaten went searching for food again.
The researchers noticed the time delay involved, meaning this kind of exposure had led the stomach to release ghrelin, a type of hormone signaling the brain that it’s meal time.
There are also other studies revealing that THC in some strains of cannabis bind to the brain’s olfactory bulb, sharpening the senses. Thus, food becomes better tasting and appetizing.
It also showed that cannabinoids have the ability of motivating someone to eat by interacting with the brain’s cannabinoid receptors.
Treating Stress
Too much stress, which can also lead to either anxiety or depression, can cause unhealthy weight loss.
When that happens, you might suffer from lack of appetite and troubled sleep; both triggers unhealthy weight loss.
Now if you want to turn the tides around and do something to treat stress, you might want to talk to your doctor about medical cannabis that you can buy with prescription for example from a las vegas medical marijuana dispensary.
What medical marijuana does to treat stress are its relaxing properties. It can also help in stabilizing your mood and emotions by supporting your endocannbinoid system.
As it happens, you will be able to combat stress and depression. In fact, medical cannabis also works for people with panic attacks.
However, treating stress with medical marijuana can only be effective when taken at a low dose, according to a study.
And as you become less stressed, you can avoid unhealthy weight gain/loss because you can develop the eating habits to be healthy and fit.
Bottom Line
At the end of the day, weight gain is affected by several factors, including diet, lifestyle and physical activities.
But nevertheless, those looking to gain weight, increase appetite or treat stress might want to consider the benefits of medical marijuana.
If you’re interested about a marijuana diet to gain weight, you should first consult your doctor and choose the best strains to help you achieve that purpose.
Author
Emily Wilson is a marketing specialist at Essence Cannabis Dispensary with a primary focus on development and implementation of marketing ideas. Her main talking points are medical and recreational marijuana, marijuana marketing and advertising.
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