If you’ve ever smoked or ingested marijuana, then you’ve probably noticed that it doesn’t take long before you’re devouring all the unhealthy snacks within reach. This effect is not idiosyncratic. Most, if not all, users would relate to this scenario. The increase in appetite, commonly described as the munchies, is among the most well-known effects of marijuana.
Among the most significant benefits of the munchies is that they can boost the appetite of people unable to eat for whatever reason. Another benefit may be that it improves the culinary experience of recreational users, although some might not appreciate its effects on the waistline.
Why does using marijuana give you the munchies? The short answer is that it increases your hunger by sharpening your sense of smell and taste. But this is not the complete story. Read on to learn more from us at Happy Garden CBD.
A group of European neuroscientists led by Giovanni Marsicano of the University of Bordeaux employed mice to investigate why we get hungry after smoking a joint. They discovered that THC, an abundant compound in marijuana, works in ways independent of its psychoactivity. It binds to receptors in the olfactory bulb, which enhances the ability of animals to smell food and their desire to consume more.
According to the research, one of the main reasons you might eat more food after using marijuana is that you can better smell and taste it. This action of THC is related to why it exerts such a strong influence on the brain in the first place. It binds with receptors that are part of the brain’s endocannabinoid network, which regulate memory, emotions, pain, and appetite. THC can exogenously affect the same system in radical ways by imitating the function of our brain’s natural chemicals that interact with the same receptors.
If they can figure out more specific details on how cannabis promotes appetite, scientists could develop drugs that suppress hunger. Some medications are “inverse agonists,” meaning they attach to the receptors but exert the opposite effect. Researchers are studying ways to use CB1 receptors to lower, rather than raise, hunger based on this concept. Rimonabant, a medicine that had the potential to be an effective inverse agonist for weight reduction, was taken off the market in 2006 due to its many mental adverse effects.
The quantity of marijuana you take and the means by which you take it determines how much your appetite will spike. By smoking or vaping a joint, you are rapidly increasing your blood THC level by substantial levels, resulting in more hunger than if you ate an edible.
Since your body needs to digest edible, any food present in your system will impede the absorption of THC. Also, Inhalation typically takes five to ten minutes for you to feel its effect, while effects from ingestion can take as long as two hours.
However, if you want to keep your cravings under control, you may need to limit the quantity of THC you consume. Many items sold at government-regulated cannabis dispensaries are lab-tested and tagged with the concentration of cannabinoids they contain. Using this, you can determine the appropriate THC dosage for you. Tweak your intake until you discover the amount that gives you the effect you want without causing the munchies.
CBD is another well-known and abundant cannabinoid. While it doesn’t offer the psychoactive effects of THC, it is gaining favor as a treatment for anxiety and chronic pain. It also doesn’t give you the munchies as THC does. In fact, it prevents THC from binding to receptors which reduces its appetite-stimulating effects.
However, CBD can stimulate appetite in a different way. It can help you feel better and want to eat by reducing nausea and calming your neurological and digestive systems.
Multiple studies suggest that while you may eat more, you won’t gain weight from the munchies. THC receptors are present in the mitochondria, the power plants that provide humans with energy. This finding may imply that the compound plays a role in energy regulation.
What we think is that marijuana is entering into your system and altering your capacity to burn calories even when you’re hungry. But it doesn’t mean you have free reign to eat whatever you want.
Additionally, a 2013 research from the American Journal of Medicine reported lower fasting insulin levels and smaller waist circumferences in those who used marijuana than those who never used marijuana. However, correlation does not equal causation. These findings might simply indicate that healthier people tend to use marijuana more rather than that it leads people to become healthier.
You can access the therapeutic benefits of the cannabis plant while avoiding the high or munchies by sticking with Happy Garden CBD products. From pain and anxiety relieve to better sleep, there is so much to gain from our range of quality CBD oils, gummies, and more.
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