The different types of cannabis are under research in every aspect of medicine. This research may link to the treatment of many symptoms or health conditions like cancer. These experiments include cannabis for Appetite loss. It is famous that after the consumption of cannabis, hunger kicks into the mind of the person.
Cannabis is a popular recreational drug that also has a variety of potential medicinal uses, from boosting appetite to reducing nausea and anxiety.
In cancer patients, cannabis may help ease the pain associated with chemotherapy while simultaneously increasing appetite (a serious side effect of chemotherapy being nausea).
Aside from euphoria, this increase in appetite is probably cannabis best-known effect — you might refer to it as “the munchies”. Historical sources indicate that people as early as 300 BCE knew that cannabis stimulates appetite, especially for sweet and savory food
What is Appetite Loss?
Loss of appetite, or anorexia, can occur due to a variety of conditions and diseases. Some of the conditions can be temporary and reversible, such as loss of appetite from medications’ effects. Some of the conditions can be more serious, such as from the effects of underlying cancer. Any persisting lack of appetite should be evaluated by a health care professional.
Common causes of loss of Appetite
These include:
1). Anorexia nervosa:
This eating disorder is characterized by weight loss, which can be severe and dangerous. Although very common, with more than 3 million cases per year, it primarily affects women between the ages of 18 and 35. Patients with anorexia have an overwhelming fear of weight gain, and significantly reduce the amount of food that they eat. They generally consider a very skinny, even skeletal frame as healthy and desirable. Once the patient is treated for the emotional aspect of the disease and begins to reestablish regular eating habits, medical cannabis may be used to stimulate a suppressed appetite.
2). Heartburn:
This painful condition is caused by acid reflux, which forces gastric juices from the stomach back up into the esophagus. These acidic juices cause burning and irritation in the throat and esophagus lining.
3). Pregnancy:
A common side effect of pregnancy is daily nausea (known as morning sickness), which can cause a lack of appetite. In extreme circumstances, doctors may consider utilizing medical cannabis to reduce dangerous degrees of vomiting and stimulate appetite, but the safety of using cannabis while pregnant is not settled science.
4). Cold & Flu:
When the immune system is fighting off a virus, it can become weak, and people may lose their appetite. Proper nutrition is typically considered necessary to regain health, so medical cannabis can help to restore appetite.
5). Hepatitis:
This liver disease often causes abdominal discomfort, nausea, and a loss of desire to eat. An identifying symptom of hepatitis is a yellowing of the skin and eyes.
6). Anxiety & Depression:
The brain chemistry of a person suffering from stress, anxiety, or depression often exhibits neuro-chemical reactions that can suppress appetite. Not eating is a prevalent symptom of depression. Medical cannabis can help both with relieving anxiety and stress, as well as stimulating a desire to eat.
7). Thyroid Conditions:
Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland no longer produces the hormones needed for proper metabolism; often resulting in a lack of appetite.
8). Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease:
These degenerative conditions are sometimes accompanied by disordered eating behaviors which can be normalized by cannabis therapy
How does Cannabis for Appetite loss work?
The word “cannabis” refers to several plants in the Cannabis genus, including Sativa, Indica, and ruderalis. The cannabinoid compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of cannabis’s main active ingredients, is also the main reason why cannabis can cause “the munchies”: by partially binding to and thus activating cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), THC increases your appetite.
In the different body tissues it occupies, CB1 acts in slightly different ways, several of which increase appetite.CB1 can be found in the following areas:
- Basal ganglia, where it may enhance eating pleasure.
- Limbic forebrain, where it may enhance food palatability.
- Stomach and small intestine, which both regulate ghrelin (an appetite-stimulating hormone that speeds digestion).
- Hypothalamus and rhombencephalon, two sections of the brain that help regulate food intake.
By activating CB1, Cannabis for Appetite loss works through the following known ways:
- It may decrease your peptide tyrosine levels, thus increasing your levels of ghrelin, thus increasing your appetite.
- Also, it activates the mammalian target of the rapamycin pathway, thus increasing your ghrelin levels, thus increasing your appetite.
- Furthermore, it activates a subset of neurons called proopiomelanocortin neurons. Because these neurons can suppress hunger (primary pathway) and/or increase appetite (secondary pathway) to various degrees. Recent research on CB1 has revealed that dronabinol, a synthetic form of THC, can stimulate the secondary pathway without stimulating the primary one.
Research on Cannabis for Appetite loss
According to a 2014 article in Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, smoking or ingesting cannabis can increase a person’s appetite by stimulating cannabinoid (CB1) receptors in the brain. These receptors release a hormone that increases food intake.
Cannabinoid receptors are naturally present in humans, and cannabinoids, which are compounds in the cannabis plant and include cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), affect humans by attaching to these receptors.
Can Cannabis Change Appetite loss to Appetite gain?
As much as Cannabis can help with the loss of Appetite, it doesn’t make people overweight or obese. According to research in the International Journal of Epidemiology, people who regularly partake in Cannabis are actually less likely to be overweight or obese compared to those who don’t.
This isn’t the only research that indicates cannabis users may weigh less than people who don’t smoke. A 2011 study from the American Journal of Epidemiology, concluded that even if weed consumption increases appetite, people using cannabis are less likely to be obese than people who do not use cannabis.
Other studies indicate that many cannabis users have trimmer waistlines than non-users, as well as lower cholesterol levels. What’s more, these results have proven to be true regardless of sample size or factors like age and gender.
