Diabetes is on the rise all over the world. The number of diagnoses has been increasing since the 1980s. Over 400 million people are currently living with diabetes. This can be life-threatening and has no known cure. Patients are managing diabetes with medication. But it tends to be an expensive, difficult, and intrusive process. The good news is that CBG shows strong promise as a supplemental diabetes treatment. Studies have shown cannabis to have a powerful effect on the symptoms of diabetes. Cannabis could also prevent the disease from worsening. Or from taking hold in the first place. This article will discuss issues surrounding CBG and Diabetes.
What is CBG?
CBG (cannabigerol) is by far one of the most important cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. It is often called “the mother of all cannabinoids,”. It holds potential as a treatment for lots of conditions. They are diabetes, ALS, and Huntington’s disease, although human studies are lacking. Besides its potential medical benefits, CBG is not intoxicating and won’t get you high.
The popular effects of THC and CBD are from their nature with the endocannabinoid system. CBG, yet, works through other mechanisms. This explains why it has such different effects. It is currently under research as a treatment for a long list of conditions. They include dementia, PTSD, ADHD, Huntington’s disease, ALS, and so on.
But it’s important to note that when it comes to CBG the word “potential” is of the essence. Most of the evidence scientists have found on the efficacy of CBG is from animal models. So, it’s too early to say whether they are relevant for humans. And unlike THC and CBD, there’s no information about the safety of CBG-dominant products.
Definition of Diabetes
Diabetes is many disease that involves problems with the hormone Insulin. The pancreas releases insulin to help your body store and use the sugar and fat from the food you eat. diabetes when one of the following occurs when:
- The pancreas does not produce any insulin.
- When the pancreas produces very little insulin.
- The body does not respond to insulin, a condition called “insulin resistance”.
The Role of Insulin in Diabetes
To understand why insulin is important, it helps to know more about how the body uses food for energy. Your body consists of millions of cells. To make energy, these cells need food in a very simple form. When you eat or drink, much of your food breaks down into a simple sugar called “glucose.” Then, glucose goes through the bloodstream to the cells of your body. This is where it can provide some of the energy your body needs for daily activities.
The hormone insulin regulates the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. Insulin is always released in small amounts by the pancreas. The amount of glucose in your blood rises to a certain level. And this prompts the pancreas will release more insulin to push more glucose into the cells. Furthermore, this causes the glucose levels in your blood (blood glucose levels) to drop.
Your body helps to keep your blood glucose levels from getting too low. It signals you to eat and releases some glucose from the stores kept in the liver.
People with diabetes don’t make insulin. Their body’s cells no longer are able to recognize insulin leading to high blood sugars. By definition, diabetes is having a blood glucose level of 126 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). It might be more after an overnight fast (not eating anything).
Research on CBG and Diabetes
Recent studies found that CBG has the possibility to treat diabetes. The enzyme aldose reductase (ALR2) is the main contributor to oxidative stress. It leads to complications in diabetes such as cardiovascular disease.
Diabetic patients are at high risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Thus, if it can prevent diabetic symptoms. This would be positive for the medical marijuana sector.
In 2018, researchers in Italy conducted a study. They found that plant extracts of marijuana with lots of cannabinoids like CBG can treat patients having diabetes.
This means that CBG, and the combination of CBG and CBD, could increase insulin sensitivity.
Effect of Cannabis as a whole on Diabetes
Certain cannabinoids in cannabis may be able to help manage diabetes. The human body makes its own cannabinoids, which are vital to a wide range of functions. Moreover, It includes regulation of mood, movement, sleep cycles, and sensitivity to pain. The endocannabinoid system influences the pancreas, the organ that manufactures insulin. The pancreas has a high number of cannabinoid receptors. It may, thus, be particularly responsive to the effects of marijuana. Several pharmaceutical companies are already working on cannabinoid-based drugs. It could someday take the place of some traditional diabetes medications.
How to use CBG for diabetes or as a whole
The most common way to consume CBG is to ingest raw hemp. Raw hemp is a fresh Cannabis sativa containing very little THC. The more harvested, the higher the levels of CBG.
Regular exposure to light, heat, the oxidation process, and decarboxylation synthesize. These activate acidic forms of cannabinoids. The longer marijuana plants are open to these variables, the more CBG and CBN will exist and less CBG. But hemp contains more CBG than cannabis strains with high levels of THC.
Conclusion on use of CBG in diabetes and other therapeutic uses
There is great potential for CBG therapeutic uses even in diabetes. But science has a long way to go before we’ll have reliable information on how and when to use CBG products. Whether it is CBG oil, CBG cannabis flower, or any other CBG-dominant product, you should be cautious. You should take caution if you take prescription medications. CBG’s potential drug interactions, dosing recommendations, and contraindications are still under investigation.
Many marijuana chemovars on the market today have varying levels of CBG. You might already have a cannabis regimen for one of the conditions that could treat CBG. So, It would make sense to seek out products or strains that have at least some CBG. But unless you’ve consulted a healthcare professional with cannabis expertise. You should avoid products in which CBG is the primary active ingredient.
