Marijuana gives you the munchies. What about CBD?
Several experts have this year forecast an increase in cannabidiol-containing foods and beverages, a chemical compound found in cannabis plants. More colloquially referred to as CBD, cannabidiol has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat certain forms of epilepsy and has the potential to treat pain , nausea, anxiety , and depression — without high users.
But what about their effect on starvation? Smoking or cannabis ingestion is associated with the munchies, after all. Is CBD having the same effect? Could a trend towards foods infused with CBD cause weight gain? And how could CBD affect people with conditions that make it hard to maintain weight (such as those with HIV / AIDS, cancer, eating disorders or depression)?
CBD is cannabis that won’t get you high. So why are so many people using it?
First, a quick tutorial to understand their answers to those questions. Cannabis plants contain more than 100 cannabinoids but most of them are not yet known for their medicinal and psychoactive effects. CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the principal psychoactive cannabinoid, are the two most researched cannabinoids. You get high with THC; CBD doesn’t. And, it turns out, they have different influences on appetite.
According to the experts, THC produces the famous cravings for sweet and fatty foods through several mechanisms. First, “THC increases the ghrelin hormone which makes you feel hungry,” says Janice Newell Bissex, a registered dietitian and holistic cannabis practitioner in Melrose, Mass. If your stomach is empty, she says, you ‘re producing more of the hunger hormone ghrelin, which tells the brain to make it feel hungry. But even if your stomach is not empty, THC can increase ghrelin and trigger a feeling of hunger.
Second, THC hits a part of the brain that controls hunger. “The appetite-promoting effect of THC is mediated by CB1 receptors located in areas of the brain involved in appetite control,” explains George Kunos, scientific director at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.
And third, THC boosts dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical in the brain, “so you get more pleasure from eating,” Bissex says. “THC can increase the sense of smell and taste, so people are more inclined to want to eat.”
In contrast, CBD is not causing the munchies, the experts said. But if it is added to foods and beverages or taken as a medication, it may boost appetite in a different way. “CBD helps relieve nausea and can calm your nervous system and digestive tract,” Bissex says. “If you feel less nauseated, you may eat more. CBD also quells pain, and feeling less pain may also boost appetite.” For this reason people with cancer, chronic pain or other medical problems often use it. (You can find either CBD or THC — or both — in medical marijuana products; the legality of CBD and THC products depends on the state of your residence.)
Does that mean recreational cannabis users will weigh more than non-users if THC increases appetite, because they want to keep eating? You ‘d think so but the answer is surprisingly no.
“Studies indicate that regular heavy cannabis users tend to be leaner than age- and gender-matched groups of nonusers,” Kunos says.
Overall, cannabis use in the general population is associated with a lower body mass index. “Interestingly, cannabis may help increase weight in those who are low weight, but not in those who are normal or overweight,” says Bissex.
The reason was not clearly known, but they include the amount of THC that somebody is exposed to, says Kunos. High doses of THC can suppress the number of CB1 receptors in order to stimulate fewer receptors which could limit weight gain.
And the hunger-boosting impact of THC can be a sign of optimism for weight-loss efforts. Since researchers may find out how cannabis raises appetite, they may also be helping to create drugs to suppress appetite. Some drugs are “inverse agonists,” meaning they connect the brain to the same region but create an opposite reaction. Using this theory, researchers are researching how to use CB1 receptors to reduce rather than increase the appetite.
A medication called rimonabant in 2006 had the potential to be a successful reverse agonist to support weight loss but it had too many psychological side effects and was taken off the market. Without the side effects, Kunos’ laboratory is working on an appetite suppressant drug.
So, are the experts in food-trends on something? Will CBD be on your favorite restaurants menu and shops where you buy groceries? That’ll focus on your place of residence. If you’re living in Oregon, California , New York or Colorado, you could very well order CBD-infused beer or buy CBD-enhanced candy and pastries. You can rest assured that the munchies are not caused by such products — but keep in mind that weight gain could result from consuming the beer, sweets and pastries itself.
Registered dietitian Cara Rosenbloom is the president of Words to Eat By, a nutritional communications company that specializes in writing, nutrition education and the development of recipes. She is the co-author of “Nourish: Whole Food Recipes Featuring Seeds, Nuts and Beans.”
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