Illustration of a man showing off his slimmer stomach

CBD Oil and Weight Loss? What Are The Effective Benefits?

For years, most people have had a stereotypical take on Cannabis users, often involving a couch-dwelling guy with all kinds of crunchy snacks. Popular for inducing munchies, most assumptions regarding cannabis use rarely bring to mind the image of health. But what about utilizing CBD for weight loss?

There have been multiple case studies and research which have shown some interesting results: the use of CBD is associated with reduced BMI and lower body weight when put into comparison with non-use.

So, should you forget that weight loss diet and switch to cannabinoid? Well, let’s delve further into CBD oil for weight loss.

Weight Loss & The ECS

Ideal body composition among CBD users in comparison to non-users may seem paradoxical, but an explanation lies within how the ECS, formally known as the endocannabinoid system, works.

The ECS is a sophisticated network of receptors and neurotransmitters. It’s found throughout your body, but it’s primarily found in the immune and nervous systems. The neurotransmitters have something known as endocannabinoids, which are used to relay messages to cells through the receptors. Plant cannabinoids, ideally known as phytocannabinoids such as CBD function in similar ways.

As with any body system, there’s a range of normal activity and when the balance goes beyond this range, dysfunction happens. Research shows that in the cases of diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome, there’s clear evidence of hyperactivity in the ECS system.

According to experts, using CBD with a healthy diet, particularly one that contains whole grains, healthy fats, plenty of greens and grass-fed dairy and meat sets the tone for healthy weight loss.

How CBD Oil Can Help With Weight Loss

The initial stimulus that contributes to weight gain is usually simple. It is just a matter of imbalance between calories consumed and calories burned. However, the long term effect of this imbalance isn’t always easy to resolve.

Restoring balance with a calorie deficit works in some cases, but it can be hard. First, minimizing calorie intake leaves most feeling hungry, which can be very uncomfortable. Second, weight gain can lead to hormonal imbalance, changes in inflammation status, metabolic patterns and even ECS balance.

Ideal weight loss calls for a return to healthy balance within all these systems and research has shown that CBD is not just effective for regulating the endocannabinoid system, but also impact the dysfunction happening in other systems, in a positive manner.

So, what do studies show about CBD oil and weight loss? Let us find out –

  1. Insulin Resistance

A primary feature of diabetes and obesity is insulin resistance. In a normal metabolic process, the following pattern occurs:

  • Food consumption
  • A rise in glucose levels
  • The pancreas releases insulin to take glucose to the cells
  • The cells utilize the glucose to produce energy

In situations where eating patterns provide excess glucose, the metabolic system breaks. The cells are not able to take on more sugar and as a result, become they become resistant to the signal to allow the sugar into the cell.

Since it’s dangerous for glucose levels to stay high in the blood, the pancreas releases even more insulin. Ultimately, the sugar levels go down and the body is left with abnormally high insulin levels. This leaves you hungry, sluggish and vulnerable to a repeat cycle.

Changes in the diet are the most crucial action you can take in order to get off the repeat cycle and CBD oil can help with that. Cannabinoids have been seen to improve the cell’s ability to take upon glucose, which is a vital step in preventing weight gain.

  1. Fat Gain

Increased body fat is one of the biggest risk factors for diabetes and obesity. While this seems obvious, the process mechanisms aren’t necessarily straightforward. Not all fat cells are equal and the most dangerous type, ”white fat cells” which tend to gather around organs and make their function harder.

According to research, cannabinoids stimulate gene expression within the white fat cells and this leads to the ‘browning’ of the cells. This is a mechanism that turns them into softer fat-producing cells, which is easily utilized by the body to maintain body heat. The harder to lose white fat is converted into an easily burnable form, all thanks to CBD oil intake.

CBD Oil and Weight Loss Verdict

The studies show that a healthy ECS system is inextricably tied to the health of the entire body. As a matter of fact, measuring the ECS system activity is a proposed marker of metabolic health. Overall, these studies show great promise in creating new potential therapies that are safe and effective for diabetes and obesity.

However, it is important to keep in mind that these CBD oil and weight loss studies are relatively new and in their infancy stages. This makes it difficult to predict just how far their impact will be. Maybe prescribed CBD use along with dietary and lifestyle changes could be a pivotal intervention in regards to the future of diabetes and obesity management.

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