Many people associate cannabis or hemp with hunger and weight gain. However, cannabinoids are a little more complex than some people know, and this applies to CBD or cannabidiol.
Cannabidiol is one of the two major cannabinoids found in both hemp and cannabis plants. CBD is generally considered to be non-psychoactive, which means that it should not get you high, yet it is still thought to possess a variety of benefits.
One of the supposed benefits that CBD may have is that it could help to increase your appetite, which may be beneficial in some cases. However, as you will see further below, there is also some evidence that may indicate that CBD could decrease your appetite and actually promote weight loss.
Interestingly enough, CBD may be able to increase your metabolism and the type of good fat on your body while also increasing your overall appetite. Overall, it is safe to assume that CBD should have a positive effect on your hunger, weight level, and overall health. Let’s take a look at exactly how this might be the case.
Key Takeaways
- Cannabis is thought to have specific effects on appetite and hunger, with both THC and CBD playing roles.
- Does CBD oil make you hungry? According to the research listed below, CBD may have an impact on hunger and appetite, although in some cases, it has been shown to stimulate appetite, whereas in others, it has been shown to decrease it.
- CBD may also have beneficial impacts on your metabolism and the types of fat stored on your body.
- Although THC would appear to be the better option in terms of stimulating your appetite, CBD is considered to be non-psychoactive, so it may have beneficial effects on your appetite and weight levels, all without usually getting you high.
Click here to read more about the CBG cannabinoid.
Can CBD Make You Hungry?
First and foremost, the research on this front has produced very mixed results. As you will see from the examples listed below, there are some studies that show that CBD may make you feel hungry, but there are also other studies that show that CBD may have the opposite effect and act as an appetite suppressant.
- CBD interacts with both your CB1 and CB2 receptors, both of which are thought to be responsible for helping to regulate food intake and metabolism. In this study, rats were injected with a daily dose of CBD, and these rats showed reductions in body weight. The higher the dose, the more pronounced the reduction in body weight. This would therefore indicate that CBD does not cause hunger.
- There is another study that was performed on rats, which also showed a significant reduction in the intake of food when taking CBD. This would also seem to indicate that CBD does not produce feelings of hunger.
- CBD may also be beneficial for weight loss in other ways, mainly by converting white fat, which is considered bad, into brown fat, which is considered good. Brown fat is usually thought to be beneficial as it is responsible for heating your body by burning calories. White fat can be converted to brown fat in a number of ways, with exercise being one of them and CBD supposedly being another. Theoretically, if CBD converts white fat into brown fat, and brown fat is responsible for burning calories by producing heat for your body, it should, therefore, also help you reduce your weight.
- Although this study was not specific to CBD, it showed that of 50,000 people, the obesity rate among those who did not use cannabis in 12 months was up to 25%, whereas the obesity rate for those that do use cannabis at least three days a week was at just 17%. This would therefore indicate that people who use cannabis on a regular basis weigh less than those that do not.
- Here, we have another study, or to be exact, a review of various studies, which concludes that CBD has no major effect on appetite or weight. In most cases, in trial groups, those who took CBD showed no significant difference in weight gain or weight loss, body mass index, or in hunger levels when compared to those who did not take CBD.
- There are studies that show that CBD may have antiemetic effects. This means that it could be able to help reduce nausea and vomiting. It may not directly stimulate hunger per se, but it can make you feel a bit more comfortable in this sense and more inclined to eat.
- Going against what some other studies seem to have found, here we have a study that indicates that CBD does make people hungrier. This study showed that over 12% of people taking CBD had increased appetite when compared to those taking a placebo.
The major takeaway here is that although CBD can help reduce nausea and vomiting, it most likely does not make you feel hungrier, although some select studies indicate that it may.
Whether or not CBD stimulates hunger requires more research, as it appears to do so in some people while having the opposite effect in others. Although, the majority of research so far would seem to indicate that CBD does not produce feelings of hunger.
However, it may have beneficial effects on the types of fat your body retains, as well as on your metabolism, which may lead to weight loss. There are also some indications that CBD may suppress your appetite and therefore contribute to weight loss on this front.
back to menu ↑Do CBD Gummies Make You Hungry?
Based on all of the research as displayed above, it would serve to reason that CBD gummies should not make you hungry, at least not in most cases. However, whether or not CBD makes you hungry seems to depend on the individual in question.
Once again, any type of product containing CBD may help make it easier to eat by potentially reducing nausea and vomiting.
A product with CBD may also help boost your metabolism and the conversion of white fat to brown fat, therefore aiding in weight loss. Whether or not gummies will make you hungry, it’s something that you’ll have to discover for yourself.
The best case scenario here is that CBD gummies could help stimulate your appetite while also boosting your metabolism and boosting the conversion of white fat to brown fat. Theoretically, this should allow you to eat more while also losing more weight simultaneously.
back to menu ↑Does Full Spectrum CBD Make You Hungry?
Full spectrum CBD is a special type of CBD extract that may also contain other cannabinoids and terpenes, which include THC.
This is where things start to get interesting because THC is thought to be an appetite stimulant. It may be able to do so in a variety of ways. Therefore, full spectrum CBD that contains THC may indeed help stimulate your appetite and make you eat more.
Keep in mind, however, that according to the 2018 Farm Bill, cannabinoid products are not allowed to contain more than 0.3% THC, which therefore imposes a fairly strict limit on any full spectrum CBD products.
back to menu ↑CBD vs. THC: How They Affect Your Appetite
We already covered the main points about how CBD may or may not make you hungry, but what about THC? Well, there are some pretty strong indications that THC is an appetite stimulant and should make you feel hungry.
Let’s take a quick look at the major ways in which THC may be able to help stimulate your appetite and some pieces of evidence to back up these claims.
- Here is a study that concluded that taking THC resulted in an increase in ghrelin, a hunger hormone. This is the hormone responsible for controlling your hunger levels, mainly for stimulating your appetite. Therefore, if THC increases the levels of this hunger hormone, it should therefore also stimulate your appetite.
- Next, here is a study that indicates that THC is also an antiemetic. Therefore, just like CBD, THC may be able to prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting. Although this in itself does not stimulate appetite, it can make it much more comfortable for you to eat.
- Taking THC is also shown to increase dopamine levels in the human body. In turn, it is shown that dopamine is closely related to appetite. It is believed that eating helps to stimulate the reward center of the brain. Dopamine may cause increased food cravings due to the feelings of pleasure and reward that the ingestion of food will then provide you with.
- It is also thought that THC may interact with the cannabinoid receptors that are also responsible for influencing taste and smell. It may be the case that taking THC makes food more pleasurable to eat. Food may both taste better and smell better when you are high on THC.
The main takeaway here is that it is very safe to assume that, in one way or another, THC will stimulate your appetite and make you hungrier.
In terms of how it compares to CBD, although there is some evidence that CBD may promote hunger and appetite, the evidence weighs heavily in favor of THC as being the far better choice of the two.
That said, the issue with THC is that it gets you high and intoxicates you, which many people may not want. If you want help in controlling hunger and appetite, but you don’t want something that will get you high, CBD should be the better option.
back to menu ↑Can CBD Help You Lose Weight?
As discussed in our opening section, where we presented a variety of studies on the matter, there are indications that CBD may be able to help you lose weight.
This may be due to the way in which CBD may be able to help convert white fat into brown fat, which can then lead to more calorie burn.
It may also be related to the potential of CBD to boost your metabolism. In fact, here is another study that indicates that CBD may be able to help you lose weight.
back to menu ↑How Does CBD Affect Homeostasis in the Body?
Homeostasis is a term that refers to the human body’s ability to maintain a stable and constant state despite changes in external stimuli.
In terms of the human body, this includes controlling body temperature, oxygen, acidity levels, water levels, mineral levels, and more. Homeostasis is required to maintain ideal levels of many different substances.
CBD may be able to help promote homeostasis or balance in your body. CBD may be able to stimulate the endocannabinoid system, which is directly involved in many of the homeostatic processes, CBD may be able to help maintain homeostasis.
One example here has to do with immune homeostasis in the gut. There are various gut and gastrointestinal conditions that may be caused by an imbalance, with the result being the immune system attacking healthy tissue in your digestive tract.
CBD, by interacting with your endocannabinoid receptors, may be able to help improve homeostasis, therefore also possibly reducing such gastrointestinal issues. Although, more research is required on this front.
back to menu ↑Best CBD Products for Hunger and Appetite Issues
If you think that CBD could be beneficial for issues related to hunger, appetite, and body weight, take a look at some of these awesome CBD products listed below.
FAB CBD – CBD Oil
One of our favorite products is this natural full spectrum CBD oil from a highly trusted brand, Fab CBD. This is a full spectrum product, so it does contain very low levels of THC, but these are legally acceptable limits.
The THC contained in this product may help to stimulate your appetite, while CBD may have other beneficial effects on your weight and metabolism. The flavor of this product is natural, although there are others, including citrus, mint, vanilla, and berry.
This bottle contains 600 milligrams of CBD spread out across 30 milliliters, although there are also other strengths available, including 300 milligrams, 1200 milligrams, and 2400 milligrams. This product has been third-party tested to ensure that it falls within all legal limits, and the ingredients used are very high quality. The hemp used here is completely organic.
Green Roads Full Spectrum CBD Oil
Green Roads is another highly trusted brand name, with this product containing a full 1500 milligrams of full spectrum CBD oil in a small 30-milliliter bottle. It, therefore, contains 50 milligrams of CBD in every milliliter.
This CBD oil is pharmacist formulated and has been independently tested by laboratories to ensure that it is both safe and legal. Furthermore, it is vegan, gluten-free, and it does not contain any artificial flavors or colors.
It does, however, have a very natural sweet flavor that somewhat resembles caramel, although not everybody may like it. This version contains very minimal levels of THC, but there is also a broad-spectrum option available which does not contain THC. This allows you to choose the option that works best for you.
EVN CBD – CBD Oil
EVN also has a few CBD oil products to choose from. There are two main types, CBD oil with a mint flavor and those with original flavors. Both the original and the mint-flavored options come in both a 500-milligram and a 1000-milligram option.
These products are 100% lab tested, they should not contain any THC, they are completely free of genetically modified organisms, they are gluten-free as well, and vegan.
This product is made with full spectrum CBD oil, so it should not contain any THC. It is, however, made with organic hemp, and it even comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.
Joy Organics CBD Gummies
If you’d rather have gummies than oil, these CBD Gummies from Joy Organics might be your best bet. The organic CBD gummies from this brand feature 25 milligrams of CBD per serving, with 30 gummies per pack, or a total of 750 milligrams of CBD per jar.
The flavor here is strawberry lemonade, which many people say is rather enjoyable. Furthermore, this product is 100% organic and made with only through ingredients. It is even USDA-certified organic, which should speak to its high quality. This product is made with broad spectrum CBD, so it should not contain any THC whatsoever.
back to menu ↑Final Thoughts: Does CBD Make You Hungry?
The bottom line here is that although CBD may not necessarily make you hungry, it should most certainly have a beneficial effect on homeostasis or balance in your body, your metabolism, and your weight levels in general. If you need something to help regulate your appetite and make you feel more balanced, trying some CBD is highly recommended.
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