Why Cannabis Increases Appetite - New Washington DC Study
Cannabis stimulates the appetite. This is a well-known fact that is taken into account by official medicine - in countries with legalized medical marijuana, it can be prescribed for the treatment of eating disorders. However, the reason why cannabis helps in this case is not known to science. A recent study tried once again to clarify it, but in the end created another hypothesis.
What the study showed
The study was conducted by MD John Davis of the University of Washington. He found that cannabis consumption promotes the production of the hormone ghrelin, which is responsible for appetite. It naturally appears in an empty stomach and gives a signal to the brain - this is how we begin to experience hunger. At the same time, a study on rats showed that hemp provokes excessive synthesis of ghrelin.
The rodents were divided into three groups according to the amount of food consumed. The former always had access to food - they could eat whenever they wanted. The second was fed until full, and the third, on the contrary, was not allowed to eat for two days. Then marijuana vapors were introduced into the cages of all three groups, and after two hours all the rats began to eat small portions and often. Even the second group, which should not have experienced hunger.
What do such studies provide?
Although the fact that marijuana stimulates appetite has been proven, scientists need to understand the mechanism of this phenomenon. This will make it possible to use cannabis to help people with cancer and HIV / AIDS, who have a significantly reduced appetite - up to exhaustion of the body. Of course, cannabis is already used to increase appetite, but when it comes to such serious diseases, one cannot act “at random”.
John Davis noted that their task is to determine the effect on the body of a particular dosage of THC. In the future, his team will continue research in rodents, in particular, they plan to look at what happens in the hypothalamus under the influence of marijuana vapor. They also want to know what is causing the two-hour delay between cannabis intake and an increase in appetite. Davis noted that perhaps by identifying its cause, they can learn to suppress appetite, which will already help people with obesity.