Appetite-Suppressing Effects of CBD

• What is appetite?
• Appetite control
• Eating disorders
• Anorexia
• Bulimia
• Obesity
• Factors
• FAQ
• Malnutrition
• Hunger vs. appetite
• Treatment

What is appetite?

Hunger (appetite) is the long-term lack of a satisfying amount of food. Specifically, in this case, we are talking about its chronic form. It can be due to poverty, food shortages or poor food availability. What is more important for us is physical hunger, which we can easily satisfy. This is a temporary discomfort associated with the urge to eat something. Symptoms include a feeling of tiredness, a queasy feeling in the stomach, moodiness, dizziness, lightheadedness or specific nausea.

The hunger or satiety cycle is controlled by the hypothalamus (part of the midbrain). According to a 2017 American study, food is analyzed by the nervous system and divided into energy-poor and energy-rich. But here we can look for reasons for obesity or similar problems. Instead, the human brain craves calorie-dense foods to build up reserves for a rainy day. The hormones leptin and ghrelin monitor whether we feel hungry. If we do not eat for a long time, the stomach produces ghrelin, which secretes stomach acids, increases appetite and triggers involuntary stomach movements. Its level is highest before a meal when sugar levels are low. If we eat enough, leptin secreted by fat droplets starts to form. Its job is to alert the brain that we already have enough calories.

For proper health and enough strength during the day, it is important to enjoy food. Losing weight is not always the most important thing. The desire to eat is innate and, if in the right proportion, necessary. However, there are cases where people have a big problem with eating. For example, CBD can help you in this matter.

Appetite control

Appetite regulation experienced a turning point in the mid-1990s when scientists discovered the important properties of the hormone leptin. These are built on a negative feedback loop between the need to eat and the taste of food. The main regulator of its production is adipose tissue. But appetite control is not as simple as it might seem. It involves a number of factors such as the interaction of many hormones, the gastrointestinal tract or the functions of the autonomic and central nervous systems.

Of particular importance is the hypothalamus, which is the most important regulatory organ of human hunger. This is where the neurons come in to adjust the process and make predictions. The hypothalamus controls somatic processes and uses the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system to make use of call signals. Thyroxine regulates the metabolic rate and stimulates the thyroid gland. Hunger is also controlled by opioid receptors or the pituitary gland. Adipose tissue produces the important hormones cholecystokinin, orexin, leptin, ghrelin and PYY3.36, which enable the hypothalamus to respond with sensitivity to external stimuli.

Energy balance is important for maintaining a proper metabolism. It is the ratio between energy expenditure and energy intake. The ingested energy replaces the consumed energy stores or is directly converted into the energy the body needs to function. The energy balance is balanced if energy intake equals energy consumption. Psychogenic eating is also a problem, but it is not an empty stomach that is to blame, but the brain. Current emotions affect the hypothalamus, which is used to control emotions or hunger. Extremely important hormones are found in the hypothalamus. If the hormonal balance is disturbed, it exacerbates the need to overeat.

Eating disorders

Eating disorders can take many forms. These are mental illnesses that can affect people of different genders, walks of life or ages. However, it most often appears in girls at puberty, when they have to deal with more social pressure. However, its duration is individual. The causes can be divided into psychological and biological. They do not only affect the psyche, they also have a negative impact on the physical side. Physical problems include loss of menstruation, tooth decay, thinning bones, low blood pressure, bruising, fertility problems and even heart failure.

Anorexia

Probably the most well-known eating disorder is anorexia. It manifests itself in the refusal of food. It most often appears at puberty; girls of this age are especially at risk. That is when they lose a realistic view of their character and struggle to live up to society’s expectations. The trigger can also be a negative life situation where they have a strong urge to lose weight. Anorexics are not only trying to shed pounds, they also want to increase their energy expenditure, for example by excessive exercise, often causing diarrhea or leading to gagging. A genetic link may also be the cause. Symptoms of anorexia are a person’s dissatisfaction with themselves, refusal to eat, excessive exercise and weight loss, vomiting or diarrhea. If we do not curb them, various health defects can occur. 

Bulimia

Bulimia is also a mental eating disorder. Similarly to anorexia, fear of excess weight and dissatisfaction with one’s body are the reasons for the outbreak. However, starvation does not occur here, bulimics tend to overeat. However, overeating (often binge eating) brings on the remorse of succumbing to food again, so they take slimming agents, laxatives and induce gagging. Mental bulimia is most common in girls aged 13 to 18 years. Causes of bulimia may include emotional instability, socio-cultural factors, psychological trauma, low self-esteem or genetic predisposition.

We recognize bulimia in a patient thanks to several clues. After eating, he/she goes to the toilet. He/she is not very often hungry and refuses to eat with friends and family. The person is unfocused and irritable, losing interest in what he/she used to enjoy (apart from weight loss activities). School or work performance worsens and rapid mood swings occur. Treatment is often dealt with on an outpatient basis, sometimes even hospitalization is necessary. What is needed is a change in our relationship with food, a change in our habits and priorities, or a change in our relationship with our bodies. Various natural preparations containing CBD, for example, are also beneficial.

Obesity

Obesity is a chronic disease that affects more than half of the world’s population. Being overweight is the most common cause of premature death. It is a common cause of serious health problems such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, high blood pressure and joint diseases. It can also cause psychological or social problems. For example, patients experience depression, reduced self-confidence, self-loathing, or problems with employment. Being overweight is caused by an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure.

Most frequent questions about CBD

Appetite factors

The causes behind appetite change can vary. We can mention viruses and bacteria. Their presence (fungal, bacterial, viral and other infections) in the body leads to lack of appetite, which disappears after treatment. Much more common are psychological factors. Older people lose their appetite with age, mainly due to anxiety, depression or sadness from loneliness. Stress, fear or even boredom are to be sought behind a lack of appetite. As we mentioned above, the reason may also be the desire for comfort and an ideal body. Biological factors are mainly observed in infants, but they are gradually shaped and changed. Education about good dietary intake, habits or different impulses that can positively or negatively influence eating is important.

Malnutrition

People who do not ingest enough food or cannot use it to its full potential can suffer very unpleasant health problems. Malnutrition is the cause, which, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), affects 224 million children worldwide. Malnutrition is due to a lack of minerals, vitamins and other essential nutrients. The priority is not only an insufficient quantity of food, but also the quality or variety of the food. But malnutrition is also occurring in the developed world. This can be due to an eating disorder. It appears, for example, in adolescents who are strongly influenced by social pressure. The reasons for this condition are often psychological, for example, stress, burnout or even excessive manipulation of your health and unsatisfactory diets. We can beat this condition by adjusting our eating habits and starting processes that will make us like ourselves as people and to be satisfied with certain defects of our body, especially our weight.

How to distinguish hunger from appetite

It is not easy to distinguish emotional hunger from physical hunger. Focus on what your body is asking for. The trigger for overeating or uncontrollable appetite is often stress or a hectic lifestyle. This is when we do not have a sufficiently varied diet, our eating is not regular and we do not feel full enough. Half the day we starve to catch up with everything that is required of us, then we overeat. When we feel nutritionally satisfied and full enough, we do not have to listen to the body’s signals that make us snack. However, promotion and education are important in this respect, as many people do not have enough information about why they often have the urge to eat all the time.

A common reason is poor intake of the right fluids. If you feel hungry, try drinking plain water first. Drinking thoroughly is extremely important for feeling full. Be very careful with alcohol, it dehydrates the body and only provides empty calories. You will reach for alcohol sooner after junk food. Increased consumption of simple sugars can also be a problem. The ratio of sugars, fats and proteins should be 40:30:30. Look for foods with carbohydrates or protein to replenish your energy. But not all foods labelled sugar-free will give you the desired effect, and this is also true of fat. Low-calorie foods have poor satiety, they should not be a mainstay of your diet. Opt for fresh fruit and vegetables to get enough fiber into your body, which is important for regulating hunger. In the stomach, it increases the volume of food, aids digestion and protects the intestines from toxins.

What to do about appetite?

Eating disorders can be treated in other ways than outpatient or even inpatient treatment. What is the solution against excessive appetite or, on the contrary, starvation syndrome and the urge to lose a few pounds without unnecessary negative health consequences? Try CBD oil for weight loss. This substance responds to chemical processes that control our weight. However, experience with CBD for weight loss has demonstrated a number of more specific positive effects.

• Supports the proper functioning of hormones
• Combats anxiety and stress
• Reduces insulin resistance
• Promotes the burning of fats and sugars for energy (mitochondrial function)
• Helps eliminate chronic inflammation in obesity
• Restricts eating habits and reduces appetite

According to scientific studies, CBD interacts with CB1 and CB2 receptors in the brain and lymph nodes. They play an important role in food intake and metabolism, which helps us lose weight. Moreover, this substance can change white fat in the body into a brown form, which is responsible for generating heat by burning calories. White fat is responsible for supplying and storing energy and is often associated with chronic diseases. We have an excess of this fat in diabetes, for example.