Diet and exercise certainly top the list of time-tested weight loss strategies, but CBD (cannabidiol) offers a glimpse into the added potential of a more nuanced approach.
It’s no miracle weight loss “pill” (or tincture, or gummy), but through various mechanisms involving inflammation and insulin regulation, appetite suppression, and more, CBD may supplement your diet and exercise efforts for improved weight loss results.
Here’s how the hemp-based compound has been shown to improve weight loss, starting with the all-important issue of inflammation.
CBD May Prevent Obesity by Targeting Inflammation
As defined by this academic article published in Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases, “metabolic syndrome” is “an important cluster of risk factors for atherosclerotic disease [including] abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.”
Simplified, the authors are saying that people with obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure are more likely to experience atherosclerosis, a heart disease characterized by hardened and narrowed blood vessels (caused by fat build-up).
The article goes on to examine the close correlation between inflammation and this symptom profile, which has been solidly established in many other findings.
Speaking of well-researched connections, one of the most clearly delineated benefits of CBD is its ability to fight inflammation.
As such, keeping inflammation down with the help of CBD may help prevent metabolic syndrome, including abdominal obesity.
If you’re targeting inflammation specifically, you can find plenty of CBD products that are fortified with additional herbal ingredients and/or cannabinoids for increased anti-inflammatory power using our CBD Shop Near Me page.
CBD May Reduce Fasting Insulin
In response to sugar consumption, the pancreas releases insulin, a hormone that helps utilize the sugar in our blood by transporting into our cells and/or signaling the body to convert it to fat so it doesn’t stay parked in the bloodstream and wreak havoc (heart disease, diabetes, the whole nine yards).
Eating too much sugar will initially cause fasting insulin levels to rise, and since higher insulin levels make it significantly harder to lose weight – remember, it signals the body to convert sugar to fat – then curbing fasting insulin is an excellent target for weight loss.
According to this 4,700-participant clinical study published inThe American Journal of Medicine, CBD and marijuana decreased fasting insulin levels among the participants (who all had metabolic disease) by a statistically significant 17 percent.
CBD (Without THC) As an Appetite Suppressant
Yes, “the munchies” is a real phenomenon founded in evidence, but it’s largely attributed to delta-9 THC, an intoxicating cousin of CBD.
As long as you’re avoiding a full-spectrum hemp product (or, obviously, high-THC cannabis), CBD by itself actually suppresses hunger.
This makes sense when you further explore the antagonistic relationship between CBD and THC, because whatever THC does to the CB1 receptor, CBD tends to partially or fully reverse.
How CBD Optimizes Fat Cells for Weight Loss
Interestingly, this finding from Daegu University in South Korea suggests that CBD has the ability to “brown white adipocytes,” meaning it can turn white fat cells into brown fat cells.
“Big whoop,” you might be thinking, but this change is actually crucial to weight loss, as encouraging this activation of the “brown-like phenotype” just may increase the calorie-burning ability of fat tissue. Check this calorie calculator for a better starting point view.
The connection is still being explored, but the evidence is continuing to pile up in favor of both connections (CBD to brown fat conversion and brown fat cells to increased weight loss).
Increasing Your Activity Level With CBD
Though throwing in an indirect connection between CBD and weight loss would normally seem more trivial, in the post-COVID era especially, declining activity level is just about as prolific as the pandemic itself.
This is why we advocate not only for CBD, a hemp-born compound that can relieve inflammation and tissue discomfort on its own, but full-spectrum hemp products that recruit cannabigerol (CBG), cannabinol (CBN), and other compounds to enhance these effects.
For many, CBD is the difference between staying on the couch in pain or getting that daily exercise in, making it the perfect pairing for a healthy diet and exercise routine.