CBD oil for weight loss: Is it Safe?

CBD has been touted as a wonder substance responsible for treating numerous health and wellness problems. You’ll hear story after story of individuals using CBD oil to soothe their pain, treat their anxiety, and help them sleep at night.

But what about weight loss? Is it a safe and effective method for shedding that stubborn body fat? Science says that it might be, and there are no indicators as of yet that it’s a harmful substance to use.

What Is CBD?
CBD is a cannabis product, but it does not have any psychoactive properties. It’s just one of 100 compounds that can be extracted from the hemp plant, and when it’s sold legally online throughout the United States, it can’t contain more than 0.3 percent THC. THC is the component in cannabis products that makes the user high. With no or low amounts of THC, you don’t have to worry about losing your mental clarity.

CBD has been associated with treating many mental and physical health ailments including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, skin conditions, aches and pains, inflammation, and even cancer. Some individuals are so impressed with CBD that they replace prescription medications with it!

Without a lot of clinical evidence to support CBD’s use in the body, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how it works. However, it’s believed that it interacts with your body’s endocannabinoid system. Your body produces cannabinoids and endocannabinoids naturally, and they’re part of a large ecosystem that helps to regulate immune responses and hormones.

When you take CBD, it increases your cannabinoid count helping the endocannabinoid system reach a state of regularity. It’s believed that this is a simple homeopathic method of treating ailments that the endocannabinoid system may interact with.

Does It Work for Weight Loss?
There’s some debate about whether or not CBD can make a difference for those trying to lose weight. Because CBD is a relatively new substance that had many restrictions surrounding it (until recently), there’s little research to prove that it does help with weight loss. However, a few preliminary studies and users’ experiences indicate that it could be an effective aid for weight loss.

For example, a study on animals found that CBD may boost metabolism and reduce the amount of food eaten during the day. It’s believed that the effect on CB1 and CB2 receptors in the brain. It could affect lymphoid tissue in the brain, which might regulate metabolic responses. Lymphoid tissues might also affect food intake levels for individuals.

Another study looked at the way CBD injections effected rats. Rats that were injected with high levels of CBD had pronounced weight loss at the end of the study. Researchers believe that the injection of CBD rather than the oral distribution of CBD impacted the effectiveness of CBD in this case.

More promising research is found in the use of marijuana. Though CBD and marijuana are not thought to be the same class of drugs given the other components that are found in marijuana, there are some similarities between the two substances. Plus, marijuana has far more research to support it than CBD. One study on marijuana and weight loss looked at 50,000 participants who used cannabis at least three times per week reported an obesity rate of 14-17 percent.

The Yucatan Times
Health & Wellness