Why Does Weed Make You Hungry?

By Author: Dwayne Smith
Total Articles: 12
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If you just ate an edible or smoked some marijuana, it will not take long before you find yourself eating practically any food you can get your hands on. The good news is you are not alone in this. One of the most common effects of weed is a spike in appetite, more popularly known as the munchies. Why do we get so hungry after consuming cannabis? Read on and find out.

What Triggers Hunger?

The mechanisms that cause the body to trigger a sense of hunger is not yet fully understood, but research has shown that hunger is a process that consists of two parts. This changes depending on whether the body sees a decrease or excess of energy stores.

If there is a deficit, the gastrointestinal tract will release the hormone ghrelin that stimulates the brain to increase your sensation of hunger. It also aids the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. In an excess, the fat cells of the body release the hormone leptin that inhibits hunger. The hormone also counteracts the effects of the molecule anandamide that binds to the same receptors as THC.

THC and the Munchies

THC is a cannabinoid found ...
... in cannabis that is best known for giving that high feeling. So the less leptin the body produces, the hungrier you are. THC targets the olfactory bulbs of the brain and heighten your sense of smell, taste and appetite. It flips a switch in the hypothalamus, relaying information that you are hungry even when you are full. It is similar to pressing the brakes of a car, but you are accelerating instead.

When you are high, you have an increased ability to smell which makes food taste better. When chewing, air is forced through the nasal passages. The scent of the food is carried, allowing you to grasp complex flavors. And because the body things you are starving, it will look for high-calorie foods to boost your energy. THC also increases hunger by acting on the CB1 receptors. It enhances the taste of sucrose but has no effect on salty or bitter items. This is why you go with junk food high in sugar.

Weed as an Appetite Stimulant

Recently, people have started to use cannabis to increase appetite. Medical conditions like wasting syndrome and anorexia have become qualifying conditions for medical cannabis use. One study showed it has promising results on cancer patients, with majority of them reporting an increased appreciation of food and a spike in appetite.

Patients with advanced cancer tend to have a wasting syndrome. Aside from suffering from lack of appetite, they also burn through calories faster than usual. Cancer patients becoming hungry and enjoying their food can significantly increase their quality of life.

Munchies for Everyone?

There is no guarantee that using marijuana will increase your appetite. If you have fewer cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids in your brain’s olfactory region than average, there is a chance that you will not feel any hunger after consuming THC. This also does not mean that using weed will lead to weight gain. In fact, studies have shown the opposite effect. Researchers found an inverse cannabis and BMI association.

Basically, regular cannabis users were less likely to have any issues with weight gain than non-users. Other research has shown that cannabis users consume more calories but have low body fat percentage.

Considering this, does this mean that you can smoke marijuana to your heart’s content and eat anything you like? Surely, no. If you know that you are predisposed to getting the munchies, it would be better to get healthy snack. You might also want to consider trying weed that is high in THCV or CBD.