I have been practicing medicine for over 38 years and have most certainly seen the “comings and goings” of over-hyped supplements that purport to be “Cure-Alls” for many diseases, illnesses and maladies. Most recently, you cannot drive by a 7-Eleven Store, Vape shops and other retail stores that prominently advertise CBD products.
CBD (Cannabidiol) is one of the many chemicals produced by the marijuana plant (cannabis sativa) and the hemp plant. There has been a recently discovered “endocannabinoid system” that plays a regulatory role in a number of body functions. There are endocannabinoid receptors in the brain (ECBD-1) and rest of the organs (ECBD-2).
A number of studies demonstrate improvement of pain syndromes, sleep, anxiety, depression and GI function via the use of CBD. One of the major issues occurring right now however is the potential that many of the products selling as “CBD” may have far less of the active ingredients than are purported to be on the bottle labels.
One of the clinical benefits touted among the myriad of beneficial effects of CBD has been “weight loss”. The mechanisms of action of CBD for weight loss include the potential lowering of appetite as well as the changing of “white fat” (the “bad fat”) into “brown fat” (the good fat”.
No, wait a minute…for those of you out there that listened to Led Zeppelin while smoking a joint, wasn’t an increase in appetite (aka “The Munchies”) associated with using marijuana? Well, remember that THC is the component of the marijuana plant that produces the “high” and increases appetite whereas CBD is an entirely different chemical. There are some animal studies that show a reduction in appetite in rats given CBD but to date, there have not been much in terms of human data.
Concerning the transition of fat to the higher caloric burn-off fat (brown fat), this also has limited scientific documentation.
The bottom line for the use of CBD in the weight control arena: I see nothing in the literature to show that CBD negatively impacts on weight control but I am sure not seeing anything to show that CBD will be very helpful in your efforts. Save the $$$ and buy some more protein for the upcoming week.
