Marijuana may help weight loss, studies find

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Two studies have found another benefit from marijuana: it aids in weight loss. Everyone knows that one side effect of smoking marijuana is the munchies, which had lead people to assume that the weed users are fat.

However, two studies have proven otherwise. In a study published in the journal "Endocrinology," researchers discovered that a mix of Vitamin A and cannabis constituents can actually help eliminate lipids or fats in the body.

Dr. Yann Gilbert, one of the researchers of the study, said: "The results of our study show, for the first time, that particular compounds in cannabis and vitamin A can work together to reduce the deposit of lipids."

"This finding opens up exciting opportunities to potentially treat obesity without the need for invasive surgery," said Dr. Gilbert, excitedly.

Leafly explains that the vitamin and cannabis work together hand in hand. Vitamin A stimulates the body's retinoic acid pathway, while activating the endocannabinoid system with cannabis.

When the researchers tested the mix in humans and chubby zebra-fish, they found that it successfully decreased the amount of fat deposits in cells. In addition, the cannabis in the mixture was not detected in the brain of the participants, as long as the dosages of cannabis constituents were low.

In another study, published in "The American Journal of Medicine," researchers analyzed the effects of marijuana on insulin levels and body mass index (BMI), reports Fox Business. The investigators initially hypothesized that avid marijuana users would have higher BMI's and higher fasting insulin levels, due to the munchies users usually get.

To the surprise of the researchers, however, cannabis users had a lower BMI of 26.8 compared to the BMI of 28.6 seen in non-users, after accounting for certain factors like age and gender. Even more surprising was the fact that users were found to have lower fasting insulin levels as well as lower HOMA-IR, which is how insulin resistance is measured.

Due to the data collected, the researchers believe that marijuana can actually help control type 2 diabetes.

For the study published in "Endocrinology," the researchers believe it will take five years or so before the vitamin A and cannabis mixture is made available to the public.

As for the other study, Fox Business predicts that a lot of work still needs to be done before marijuana is used to treat type 2 diabetes. There are still certain financial and legal challenges to overcome before a marijuana-based medicine is released to treat diabetes.