A new study has been released showing that cannabis users are often more lean and less likely to get diabetes. Cannabis is often associated with lethargic attitudes and the munchies, but this study has proven this to be false. Those who smoke cannabis frequently are slimmer and healthier than those who do not consume the drug.
Study author Daniele Piomelli is a professor at the University of California. Piomelli is part of the anatomy and neurobiology department and the director of the universities Center for the Study of Cannabis. In the study, Piomelli highlights how they gave adolescent mice low daily doses of THC. When the mice’s metabolism was studied, it showed that those who were given THC in adolescence experienced reduced fat mass and increased lean mass when compared to the control group. The mice were also more resistant to obesity, high blood sugar and were less able to use fuel from fat stores.
The study noted that many of these features studied in the mice were also relative to those humans who frequently use cannabis. “[Cannabis’] main constituent, THC, mimics a group of chemical messengers called endocannabinoids, which regulate important functions throughout the body,” Piomelli explained. “Our results show that interfering with endocannabinoid signaling during adolescence disrupts adipose organ function in a permanent way, with potentially far-reaching consequences on physical and mental health.”
Read the whole study from Cell Metabolism here.
Read the whole article here.