Each year, diabetes affects millions of people and families around the world.
According to the World Health Organization, the condition affects up to 8.5 million people, a number which has risen from 4.7 million in 1980.
In the U.S. alone, an estimated 9.4 percent of the population has diabetes.
Treated with insulin injections and monitored by daily finger pricks, it’s no surprise that both patients and researchers are looking into new diabetes aids.
You might be surprised to learn that a growing body of evidence suggests that medical cannabis may have a role to play in diabetes care.
Without further ado, here are 9 facts you never knew about cannabis and diabetes:
A 2013 study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that cannabis consumers had 16 percent lower fasting insulin levels than non-consumers.
The study looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2010, which included 4,657 men and women.
579 of the individuals currently consumed cannabis. 1,975 were past consumers.
As luck would have it (or science rather), these cannabis consumers scored better on fasting insulin tests.
High levels of fasting insulin in the blood is a hallmark sign of type 2 diabetes.
Though, other lifestyle and environmental factors may also contribute to these results.
One of the reasons type 2 diabetes progresses is because receptors on fat cells become increasingly resistant to insulin.
Insulin is the hormone that shuttles glucose (blood sugar) into fat cells for storage.
The same 2013 study discovered that cannabis consumers had 17 percent lower HOMA-IR, which is a test for insulin resistance.
This means that, for some reason, those in the cannabis-consuming group showed reduced markers for diabetes.
Last but not least, the American Journal of Medicine study found that cannabis consumers also had smaller waist circumferences than non-consumers.
This is important because overall waist circumference is used as a marker of diabetes.
This is the third correlation between cannabis consumption and reduced diabetes risks.
Here is another interesting insight into cannabis and diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system begins to attack the pancreas.
A review paper published in Future Medical Chemistry cites evidence that treatment with isolated cannabis compounds reduced the inflammation and destruction of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas of rodent models.
Thus, cannabis compounds may be useful in autoimmune diabetes.
In 2012, researchers crunched data on the diabetes risks of cannabis-consuming adults. The results, published in the British Medical Journal, found that cannabis consumers had lower risks of diabetes.
The study also found that type 2 diabetes was less prevalent in those who had consumed cannabis.
You may not know this, but cannabis-based drugs have already been studied in diabetes patients.
A phase 2 clinical trial of a pharmaceutical containing cannabis compounds was tested by GW Pharmaceuticals, a British biopharmaceutical company.
The trial contained 62 patients with type 2 diabetes.
Unfortunately, the trial ultimately did not reach the desired results.
Yet, the patients did see improvements in fasting insulin levels, blood glucose levels, and insulin response.
One of the cannabis cannabinoids included in the pharmaceutical drug was tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV).
THCV is a lesser-known cannabinoid abundant in some of the tropical and African cannabis varieties.
Rodent research published in 2013 discovered that treatment with THCV had a dose-dependent response on blood glucose.
The more THCV, the less glucose. It also improved insulin sensitivity in the rodents.
Cannabidiol (CBD) was the second cannabis compound tested in GW’s pharmaceutical drug.
Fortunately, CBD is much easier to find.
In rodent studies, CBD has been found to promote weight loss and suppress appetite.
This is important, as obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
Now, this finding might just be the most bizarre.
2015 research published in PLOS ONE has discovered that cannabis compounds may promote healthy weight by changing the populations of microbes in the gut.
As it turns out, THC treatment in obese mice transformed gut microbial communities into ones that more similarly resembled lean mice.
Other studies have found that taking microbes from obese mice and giving them to antibiotic-treated mice caused the latter to gain weight.
When antibiotic-treated mice were given microbes from lean mice, the former remained lean.
– This article was originally posted at Green Flower
About HempWire
HempWire (HW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) HempNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, HW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. HW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, HW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. HW is where news, content and information converge.
To receive instant SMS alerts, text HEMPWIRE to 21000 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only)
For more information please visit https://www.hempwire.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the HempWire website applicable to all content provided by HW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.hempwire.com/disclaimer/
Do you have a questions or are you interested in working with HW? Ask our Editor
HempWire (HW)
Denver, Colorado
www.hempwire.com
303.498.7722 Office
Editor@HempWire.net
This article contains Third-Party Content submitted by third parties, including articles submitted through the HW Premium Partnership Program. All opinions, statements and representations expressed by such third parties are theirs alone and do not express or represent the views and opinions of HW or its affiliates and owners. Content created by third parties is the sole responsibility of such third parties, and HW does not endorse, guarantee or make representations concerning the accuracy and completeness of all third-party content. You acknowledge that by HW providing you with this internet portal that makes accessible to you the ability to view third-party content through the HW site, HW does not undertake any obligation to you as a reader of such content or assume any liability relating to such third-party content. HW expressly disclaims liability relating to such third-party content. HW and its members, affiliates, successors, assigns, officers, directors, and partners assume no responsibility or liability that may arise from the third-party content, including, but not limited to, responsibility or liability for claims for defamation, libel, slander, infringement, invasion of privacy and publicity rights, fraud, or misrepresentation, or an private right of action under the federal securities laws of the United States or common law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, HW reserves the right to remove third-party content at any time in its sole discretion.
Legislators in states across the country are working towards strictly regulating and/or banning intoxicating hemp…
A proposal introduced by Sen. Colleen Burton that would ban delta-8 THC hemp products is…
California recently extended a ban on intoxicating hemp products with THC that was set to…
A new poll has determined that frequent consumers of marijuana like using delivery platforms to…
The demand for plant-based proteins has increased in the last couple of years as consumer…
The CBD market in the United Kingdom has grown since the compound’s extracts were designated…