“(Reuters Health) – People who had used marijuana in the past month had smaller waists and lower levels of insulin resistance – a diabetes precursor – than those who never tried the drug, in a new study.”diabetes
“Researchers based in Boston compared five years’ worth of data from 579 marijuana users and thousands of non-users, LA Weekly reported.
The results come from a comparison of insulin and glucose levels in both groups. Participants that had used pot in the last month had much lower levels of fasting insulin and higher levels of so-called “good” cholesterol HDL-C — which may mean big news for diabetics.
Researchers hypothesize that marijuana could be used to control and manage diabetics’ blood sugar levels.”
“A new study has found that people who had used marijuana in the past month had smaller waists and lower levels of insulin resistance, which is a diabetes precursor, than those who had never tried the drug, according to Reuters.
“These are preliminary findings,” Dr. Murray Mittleman, who worked on the study at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, told Reuters. “It looks like there may be some favorable effects on blood sugar control.”
“Regular marijuana use is associated with favorable indices related to diabetic control, say investigators. They found that current marijuana users had significantly lower fasting insulin and were less likely to be insulin resistant, even after excluding patients with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Their findings are reported in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine.”
More: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=9114798
“Marijuana contains at least 60 known chemicals called cannabinoids, which activate cannabinoid receptors in your body. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main component responsible for the psychoactive effects, or “high,” marijuana is known for. While THC is known to have some medicinal value, there has been recent investigation into a new cannabinoid that is rumored to have more medicinal benefits than any single pharmaceutical drug on the market.”
This cannabinoid is known as Cannabidiol (CBD), and is the second most abundant cannabinoid in cannabis. Research done by G.W. Pharmaceuticals suggests that CBD could be used for treating symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, diabetes, nausea, bowel disorders, and many other hard-to-control side effects. According to an article from Projectcbd.com, CBD has even demonstrated neuroprotective effects, and its anti-cancer potential is currently being explored.
While it was originally believed that THC is a breakdown product of CBD, it is now known that both THC and CBD are actually metabolites of their decarboxylated acidic forms, THCa and CBDa. These acidic precursors are decarboxylated (essentially dried) by heat or extraction to produce THC and CBD; only then do they become psychoactive. The compound has medicinal benefits without the “high” that some patients do not desire. This makes CBD appealing to patients who are looking for an alternative to their current meds, which often have opiate-like effects.”
More: http://www.medicaljane.com/2012/12/20/cannabidiol-cbd-medicine-of-the-future/
“The Cannabinoid System’s (CS) role in reversing dementia, treating PTSD and controlling diabetes highlight May’s cannabis news from Publius, the pen name used by the authors of The Cannabis Papers: A citizen’s guide to cannabinoids (2011).”
More: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10787154.htm
“The term ‘endocannabinoid’ – originally coined in the mid-1990s after the discovery of membrane receptors for the psychoactive principle in Cannabis, Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and their endogenous ligands – now indicates a whole signalling system that comprises cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands and enzymes for ligand biosynthesis and inactivation. This system seems to be involved in an ever-increasing number of pathological conditions. With novel products already being aimed at the pharmaceutical market little more than a decade since the discovery of cannabinoid receptors, the endocannabinoid system seems to hold even more promise for the future development of therapeutic drugs. We explore the conditions under which the potential of targeting the endocannabinoid system might be realized in the years to come.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15340387
“The endocannabinoid system is a physiological system, which is responsible for the control of glucose and lipid-metabolism, as well as for the regulation of the body weight.
The endocannabinoid receptors are distributed both in the central and peripher nervous system.
Different studies provide evidence that an hyperactive endocannabinoid system is involved in the development of different cardiovascular risk factors.
The pharmacological blockade of these cannabinoid receptors may represent a new approach for cardiometabolic risk management.””
“Toking up may help marijuana users to stay slim and lower their risk of developing diabetes, according to the latest study, which suggests that cannabis compounds may help in controlling blood sugar.”
“Although marijuana has a well-deserved reputation for increasing appetite via what stoners call “the munchies,” the new research, which was published in the American Journal of Medicine, is not the first to find that the drug has a two-faced relationship to weight.
Three prior studies have shown that marijuana users are less likely to be obese, have a lower risk for diabetes and have lower body-mass-index measurements. And these trends occurred despite the fact that they seemed to take in more calories. Why?”
Read more:http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/23/health/time-marijuana-diabetes/index.html
“A new study published in the American Journal of Medicine has revealed a potential benefit from the use of cannabis. The article, entitled “The Impact of Marijuana Use on Glucose, Insulin, and Insulin Resistance among U.S. Adults,” investigated the blood sugar-related effects of cannabis use among participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2010.”.jpg?ve=1)
“The researchers found that subjects who were current cannabis users had lower levels of fasting insulin, lower levels of insulin resistance, smaller waist circumference, and higher levels of HDL cholesterol, which is known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This supported findings from earlier studies in which cannabis users showed improved weight, improved insulin resistance, and reduced incidence of diabetes, as compared with non-users.”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/22/cannabis-use-associated-with-lower-blood-sugar/