Why Does Weed Make You Hungry?

Cannabis users are no strangers to the munchies, the strange phenomenon that seems to override your appetite control. It is a mystery to most why consuming marijuana affects your feeding behavior, and the answer to it can be found in science.

If you are a regular cannabis user who has experienced the munchies or are just in a cannabis-induced rabbit hole, then you might want to know why you have an increased appetite. So, why does weed make you hungry? Well, it turns out it can be a little technical.

There is a scientific basis behind why weed will give you munchies. First, we need to look at the various cannabinoid receptors in your body and how they work with your brain’s olfactory bulb.

Keep reading to learn more about how THC makes you hungry through innovative infiltration and why it is so difficult to avoid additional food intake.

The normal signs of hunger

Your brain is responsible for controlling the hormones that control the signals for you to eat. This process starts in the region of the brain called the hypothalamus, which regulates all 5 of your senses. Just merely thinking about eating food is enough to trigger the transmitters inside your brain to start firing.

The neurotransmitters in your brain are only able to do two things: stimulate appetite and suppress it. These two transmitters make you feel hungry and full.

That’s only half the process, though, as the energy balance also needs to be controlled. Hormones are introduced after the eating process, as your food is breaking down. The idea is to tell you that you need to keep eating more fuel or that you’ve had enough and you can stop.

These hormones are released as the body breaks down the following:

• Fat will break down into fatty acids
• Protein breaks down into amino acids
• Carbohydrates will turn into sugars

Two hormones are produced during the digestive process: leptin and ghrelin. These hormones will travel around the bloodstream and interact with different neurons that are in your brain, specifically the hypothalamus.

As your body gets full, it increases leptin levels to stimulate the hunger-reducing neuron found in the brain. It gets hungry again as your blood sugar drops, and it will release more Ghrelin into your system, which stimulates the hunger neuron. So, you are prompted to eat again.

Why does THC make you hungry?

The simplest way to explain it is that THC binds to the specific CB1 receptor in your body, which is directly tied to how food tastes and smells. It effectively tricks our bodies into thinking it is hungry using the olfactory bulb, located by the hypothalamus in the olfactory region.

Our body has an endocannabinoid system and it is riddled with cannabinoid receptors tied to various functions they perform. THC interacts with all of the various receptors in your body including some that are directly tied to when your body is hungry or not.

A study done on fasted mice suggested that the mice who had consumed cannabis were more attracted to the smelly food than those who hadn’t had any weed. It was determined that when the body was hungry, olfactory bulbs started to produce endocannabinoids. The same experiment was conducted with mice that were engineered with no endocannabinoid system and their hunger did not increase.

This means that their native hunger signals were the same as the signals that the THC was producing in the body with the cannabinoid receptors. Hunger can be augmented and increased by consuming cannabis since the body naturally produces chemicals to increase appetite signals.

So, while THC doesn’t necessarily make you hungry, it still stimulates the part of your brain that controls it and increases the positive feelings you get when you have munchies. Think of it as a compounding effect between a chemical reaction and the reward center of your brain firing from the positive stimulation from the food.

The other part of the equation is that THC also affects our body’s ability to tell us we’re full. THC suppresses the chemical signals to your brain telling you that you shouldn’t eat anymore. This is dangerous as not only does THC make everything taste and smell better, but it also doesn’t tell you when you’re full.

Can you manage your weight by smoking weed?

The increased appetite effect that THC produces can be used to help gain weight. In fact, many cancer patients are prescribed medical marijuana for appetite issues from chemotherapy. Synthetic medications have a harsh toll on the body and marijuana use helps in promoting hunger. This is crucial for gaining back the much-needed weight to help make them healthy again.

You might think that the increased appetite stimulation is connected to weight gain issues if not kept in check, but you’d be surprised. This study shows that there is an inverse connection between cannabis consumption and weight gain.

The interesting thing is that other research showed that the obesity rate was generally lower in those who smoke cannabis. This is because it helps regulate insulin levels, which directly affects your blood sugar levels, or how hungry you are.

Not everyone wants to finish a bag of chips during their session and that’s okay, these aren’t the old college days. Here are some weed strains that don’t make you hungry with terpenes such as limonene and humulene to help put the hunger to rest.

What to eat when the munchies strike?

If you’ve smoked weed long enough, you have felt the grip of a junk food snack attack, that inclination to not stop eating. Everyone will get the munchies sometime so it’s best to prepare for these events rather than binge on something that may not be good for you.

Looking for ideas on healthy snacks? Making food is the best option since you can always make more food if needed. Here are some tips for your next session that won’t bog you down.

Plan for sweet and salty cravings – Trail mix is a great snack to keep on hand as it combines different textures and flavors without being heavily processed. A lot of people will consume nuts as they are full of fatty acids and protein to fill you up.

Make some light meals – Create your own session meals using filling foods like rice, beans, and meat. Taco salads or wraps are great finger foods that you can make on the fly with existing ingredients.

Stay away from junk food – These kinds of foods will keep you hungry as they provide no nutrition or substantial calories to fill you up. Fast food places may provide a quick fix and great taste but you’ll be needing more calories shortly after eating.

How to find appetite-stimulant marijuana?

Whether it’s recreational or medical marijuana, pretty much any weed product will promote hunger. Although, some strains are better at it than others. As marijuana continues to evolve and breeders unlock more of its secrets, there will be strains that specifically enhance or take away from this effect.

Everyone reacts differently to cannabis use so it’s hard to pinpoint the exact variety that will stimulate your appetite for you. However, it is unofficially considered among the cannabis community that the couch-lock-inducing heavy Indica weed affects hunger the most.

For a strain that stimulates hunger, you can check out our seeds page and use the filters on the left side to choose what effects you want your cannabis to produce. In fact, you’re able to search our catalog using specific wellness terms that will help you pinpoint the strains that can best address your problems.

Grow your own cannabis with The Seed Fair

Whether you’re looking to grow your own weed for an appetite stimulant or other medical conditions, we have hundreds of strains to choose from. Use our powerful filters to find the perfect strain for your new garden. We give free seeds with your purchase and free shipping on orders over $99, so check out The Seed Fair store. Come join our community of inspired growers to share tips and stories with people who love to grow weed!