- Marijuana regulates blood sugar levels and could fight diabetes
Many preclinical studies have indicated that cannabinoids are inversely correlated with diabetes, as you can modify the disease progression and provide symptomatic relief to those who suffer. Somehow it seems paradoxical, because cannabis has always been associated with the need to eat sweets or treats. Nevertheless, the data analysis showed a lower rate of obesity and diabetes among those who consume cannabis.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School evaluated the relationship between marijuana and fasting insulin, glucose and insulin resistance in a sample of 4,657 male subjects. They came to a conclusion: “Subjects who reported using marijuana in the last month had lower levels of fasting insulin and lower waist circumference and higher levels of HDL-C (or” good “cholesterol) “. More recently researchers evaluated the patterns of cannabis use and body mass index (BMI) in a tribe of 786 Inuit (aboriginal Arctic), reaching the same results.
Implications:
These findings show a link between cannabis use and diabetic markers. And besides, they are based on data from previous population show that people who use cannabis are less likely to be obese compared to those who do not.
All this goes to show that marijuana helps control the effect of blood sugar. Apparently, this beneficial effect could be related to improving the activity of the hormone adiponectin, which is responsible for modulating various metabolic processes, including the regulation of glucose is.
- The marijuana helps treat PTSD
It is estimated that one in ten Americans suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental disorder in response to a traumatic event whose symptoms can include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety. And it is believed that the endocannabinoid system plays a fundamental role in these disorders.
Researchers theorize that cannabis can dampen the strength or emotional impact of traumatic memories making it easier for patients to sleep, relax, feel less anxious and suffer less flashback memories. Evidence increasingly points to that cannabinoids could play an important role in fear extinction thanks to its antidepressant effects.
Implications:
The therapeutic use of marijuana has proven very beneficial to treat symptoms and pathologies recurrent among veterans. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs US agency responsible for protecting the rights of its more than 22 million veterans, were banned until just a month ago prescribe such treatment. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has led to the suicide of some 8,000 of them a year; 22 people losing their lives daily for this reason, according to a shocking estimates of the department itself.