Can CBD Oil Help You Lose Weight? That CBD oil has many health-promoting properties is a knowledge that most people are familiar with. On the other hand, it has been seen that CBD oil can help balance the immune system, and have a relieving effect on stress and anxiety. There are also studies that say that CBD oil can relieve various types of pain, including chronic pain.
But what about CBD oil and weight loss? Can CBD oil have a direct or indirect effect, and what evidence is there for that? In this article, we will dive deep into the subject of CBD / weight loss to answer the above questions. Continue reading below for complete information, as well as take a look at our tips on the best CBD oils, CBD capsules and other CBD products for weight loss.
Direct effect of CBD oil in weight loss
To investigate whether CBD oil has a direct effect on weight loss, we have chosen to dig deeper into studies relating to this topic. Unfortunately, there is not as much research on the subject as one would have liked, and therefore it is difficult to give an exact and complete answer. This is what has been concluded in medical studies:
A study from 2017 has studied the side effects of CBD oil when the substance was used to treat ailments. What was concluded was that weight loss was a common “side effect”. Exact reason for the weight loss can not be completely determined, as it may be due to other effects of the CBD oil. For example, decreased appetite leading to decreased food intake, decreased pain leading to a more active lifestyle, balanced hormones leading to a better functioning metabolism, and other factors. (source)
The most direct effect of CBD oil on the body is that it can stimulate the body’s endocannabinoid system, which in turn can have numerous positive effects on the body. Some of these effects can in turn be positive for weight loss.
Indirect effect of CBD oil in weight loss
Let’s take a closer look at the effects CBD can contribute that can indirectly help with weight loss.
Reduce stress and anxiety
Stress is a factor that can have an incredible impact on our weight. Stress in the body can increase cortisol production. When the body is exposed to an increased amount of cortisol hormone for long periods, this can lead to the body starting to store fat around the waist. Therefore, it is easy to gain weight during long periods of stress. Anxiety is also a form of stress and can thus lead to weight gain due to overproduction of cortisol.
In 2019, a study was done on the impact of CBD oil on sleep and stress. After this study, it was found that 79.2% of the test participants felt that their anxiety decreased. With studies like this in mind, it can be assumed that CBD oil helps relieve stress and anxiety and thus helps lower the amount of cortisol in the body. Something that can have a positive effect on weight loss. (Source).
Contribute to better sleep
That enough sleep and good sleep quality is one of the keys to a successful weight loss attempt is probably what most people are familiar with. A person who sleeps poorly will not only have difficulty coping physically, it has also been proven that a night of poor sleep can create increased appetite the next day, which in turn can make it difficult to stick to a lower calorie intake. .
A lot of people struggle with poor sleep. This can mean everything from having difficulty falling asleep, to the quality of sleep being poor and waking up often. The use of traditional medicines for sleep disorders is thus not uncommon, but in many cases these can make it difficult for the user to feel really awake the next day, and can therefore have a negative effect on those who aim to lose weight.
In short, a dose of CBD oil (daily) can sometimes contribute to better sleep, and this in turn can help regulate appetite and provide enough energy to the user to be more physically active.
Better immune system
To stay healthy and fit is a prerequisite for being able to be active and be able to train for increased calorie burning. There are studies that suggest that CBD oil and other CBD products can help strengthen the immune system and fight inflammation. It has not yet been possible to determine the reason for the strengthening effects of CBD oil on the immune system, but it is believed that the anti-inflammatory properties may be due to CBD helping to create more white blood cells in the blood, which can make it easier for the body to fight infections and other who attacks it.
Pain relief
Living with chronic pain can help you move less in everyday life, something that naturally has a negative impact on those who are trying to lose weight. For many people with chronic pain, traditional medicine does not bite. For others, there may be other reasons to avoid traditional medicine – for example, when it can cause addiction.
Studies show that CBD oil can be very effective against chronic pain and users testify to the same. A study from 2018 established that CBD is particularly effective against chronic pain due to inflammation and chronic pain of neurological origin. (Source).
By using CBD products, you can get help in reducing the pain and can therefore challenge the body to more movement than when the pain is fully present, and thus contribute to increased calorie burning and weight loss.
Reduce appetite
There are no complete studies that prove it. The lack of studies is often occurring for CBD, not because the interest is lacking or because the substance has no effect, but because CBD was in the shadow of THC. Unlike THC, which often has an appetite-stimulating effect, many people who use CBD oil testify that they experience an appetite-suppressing effect.
White fat becomes brown fat
Studies have shown that CBD can be helpful in the process of converting white fat to brown fat. Does the type of matter?
Large amounts of white fat have been shown to increase the risk of various cardiovascular diseases, as well as stroke. It has also been seen that white fat can cause insulin resistance, which makes it more difficult to lose weight. Brown fat, on the other hand, is useful fat that, among other things, helps us stay warm, by forming protein. This means that brown fat cells can help us maintain weight. Further studies are required in the subject. (source).
Act against insulin resistance
As we mentioned above, an important property of CBD is that it can help counteract insulin resistance. Insulin resistance simply means that the cells’ ability to respond to insulin is impaired and this in turn means that the uptake of glucose is negatively affected. You can read more about this in this article. A study conducted in 2018 found that cannabinoids such as CBD, CBD and THC can help cells absorb glucose, which can counteract insulin resistance. A study has also shown that users of marijuana (which also contains CBD) had a 17% reduction in insulin resistance. (source).
So, does CBD oil work for weight loss?
Of course, we understand that it may sound too good to be true. CBD occurs in many different contexts and is considered by many to be a substance that can help with a variety of physical and mental ailments. But how can CBD be so good for so much, and can CBD really help people lose weight?
In fact, there is no concrete evidence that CBD really helps in weight loss. Some studies suggest that this is the case, for example the study on white and brown fat. We have used CBD oil ourselves during periods when we wanted to lose weight, but whether it is due to CBD or not that we have lost weight, it is difficult to determine.
Many people have testified that CBD has helped them sleep better, reduce stress and anxiety, amongst other things. If the weight loss is then a result of us feeling better in general and therefore have the strength to make better choices when it comes to exercise and diet. Or whether it is a direct effect of our intake of CBD oil is impossible to say – but this is not as important, really, as long as the result is there, and it is.
So with that said, CBD oil may be effective for weight loss, but how CBD oil works to provide this effect is still too early to establish.
Why is there a lack of research on CBD oil and weight loss?
Of course, it would be best if there was enough research on the subject of CBD and weight loss to determine whether CBD has a direct effect on weight or not, but there is still a lack of such research.
The lack of research on CBD oil is nothing new. CBD oil has gained an undeserved reputation due to the fact that it comes from the cannabis plant that is also known for the intoxicating and drug-classified substance THC. This has led to fewer studies on the subject. It is also common to do studies where you do not separate THC and CBD, then it simply becomes difficult to determine which substance is responsible for what.
The right dose of CBD oil for weight loss
So how do you get the best effect from CBD oil when you want to lose weight? Our advice is to simply follow the recommendations given by the producer. As always, it may be advisable to use a lower dose of CBD oil to begin with, and then work up the dose according to the instructions.
It is best to start with a CBD oil that contains about 5-10% CBD. The recommended dose is usually 3-5 drops 3 times a day, but it is good to start with a few drops at a time. Starting with a lower dose makes it easier to avoid the mild side effects (nausea, headache and diarrhea) that can occur in the beginning.
Summary
It is still too early to say that intake of CBD leads to weight loss, but what we can establish is that there are many indications of this. If nothing else, it can be said that CBD oil can help give people a generally better mood that can promote lifestyle changes that in turn can help those who use CBD succeed with their weight loss.
