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in collaboration with
Raphaël Gruman (nutritionist)
Medical validation:
April 27, 2023
After smoking cannabis, it is common to crave a burger or good fries. A completely normal “craving” according to a new study, which showed that worms had the same reaction as humans in this context.
Craving fat after smoking is not a myth. It is now a scientifically proven fact, published in the journal Nature. And for good reason: cannabis would interfere with the mechanism that helps regulate appetite.
The worms pounced on the bacteria with high nutritional value
In this study, worms of the species Caenorhabditis elegans were exposed to cannabinoid molecules.
Specifically, the researchers immersed these worms in a solution”anandamide endocannabinoidbefore placing them in a maze, containing two food options.
First observation? Worms exposed to cannabis developed a greater appetite.
Then, in the maze, they showed a clear preference for bacteria”with high nutritional value“, compared to those that were less so. The worms also spent more time eating.
The same thing happened in genetically modified worms that displayed human cannabinoid receptors.
Nevertheless, “these effects were only seen in worms that had functional endocannabinoid receptors“, specified the researchers.
Nevertheless, these results are rather conclusive.
“That the human cannabinoid receptor gene is functional in these C. elegans experiments paves the way for rapid and inexpensive drug screening targeting a wide variety of proteins involved in cannabinoid metabolism, with profound implications for health. human”says Professor Shawn Lockery, one of the authors of the study and professor of biology and neuroscience at the University of Oregon in the United States.
After smoking cannabis, our brains crave fat
Unsurprising discoveries according to Raphael Gruman, nutritionist, with regard to the action of cannabis on the brain.
“The brain is made up of fat and it needs it to function. Fat indeed promotes nerve impulses – it makes the connection between neurons. However, the psychoactive substance of cannabis – THC – will slow down the assimilation of fat. The body will therefore tend to compensate and ask for a lot of fat“, reveals the nutrition expert.