The diabetes issue is one of the many growing health problems in the US, and beyond, spurred on, no doubt, by modern food systems, and generally unhealthy lifestyles. Though taking a medication will never take the place of healthy living behaviors, cannabis compound THCV might be the best bet for treating the symptoms of diabetes.
For those with weight issues, using THCV for help with diabetes symptoms, might be the best bet. Cannabis and Hemp provides tons of useful medical and recreational compounds like THCV, Delta 10, THC-O and Delta-8 THC. This alternate form of THC produces less psychoactive effect, less couch locking, and less anxiety, while providing nearly all the benefits of delta-9. We believe in making sure people get the products they need. Take a look at our selection of Delta-8 THC products, as well as THCV, and many more compounds, to find the right product for you.
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What is diabetes?
Diabetes, technically called diabetes mellitus, is an entire grouping of metabolic disorders that relate to elevated blood sugar levels over time, and a lack of insulin. Diabetes is the root of many other health issues, and when left untreated, can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, the need to amputate body parts, and even death. Here are the different kinds of diabetes, though all types deal with the inability to produce enough insulin, or the body not responding properly to the insulin produced.
- Type I – Often known as ‘juvenile diabetes’, this type of diabetes is a result of an autoimmune response which causes the death of beta cells in the pancreas. Beta cells are responsible for synthesizing and secreting insulin, which means in these cases, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, and those with this disorder require insulin from outside in order to survive. Why the autoimmune response happens that causes the loss of beta cells, is unknown. This type of diabetes is often referred to as ‘insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus’.
- Type II – Often called ‘adult-onset diabetes’, this disorder has to do with insulin resistance, in which case cells don’t respond to the insulin around them appropriately. Progression of type II diabetes can lead to a lack of insulin overall. This type of diabetes is generally caused by being overweight or not getting enough exercise (or a combination of the two.) Since it doesn’t relate to an actual inability of the body to produce insulin, its called ‘non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus’.
What is THCV?
At this point, whether a person agrees or not, it should be well understood that the cannabis plant is being looked to as a remedy for a number of different health concerns, with varying amounts of research, historical evidence, and anecdotal data to back up claims. But this doesn’t mean every part of the plant is good for everything, and sometimes it takes researching different compounds within a plant to establish which parts can be beneficial, and for what.
As it turns out, one of the newer cannabinoids to make headlines recently, and enter into the unregulated cannabis market of America, is THCV. So, what is this compound? THCV stands for tetrahydrocannabivarin, and it’s a homologue of delta-9 THC. This means it differs from delta-9 in terms of a repeating unit, but is otherwise the same. In this case it has to do with propyl side chains. Delta-9 has three carbon atom side chain, whereas THCV has a five carbon atom chain. This difference in the number of carbon atoms in the chain, makes for two compounds which a body responds to differently. THCV is a CB1 antagonist, and a CB2 partial agonist. This means, it disrupts – or interferes with – actions at the CB1 receptors, and binds to CB2 receptors where it can activate it, but not fully. In contrast, delta-9 is a CB1 agonist.
THCV does not start as THCA – like delta-9, but rather has a precursor of CBGVA (cannabigerovarin acid). This then breaks down to THCVA (tetrahydrocannabivarin carboxylic acid), which is then decarboxylated to form THCV.
Cannabis & THCV for diabetes
There are a couple things about THCV that make it a possible answer for the growing diabetes problem. The first thing about THCV is that it can effect appetite. Most of us are aware of the phenomenon of ‘munchies’ whereby you smoke a little pot and then get insanely hungry, sometimes to ridiculous and inhuman levels. This effect can often cause people to overeat, because the delta-9 THC is acting as an agonist at the CB1 receptor.
Conversely, THCV is an antagonist at the CB1 receptor, and has shown to reduce hunger, thereby reducing food intake (or the desire for food intake). While it hasn’t undergone testing in humans, it has shown hypophagia effects in mice, meaning it can suppress appetite and food intake. This was true in mice that had, and had not, eaten. It was found in this study: Synthetic and plant-derived cannabinoid receptor antagonists show hypophagic properties in fasted and non-fasted mice, that food suppression continued for 6-8 hours after administration, with the same results for four days straight.
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No rebound effect was noticed, meaning the animals went back to their regular feeding routine by the next day. It was found however, that when a THCV-rich extract was used (as opposed to pure THCV), the hunger and food intake suppression didn’t happen, which the scientists expect might have been because of residual amounts of delta-9, which impacted the THCV’s ability to work.
THCV has shown yet another useful property for dealing with diabetes, particularly as it relates to obesity. THCV seems to have properties that can help with the glucose intolerance often experienced by obese people. Once again done with mouse models, this study: The cannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) ameliorates insulin sensitivity in two mouse models of obesity highlights how THCV can affect insulin resistance.
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Source: https://cbdtesters.co/2021/07/26/thcv-from-cannabis-might-be-best-bet-for-treating-diabetes/