Eating disorders are a more serious problem than it may seem. The anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and even disorders such as binge eating or obesity are linked to psychological problems behind which depression and anxiety hide.
Su double physiological and psychological nature It catapults them into the group of complex diseases that require delicate treatment, although hope opens its doors whenever a cure for this type of ailment is possible.
As in many other pathologies, there are currently various treatments to deal with these disorders, although natural medicine is gaining ground to the detriment of these traditional pharmacological therapies.
In addition to these prescriptions, there are specific psychotherapies that seek the original cause of these disorders in order to eradicate it or manage it so that a cure is achieved.
Based on these disciplines, in recent years doctors have valued the consumption of cannabis to provide a solution to these eating disorders. without incurring side effects that worsen the situation.
What are eating disorders?
This type of disorder involves constant worries when eating food and even anxiety pictures in which a distorted image and an alarm regarding increased body weight are referenced.
This serious pathology does not have a single sex spectrum, but is suffered by both men and women regardless of age, social conditions or status.
There are several eating disorders and each of them is especially serious within its particularities. Among them, anorexia nervosa takes on special relevance.
Anorexia nervosa as a result of the social spectrum
Anorexia nervosa is perhaps the most commonly known pathology and occurs with a high degree of frequency in adolescents. This psychological disorder consists of a severe impairment of self-esteem and an erroneous perception of weight and body structure.
Unlike other types of psychological pathologies, the appearance of anorexia nervosa is due to the influence of sociocultural factors and the peer culture that arises intensely during the adolescent period. Young women are especially vulnerable to suffering from it, presenting dry feet, yellowish complexion, continuous lethargy and extreme and alarming thinness.
What is anorexia nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that refers to a medical condition in which the sufferer extremely limits food intake and severely prevents weight gain.
The perception of patients with anorexia involves a distorted self-image in which they “visualize” body morphologies that border on obesity and non-existent weight gains. This obsession with this series of non-existent defects constitutes an association with the body dysmorphia, a mental disorder that causes these thoughts.
We are facing a severe complex disorder in which the death of the patient can occur if strict measures are not taken in this regard and in which we must consider how to deal with it since these are people who suffer from anxiety and low self-esteem, so the projection of his image before the social spectrum and the peer group that surrounds him is highly negative.
There are a number of conditions linked to the disease of anorexia that commonly show up as underlying patterns, such as intense, irrational fear of the slightest weight gain, totally distorted body image, social anxiety disorder, depression, a previous history of abuse and an inevitable social isolation motivated by that distorted view of being overweight when they are already in a stage of malnutrition.
What symptoms does anorexia nervosa present?
Generalized nutritional deficiencies resulting from this dietary alteration are evidenced by amenorrhea (lack of menstrual period), anemia, brittle nails, constipation, dehydration, dizziness, dry and yellowish skin, fatigue, high hair loss, heart problems, kidney failure, damage hepatic, lowering blood pressure, osteoporosis, immunological deficiencies, difficulty in healing, seizures and a more than evident severe weight loss.
The effectiveness of CBD against anorexia
In the face of an eating disorder with a complex psychological condition and serious side effects, the effect of CBD on the body, and more specifically its administration as cannabidiol oil, increases appetite, reduces anxiety and depression and improves overall frame of mind.
It is estimated that a total of 30 million people suffer from eating disorders. But compared to other mental illnesses, anorexia nervosa is the disorder with the highest mortality rate. It is vital that the treatment of this disorder is addressed globally through a physical and psychological approach, hence the importance of finding new effective methods to solve this serious problem.
Currently, herbal supplements that cause improvement in the pathology linked to anorexia nervosa by increasing hormones related to hunger and the feeling of satiety are not unknown.
In this regard, cannabis has been part of numerous studies on cachexia, a type of anorexia associated with cancer and HIV-AIDS. As a result of these findings, various investigations have been initiated into the effectiveness of cannabinoids in specific treatments for anorexia nervosa.
This consideration was addressed since cannabis is especially significant in various treatments, since a large number of cannabinoids present in cannabis increase the level of hunger, as is the case with THC, hence it is common to see a marijuana user eat very frequently.
However, since THC is mainly responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis, the percentage of this component present in most CBD oils is less than 0.02%.
For its part, CBD does not increase appetite but rather produces the opposite effect, causing a reduction in it. Far from being an incongruity, its inhibition capacity enhances the effects of THC, making the mixture of both cannabinoids the perfect tandem to raise appetite levels in a stable manner.
It is advisable to be careful in this regard, since the use of isolated CBD products is not appropriate, but rather the recommendation is to use full-spectrum cannabis oils in which both elements are present.
Effects on mood
CBD has been shown to have a high antidepressant ability within its surprising range of mood-enhancing benefits. Its activity is not psychoactive, so it becomes a relevant component in coping with depressive symptoms.
There are more and more high-level research studies published in which the medical relevance of this cannabinoid in pathologies dependent on mood states is evident.
The disorder of anorexia is accompanied by the adjective “nervous” since the nature of this pathology is anxious. This is an area of vital importance when it comes to treat anorexia with CBD oil, since it reduces anxiety.
CBD is an ideal component as a harvesting agent for antidepressant and anxiolytic effects by allowing a state of relaxation in which the patient is freed from worries during intake and playing a deterrent effect by removing attention from negative behaviors such as inducing vomiting.
In this way, CBD is medically presented as an ideal complement for the treatment of this type of pathology as it constitutes a useful tool at the neuronal level.
Its role as an activator of the CB1 receptors of the endocannabinoid system achieves a modulation of them that makes it an ideal collaborator in the use of tools against eating disorders.
CB1 receptors have to do with the brain areas that control food intake. Different trials have indicated that elements such as CBD, an antagonist of these receptors, have orexigenic effects that help improve appetite and increase a greater sensation of reward after ingestion.
Clinical studies with the presence of CBD
Cannabidiol is a phytocannabinoid and its presence in clinical studies as a pharmacological alternative in models of psychological diseases and chronic disorders has yielded solid results.
Phytocannabinoids have stood out as novel agents against eating disorders and, in the specific case of CBD, its foray into studies focused on obtaining a response to high concentrations of phytocannabinoids has shown that it is highly tolerated.
Furthermore, its ability to enter the blood-brain barrier without damage of a toxic nature or effects of genotoxicity or mutagenicity has been demonstrated.
There have been many clinical trials with humans in which tolerance to concentrations at levels such as 1500 mg has been demonstrated, in addition to obtaining positive results by finding a significant decrease in conditioned emotional responses with the administration of 10 mg/kg.
A study carried out in Belgium in 2011 suggested in its results that treatments with cannabinoid components would be of great therapeutic validity due to their effect on dysfunctional regulation and imbalances of the endocannabinoid system that intervene in eating disorders.
Furthermore, they conclude that CBD helps the patient safely return to a balanced healthy state by not having the same side effects.