Can CBD Help You Lose Weight?

It’s quite common for us to ask if something can help with weight loss. Our weight can fluctuate without knowing the cause, and I myself have experienced exactly this.

In fact, I recently noticed that I had gained weight without there being a clear cause. After complaining to my friend that I had been hitting the gym and eating relatively well, she suggested it could be down to the stress I had been feeling recently.

Stress? Can stress really cause you to gain weight?

I know – you are probably thinking “stress makes you lose your appetite” and you’re right, it does, but only initially. While it can reduce your appetite at first, long-term chronic stress actually increases your hunger.

This is because of the cortisol released in your body during stressful periods. Doctor Sean Talbot, author of “Cortisol Connection”, explains the problem:

“Too often today’s response to stress is to sit and stew in our frustration and anger, without expending any of the calories that we would if we were physically fighting our way out of a wild animal hunt (as our ancestors did)”

Your neuroendocrine system doesn’t know that you’re not physically fighting or fleeing so it still responds to stress with a signal to replenish and store, making you hungry and making you store ‘visceral fat’ around the midsection.

After learning that stress really does give you a belly I looked directly at the one thing that everyone is talking about to lower your stress levels – CBD of course!

 

How can CBD help?

CBD is fast becoming the go-to method for relieving stress and anxiety. But does CBD lower the hormone that causes you to gain weight, cortisol?

Apparently so. One study concluded:

“Decrease in cortisol levels was significantly attenuated after CBD…The present results suggest that CBD interferes with cortisol secretion”

In theory, CBD could well be a natural and healthy weight loss aid! Not only will it stop you from feeling stressed, but it may curb your cravings and keep the stubborn stomach fat from building up.

I for one will be taking a few extra drops to keep the cortisol down!