Marijuana And Diabetes: Benefits, Disadvantages, And Legality

Marijuana and diabetes: Benefits, disadvantages, and legality

Marijuana has been used medicinally for thousands of years, although many people use it as a recreational drug too. Research now indicates marijuana may have medicinal properties that can provide benefits for diabetes, as well as other health conditions.
After alcohol, marijuana (also known as cannabis) is the most commonly used drug in the world. The United Nations World Drug Report 2016 estimate there are 182.5 million users globally.
This article explores the medicinal properties of marijuana and how its use might benefit people with diabetes. It also examines the potential downsides of using marijuana for people who have diabetes and what the legal status of the drug is.
Contents of this article:
Medicinal properties of marijuana
Compounds in marijuana are believed to be responsible for the health benefits associated with the plant. These are called cannabinoids.
Cannabinoids interact with receptors found in the central nervous system of the body. This can affect a number of processes such as:
mood
pain
memory
coordination
appetite
Of all the cannabinoids in marijuana, THC and cannabidiol (CBD) are the most commonly studied.
THC is the main psychoactive component in cannabis, producing the "high" associated with the drug. CBD is not considered psychoactive, but has a number of medicinal uses. As such, it is of interest to those considering marijuana for medical use.
Medical marijuana and synthetic drugs
The term "medical marijuana" means the use of the whole, unprocessed cannabis plant (or extracts from it) to treat certain health conditions.
It should be noted that the Continue reading

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5 Best Marijuana Strains for Diabetes [2018 Update]

The first thing that came to mind when writing this article was “Can a diabetic smoke marijuana?”.
By that, we don’t mean “can,” as obviously you can, but rather is smoking cannabis a good idea for a type 1 or 2 diabetics. At first, you might think that the immediate answer is NO, especially as marijuana tends to bring on the munchies which aren’t good for diabetics. But when examining recent studies, findings are painting an entirely different picture.
Ok, before we get down to business and reveal to you the best marijuana strains that can assist with diabetes, let’s understand what diabetes is.
What is Diabetes?
It was recently estimated that 29 million people in the United States have diabetes. Approximately 1.25 million children and adults have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. What’s astonishing is that on a global scale 415 million adults have diabetes, which is 1 in 11 adults and by 2040, it is expected that 642 million adults are will have diabetes.
Diabetes is classed as a number of diseases that involve problems with the hormone; Insulin. Normally, when you eat, the pancreas, the organ behind the stomach, release insulin into your body to help store and use the sugar from the food. With those that have diabetes, the pancreas does not function properly and either produces very little insulin or none at all.
Why is Insulin so Important?
You could say that Insulin is the guardian of the body. Your body is made up of millions of cells all of which need energy to survive. That energy (sugar) is broken down from the food we consume. The medical name is called � Continue reading

Dr. Bernstein’s Low-Carb Diabetes Diet

Dr. Richard K. Bernstein is a legend in the diabetes community. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes over seven decades ago, created the movement to check blood sugars at home, developed a diabetes management program built on the philosophy that “everyone deserves normal blood sugars” – and then became an endocrinologist so others would take him seriously.
In this article, we will look at Dr. Bernstein’s diabetes diet. In essence, it is a low-carb, high-protein and moderate fat diet. He recommends this approach because it maximizes the chances for achieving normalized blood sugars. If you are interested in a less restrictive, more general-purpose low-carb diet, read How to Start a Low-Carb Diabetes Diet.
Before we go into the diet itself, let’s look at Dr. Bernstein’s fascinating story.
Dr. Bernstein was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12 in 1946.
Dr. Bernstein was diagnosed with diabetes during what is commonly referred to as the diabetes “dark ages”. He had to check his urine for sugar by using a test tube heated over a flame. He had to sterilize his needles and glass syringes by boiling them each day.
In Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution, he explains how his blood sugars were not well managed during this time. In fact, back then fat was deemed the ultimate health culprit and so he was put on a low-fat and high-carbohydrate diet.
During the first two decades of his life with diabetes, he says his growth was stunted and nearly all his organs quickly began to suffer the consequences of chronic high blood sugar. Heartbreakingly, he suffered ma Continue reading

Towards Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

Towards Reversing Type 2 Diabetes
Protective Responses
Over 50% of American adults are estimated to have prediabetes or diabetes. The twin cycles (hepatic and pancreatic) are not simply rare metabolic mistakes leading to disease. These responses are almost universal because they serve as protective mechanisms.
Protective? I can almost hear you gasp. Insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction are protective? Yes. Absolutely. What do they protect us from? The very name gives use the vital clue. Insulin resistance protects the liver from too much insulin. Our body is resisting the excessive insulin, which is harmful.
Imagine the liver as a balloon that can be filled with sugar and fat, the two storage forms of food energy. Normally, when we eat, insulin goes up, storing some of this food energy. When we stop eating, during fasting, insulin levels fall, releasing some of the stored energy for the rest of the body.
When insulin levels stay elevated for a prolonged period, the liver fills up with sugar and fat, like an over-inflated balloon. The pressure inside the liver goes up and up, making it increasingly difficult to move sugar into this overfilled liver. This is insulin resistance. The liver simply cannot store any, so rejects the incoming sugars, becoming resistant to insulin’s normal signal. Glucose piles up outside the cell in the blood.
This provokes a compensatory hyperinsulinemia. Like trying to inflate the over-inflated balloon, it works for a time. However, it becomes more and more difficult. Ultimately, the liver was only trying to protect itself from the damag Continue reading

Dr. Phil’s 6 Rules to Control Diabetes

T wenty five years ago, Dr. Phil was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Today, the popular TV host and counselor shares his successful secrets for living well with a chronic condition. In this exclusive article and video interview, you’ll get details on the plan that changed his life…
Phil McGraw, PhD – better known as “Dr. Phil” to millions of TV viewers – is famous for his no-nonsense, “get real” style. So, after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes 25 years ago, he took his own advice.
“All right, then. Let’s get on it!” Dr. Phil told his physician.
Last year, at age 66, Dr. Phil publicly opened up about his condition.
Read on as Dr. Phil shares his six rules for managing type 2 diabetes, and tells how he created a new “movement” to inspire those with the disorder to “get on it!”
How did you find out you had type 2 diabetes?
About 25 years ago. I went to a friend who’s an internist. After all the tests ... he said, “I’ve got good news and bad news. Continue reading