When it comes to diabetes, there are a lot of highs and lows. Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting millions of individuals every day. In fact, diabetes in all its forms affects close to 1 out of 3 Canadians at some point over their lives. Today, around 11% of Canada’s population aged 20 or older currently suffers from diabetic symptoms. You can buy these products in our store.
It’s also noteworthy that every new day sees 550 new diabetes type I or II diagnoses. The incidence of diabetes in Canada should not be downplayed, but these shocking numbers do not account for the growing rates of juvenile and infant diabetes.
Around 10% of the population of Canadians with diabetes have Type I. Type I diabetes is a hereditary illness that someone is born with, although it can be triggered by diet, lifestyle, or external factors and is therefore known as type 2 diabetes. Because it can’t be completely cured, Type II diabetes is thought to be a more severe disease. On the other hand, stringent dietary and fitness regimens may help persons with type 2 diabetes keep their condition in check or even reverse it.
Despite the alarming increases in diabetes among our Canadian population, living with diabetes is possible. Millions of people are able to maintain proper blood sugar levels by eating a balanced diet, getting enough exercise, and avoiding specific threats like junk food, alcohol, or smoking. If you have Type 2 diabetes, however, your insulin requirements must be carefully managed throughout your life. This may imply utilizing medicines in addition to rigorous dietary and lifestyle guidelines.
Cannabis has been used to treat diabetes for thousands of years. Many have never considered cannabis as a way to live with diabetes. That’s right – removing cannabis edibles from the diet of diabetics may be beneficial. Is it true? Nothing sweet or high in carbohydrates is good for diabetics, but there is a long history of study supporting the therapeutic benefits of cannabis.
You may not want to eat only brownies or candy containing cannabis for diabetes. There are, however, a plethora of sugar-free desserts and other methods to consume marijuana that can be beneficial to you. Let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of using cannabis for diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus, sometimes known as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by high blood glucose levels. High blood glucose levels are typical in persons with diabetes, which can be caused by insufficient insulin production or a failure to respond to insulin. There are an estimated hundreds of millions of individuals with diabetes throughout the world, and it’s a lifelong disease that there is no cure for yet. The body does not produce insulin in type 1 diabetes, and insufficient insulin is produced in type 2 diabetes. In the entire world, most cases of diabetes are type 2.
People with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin injections and conduct blood sugar tests on a regular basis for the rest of their life, as well as adhere to a restricted diet.
With type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or the person’s body does not react to insulin properly, which is known as insulin resistance. People who have type 2 diabetes generally need to reduce their weight, exercise regularly, and eat a nutritious diet while also monitoring their blood glucose levels. Type 2 diabetes tends to be progressive; that is, it progresses and leads to the need for insulin.
The most common cause of type 2 diabetes is obesity and excessive body weight, which raises the risk level significantly. You’re also more likely to get type 2 diabetes as you age.
Diabetes is an illness of the metabolism, and while there is no known cure for type 1 diabetes, some individuals may be able to reduce type 2 symptoms by eating a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising on a regular basis.
Why Medical Marijuana?
The endogenous cannabinoid system, also known as the “endocannabinoid system,” is “perhaps the most fundamental physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health,” according to NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Based in Washington, DC
“Endocannabinoids and their receptors are present throughout the body, including the brain, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells. The cannabinoid system performs various functions in each tissue but always with the aim of promoting homeostasis – maintaining a constant internal environment despite changes in the external environment… Cannabinoids promote homeostasis at every level of biological existence from the sub-cellular to the organism to communities and beyond.”
NORML and other marijuana advocates and supporters, on the other hand, “believe that small, regular doses of cannabis can contribute to our most basic physiological healing system.”
How Can Marijuana Help Your Diabetes?
A number of PWDs report that with continuous usage, their blood sugar levels and A1c scores decrease over time. According to existing medical research, marijuana has the ability to improve insulin resistance – useful for people with type 2 diabetes, but not for persons with type 1 diabetes. There’s not much more than anecdotal evidence for them.
However, as previously said, there is a mountain of research demonstrating that marijuana can help with a number of diseases associated with diabetes. So if you have diabetes and are suffering from one or more complications, marijuana may help you feel less pain or slow the development of your condition.
Marijuana has been used to effectively treat a wide range of mental health issues, including clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. What is the reason for this? One explanation may be found in a study published in February 2015, which revealed that cannabis use in mice increased levels of endocannabinoids — chemical compounds that influence emotion and behavior, as well as pain and anxiety reduction and well-being improvement.
Of course, not everyone who suffers from depression will respond well to marijuana. It can also exacerbate anxiety and paranoia in some individuals.
The greatest danger of marijuana use in diabetes is hypoglycemia, which can lead to a number of problems such as confusion and coma. PWDs’ glucose levels may drop without the patient realizing it until they are in serious trouble.