SCIENCE
THE MORE YOU GROW: THCV BY KIM EMERSON
I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y K AT I E W E I T M A N
Faced with the idea of weight loss surgery or trying any other option I could find, I was digging at the bottom of the barrel when I finally began to research cannabis and weight loss. At the time, I was using a cane or walker for stability daily to move around. Discouraged doesn’t even begin to cover what I was feeling the day I left the doctor’s office with little more than a “You need to lose weight” note and information on invasive weight loss surgery. I knew weight loss surgery was the quickest form of action, but I also knew there were barriers to my goal. I experienced extreme nerve pain in my legs from a lumbar puncture that touched a nerve, and walking had become painful and at times near impossible. Another barrier I faced was pre-diabetes, so weight loss and diet control were my last attempts to manage my condition before the threat of daily insulin shots became a reality. Could I use the plant I was already using to manage so
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much of my healthcare? I began to research other parts of the cannabis plant, outside of the common THC and CBD remedies we know and access daily. In my research, I discovered the cannabinoid THCV and became fascinated. While THC is known for its psychoactive properties, and CBD is known for its non-psychoactive therapies, THCV shows up to bridge the gap between the two. Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) aids weight loss by reducing some of the psychoactive properties of THC, which helps to suppress the “hunger hormone” that is often stimulated with THC-rich products. Due to this, THCV has been shown to help reduce glycemic index in patients with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, it offers assistance to the anti-inflammatory relief that you see with CBD use. Often when we think of THC products, we think of them providing pain relief, improving quality of sleep, reducing nausea, and creating the desire to eat (or what we lovingly refer to as “the munchies”). However, THCV works in its own
