With CBD, individuals’ health capabilities receive a significant boost, making fasting more comfortable and enabling more positive results.

Weight loss, a beautiful figure, beach body, a healthier body, Instagram-worthy body: these are the new terminologies people use to describe why they must lose weight. Today, the weight loss industry is worth well over $72 billion and it’s predicted to grow even more over the next couple of years. The latest craze is fasting.  So does CBD and intermittent fasting, help or hurt?

People will pay for programs and health plans that helped them shed pounds, and intermittent fasting is rapidly becoming a popular and preferred way to stay in shape. Many women have often used intermittent fasting to stay in shape postpartum, however, now a vast majority of people (men and women) are opting for this technique.

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a popular method for staying in shape, and its success is attributed to the fact that it is pretty straightforward to implement. While on the fast, those who use the program spend up to 16 hours or more without food. The program has a detailed set of fasting and eating schedule that must be strictly followed. So after the hours of fasting, there will be times when the person can eat for a set period.

The healthier the person eats during the eating window, the more effective intermittent fasting will be, and the better the results. Despite this dietary method’s success rate, one will agree that sixteen hours is still a lot of time to stay hungry, and the fatigue caused by waiting for a meal will make even the most severe people break their fast. Now, this is where CBD becomes essential.

A closer look at the fasting process 

Before analyzing the connection between CBD and intermittent fasting and how it makes users of the program manage hunger better, we must first understand the fasting process. To appreciate the role CBD plays, we need first to explore why intermittent fasting is so popular.

There are different fasting and eating methods within the intermittent fasting program, but the most common ones are the 18/6, 16/8 rule.

With the 18/6 rule, the person fasts for 18 hours and can eat during the 6 hours. By following this rule, the individual will spend 18 hours away from food except for water. Some of the programs also allow the user to get some calories through their food for the remaining 6 hours.

The 16/8 rule is similar to the first one, with the fasting going on for 16 hours and an 8-hour eating window. Some people prefer this method because it entails avoiding snacks when it’s bedtime and skipping breakfast or eating something in the morning.

Those who want a more extreme method go for the “Eat-Stop-Eat” method, increasing the fasting time and eating time. With this method, some people can last for up to 24 hours and drink only liquids without calories; they have another 24 hours to eat without dietary restrictions. They go back to the 24 hours fast and continue in that stead. Although extreme, this method tends to give more results by cutting down on calories, boosting hormone levels, and preserving lean muscle mass.

So intermittent fasting was created to understand that once the body goes 16 hours without food, it will start to break down fat as a replacement for glucose. The breakdown process is called ketosis, but aside from burning fat, ketosis also helps the body repair damaged DNA and replace older cells. There are lots of benefits associated with fasting.

Intermittent fasting and CBD

Based on clinical trials, CBD has the properties required to enhance the fasting process by reducing your appetite through hormonal regulations, preventing diseases, and fighting off inflammation. It was discovered that THC increases hunger in people, however, CBD doesn’t do that. Most people are more likely to feel hungry when anxious, restless and upbeat; the exact opposite of states CBD induce.

RELATED: If Inflammation Causes Obesity, Can Cannabis Help Break The Vicious Cycle?

CBD works effectively with intermittent fasting because it helps keep the brain relaxed so that you don’t have the urge to snack on anything. With CBD, individuals’ health capabilities receive a significant boost, making fasting more comfortable and enabling more positive results.

CBD can be used through several means from oils to topicals and even as capsules. The CBD can also be taken as edibles as soon as the person breaks his or her fast.

The positive impact of CBD that makes intermittent fasting effective

Supplementing CBD while on an intermittent fast maximizes the CBD’s effects and improves the benefits of fasting.

CBD has a positive impact on the body’s metabolism and its endocannabinoid system as it helps balance the immune system, is suitable for mental health, and boosts digestion.

While intermittent fasting with CBD, your inflammatory levels reduce, eliminating pains and other inflammation-related ailments.

RELATED: The Connection Between Intermittent Fasting And Your Endocannabinoid System

Please note that some CBD products are made with sugar (a good example is CBD gummies). Please avoid such CBD products while on your intermittent fast. Instead, go for products that contain more of the full plant, excluding THC. Some CBD oils contain all of the plant’s valuable parts, such as lipids, waxes and chlorophyll, flavonoids, and terpenes, which are great for your fasting experience.

It should be noted that CBD oils may cause mild abdominal upset when taken on an empty stomach (it only happens occasionally to some people). If you have taken a CBD product before and it upset your stomach, please speak with your doctor.

Bottom line

Although studies do not yet prove that CBD oil makes fasting experiences better, the available evidence suggests that it does help people get over the fatigue of fasting for a long time. Some people want to enjoy intermittent fasting, they want to achieve their “body goals” and show up looking healthier, but they often become discouraged after a few hours of fast because of the high levels of discomfort. With CBD oil, such experiences can be a thing of the past. CBD can help you relax, thus, reducing the level  of discomfort.

Combining intermittent fasting with CBD is a significant step. It is essential to speak with a doctor or dietician before implementing these ideas; visiting a doctor is highly advisable especially if you have underlying health challenges.