Why am I always so Hungry? The Double-Scoop on Munchies

10y
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Summary

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wondered where the urge to eat 31 Ritz crackers topped with peanut butter and american cheese comes from. What is it about that makes us go from perfectly content to devouring a 96-piece bucket of fried chicken in 12 minutes flat (that’s eight wings a minute, people!)? I’m […]

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wondered where the urge to eat 31 Ritz crackers topped with peanut butter and american cheese comes from. What is it about weed that makes us go from perfectly content to devouring a 96-piece bucket of fried chicken in 12 minutes flat (that’s eight wings a minute, people!)? I’m sure we all have our theories and hypotheses, but thankfully we can rely on actual scientists like Giovanni Marsicano to do the research and tell us what’s what.

By now I think we all know that the active ingredient in marijuana is thc, or tetrahydrocannabinol if you’re not into the whole brevity thing. What many scientists have been eager to find out is exactly how this wonderful chemical sparks one’s appetite. What these scientists have found is that it affects a number of different areas of the brain in a number of different ways.

It’s believed that THC is used by the marijuana plant as a defense mechanism, meant to disorient any herbivores that eat it and dissuade them from coming back for more. This is ironic, because one of the things we know THC does is mimic the chemicals in the olfactory bulbs in our brains that control appetite in such a way which would not seem beneficial for the marijuana plant.

Marsicano and his team began their experiments by hooking some mice up with some tasty almond and banana oils (regular old oils, nothing dabs-worthy). The mice sniffed the oils for a bit, but soon lost interest. They then dosed the mice with THC. I would have gladly volunteered for this position but was told I’m over-qualified. The team found that after being dosed with THC, the mice spent a far greater time smelling the oils. Because the sense of smell is tied so closely with the sense of taste, the scientists deduced that their appetite was directly affected as well. And surprise of all surprises, once presented with food, the dosed mice ate way more than usual.

The team then dosed a group of mice that were genetically engineered to lack the receptor in the olfactory bulb that THC fits into. They found that the oils had no effect on these mice. Without the receptors for the THC to alter, the mice experienced none of the intensified senses of smell or taste, suggesting that THC virtually tricks our brains into thinking it’s hungry. This supports their theory that the answer to the munchies lies in the olfactory bulb.

Marsicano’s research comes on top of a foundation of research which suggests that THC may affect the brain in other ways as well. The truth is, we still have a lot to learn about THC, and why it makes cheez whiz taste so good. If you take one thing from this article, it’s that these topics are best left to scientists. I wonder if Wendy’s is still open…

Image courtesy of Bradley Chong
Source: Smithsonian