Covid-19 a Possible Trigger for Diabetes? Is Cannabis the Solution?

covid 19 diabetes cannabis

Covid-19 has truly impacted the world and many levels. This virus came with force and created havoc all over. It does not have a preference for gender, race, or age, but it sure holds more danger to those with a compromised immune system. That is why it is so important to look into ways to protect the vulnerable ones even more.

This brings us to those suffering from diabetes. Research on Covid-19 is non-stop and new evidence suggests that some people might develop diabetes when they contract Covid-19. Even if they never had diabetes before. It seems this is possible when a person has a severe Covid-19 infection.

There are many unanswered questions when it comes to this novel virus. So much has to be studied yet about the interaction of the virus and the risk it has for diseases like diabetes and other immune-related illnesses. In these studies, the focus is also directed to the potential efficacy of medical cannabis in the treatment of diabetes.

The medical community is pushing hard for the investigation of the therapeutic properties and benefits of cannabis and its synthetic counterparts to combat the effect of the coronavirus in this current worldwide health crisis.

What do the studies find?

Research on the effect of cannabis on diabetes is not new. It is already established that there is a decreased prevalence of diabetes under those using cannabis. There are also lower insulin levels found under those who participated in medical studies. Now, with the Covid-19 crisis at hand, it seems that when severe Covid-19 is contracted, it could develop diabetes as well. In order to deal with this, researchers have set up a registry to report the cases and study the link between Covid-19 and diabetes. They also are looking into how cannabis could influence a positive outcome.

Diabetes by itself is already a prevalent crisis worldwide. Now it is of imminence importance to study the consequences of the clash between the two pandemics and to find effective ways to treat it.

What does it mean?

One study in 2019, published in the American Journal of Medicine, published that there was a link found between moderate blood sugar levels, waist size, and body mass index scores. The study uses information based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In another study done at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, the relationship between cannabis use and fasting insulin, glucose, and insulin resistance was also investigated.

Dr. Mittleman, responsible for the study, said that the mechanisms at work showed a possible correlation between the past use of cannabis and its resulting diabetics changes, but it still was not entirely clear how it works.

Research show now how diabetes can increase the risk of Covid-19, but there is another risk too. It seems that people may be able to develop diabetes when the body’s ability to regulate blood glucose levels breaks down. This could be due when beta cells are damaged in the pancreas where the main function is to produce the insulin hormone, resulting in type 1 diabetes. It could also happen when the body becomes insensitive to the insulin hormone, leading to type 2 diabetes.

In separate research during this pandemic period, another link was found. A panel of 17 global diabetes specialists said that there is a two-way relationship between Covid-19 and diabetes.

What Cannabis Does for Diabetes

Diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, are both a major issue around the world. It falls under the umbrella of metabolic diseases. It is characterized by high blood sugar levels due to the fact that the body either does not produce enough insulin or does not respond to insulin. It is seen as a chronic disease, but there are ways to treat the disease and therefore keep it under control.

The components of the cannabis plant have many medical benefits and are believed to also impact diabetes in a positive way. There are certain benefits of cannabis that have specific positive results for those suffering from diabetes. They are:

It stabilizes blood sugar

It lowers blood pressure

It decreases artery inflammation

It improves blood circulation

It reduces neuropathic pain

The above-mentioned benefits are all beneficial to the complications of diabetes. When a person has type 2 diabetes, people are not able to effectively use insulin. Cannabis has the ability to lower levels of insulin resistance and lower fasting blood sugar levels.

In studies done on animals, it was also found that cannabis protects against diabetic retinopathy, a condition where diabetic people can lose their sight.

Afterthought

One of the main contributions of medical marijuana on diabetes is that it fights inflammation. Inflammation is linked to many other chronic diseases as well. Using cannabis during this Covid-19 pandemic time, could have positive results. We still have to understand the link between how cannabis can help diabetes during this time but previous studies already indicate a positive outcome.