Gastrophase, or why are you attacking the fridge?

 GASTROPHASES, OR WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING THE FRIDGE?

Timetable:

What is gastrophrases in practice?

Why does this happen?

The benefits of gastrophrases.

Similarly, the dangers.

Is gastrophrases always to blame for gluttony?

A locked fridge? Is there another way?

This text will take you about 8 minutes to read.

WHAT IS GASTROPHASES IN PRACTICE?

In practice, it's quite simple, and almost every marijuana consumer in the world has experienced it. It always looks pretty similar. You smoke, you feel a relaxing pleasure throughout your body, your thoughts stop drilling holes in your head... it just feels good. Around the same time, you start to feel a hunger that seems to want to devour absolutely everything in its path. You become a food vacuum cleaner, craving mainly sugar. Glucose or life! This is no joke. History knows countless stories of hungry "Zjaruski" (meat eaters) creating concoctions completely inedible to Muggles. Mixtures of flavors that even a woman pregnant with quintuplets wouldn't dare eat. And the "Zjaruski" (meat eater) will eat... And the "Zjaruski" (meat eater) will be happy that he's managed a royal meal in a blissful state of stonedness. Let those who haven't created strange dishes during the gastro phase cast the first stone!

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?

Okay, we already know what it looks like, now it's time to solve the mystery of why it happens. Here we need to cite a few scientific terms and delve a little deeper into our inner selves.

Everyone's energy management is based primarily on two hormones – ghrelin and leptin. To put it bluntly and simplistically, of course.

Both of these hormones interact with the hypothalamus in the brain, but they work completely differently. Ghrelin is released in the digestive tract when our bodies experience an energy deficit, causing us to become hungry and replenish the missing energy through food. When we're starved of energy, our body begins producing leptin. Leptin signals the brain that we've just eaten our fill, thereby blocking the feeling of hunger.

More and more research is examining THC and its undeniable effect on appetite in marijuana users, which contains cannabidiol. Various studies have uncovered several interesting correlations.

It turns out that THC alters the way the hypothalamus functions at a given moment. It disrupts the proper flow of hunger information, stimulating the hypothalamus to send messages to the body about the need to release ghrelin. Simply put, we feel hungry even if we ate half an hour earlier.

Another factor that increases hunger is our sense of smell. It turns out that our noses contain clusters of CB1 receptors, to which THC attaches, which in turn causes a heightened perception of all smells and tastes. This heightened perception influences increased appetite, as our brains glorify almost every meal as THE BEST EVER.

And if that weren't enough... THC increases the perception of sweet taste by increasing the sensitivity of our taste buds to sucrose. THC doesn't interfere with bitter and salty tastes; it's all about sugar.

The act of eating itself becomes more enjoyable for a reason. Activation of CB1 receptors causes a surge of dopamine, which, as we know, is responsible for the sensation of pleasure.

You could say that THC delivers a total food barrage, attacking us from several fronts. It stimulates the sensation of pleasure, stimulates taste and smell, and tricks the pituitary gland – we're practically forced to eat! ;)

DOES GASTROPHASE HAVE ANY GOOD SIDES?

Of course! History knows many cases where marijuana proved to be the only solution to the complete deterioration of the body resulting from a lack of appetite, stomach disorders such as acid reflux, nausea, gastritis, or other gastrointestinal and psychological problems.

Many nutritional problems are caused by stress, which, when chronic, can wreak havoc on the body. Marijuana then works in two ways – it helps manage the mind and keep the body alive, in a sense forcing you to eat because you simply finally feel a genuine hunger.

Many stories and many ailments could be cited here where marijuana proved to be a true salvation. Remember, we're not talking about nettles – marijuana also affects consciousness. There's a chance that the consumer will see more than they did before, understand more, and decide to eliminate unnecessary stress from their life, relax a bit, and truly live for life, not just for survival. Marijuana is a sacred plant, you can expect unexpected things from it.

OK. SO IS GASTRO ALWAYS COOL?

Well, obviously not. Controlled gastro, where we feel some limits to our overeating, is one thing. Uncontrolled gastro, where you consume absolutely everything, in completely ridiculous quantities, is another, and the latter is not good. Treating yourself like a food dump has never worked for anyone and never will. At most, you'll get a stomach ache the next day, maybe diarrhea, or a feeling of fullness for a few hours... Nothing terrible, but if we indulge so often, it's a sure path to illness, obesity, and overall deterioration of health. Nothing great. Especially when we deceive ourselves that "gastro doesn't make you fat." It makes you fat, at most a little slower.

IS IT ALWAYS THE GASTRO'S FAULT?

You know how it is. We humans like to have excuses and justifications for our evil deeds. We like to have someone to blame, we like to have a reason for sin always at hand – even just for ourselves. Unfortunately, for some, this results in them blaming their problems with unrestrained consumption on marijuana. And while, as you can read above, there's a lot of truth to this, our eating habits are a completely different matter. It's true that we feel hungry, but what we crave isn't the fault of marijuana, but rather of what we're accustomed to eating every day. If we usually reach for sweet fruit to raise our blood sugar rather than candy bars or other marshmallows, then we won't suddenly crave a three-tiered cake covered in a half-meter layer of chocolate when we're on a snack. We'll crave what we usually eat, meaning at most, we'll eat more of it than if we didn't have the snack.

So, whether a snack will be debilitating or not depends on marijuana itself, and let's remember that in many cases, it's also beneficial. It's an incredibly complex topic.

Frequency will also play a significant role here. If we use marijuana occasionally, a one-time binge won't harm us, even with something very unhealthy. It's a different story if marijuana is a daily occurrence and we experience frequent binge eating. Then we can realistically fear the consequences if our diet consists primarily of unhealthy foods, because unfortunately, it's not entirely true that every smoker is slim, let alone healthy. We'll write a separate article on this topic someday, as it's also interesting, especially in the context of research that actually confirms that regular smokers are less at risk of developing obesity and diabetes.

In my opinion, the general approach to life of people who use marijuana plays a significant role here, which is largely shared in terms of a love of nature, a slightly different lifestyle, a slightly different approach to the modern rush and busyness, and less unburned stress, which often eats and destroys modern people from the inside.

It's easy to fall into a vicious cycle of smoking and eating, which can lead to "indifference," a state of indifference to what's happening around us, including our bodies. We stop paying attention to an extra fold here and there, to a pair of too-tight pants, until one day we realize we're twice as big. Unfortunately, this isn't an uncommon scenario. Unfortunately, it's also not uncommon to blame only the digestive system, completely forgetting that it's not the digestive system that determines our eating habits and lifestyle. It's worth asking, which came first? Weed or vape?

Observations suggest that those who have ambitions, goals, and dreams still have them, even if they abuse marijuana a bit. And those who didn't have them at the start won't get them from marijuana, nor will it take them away, because it simply wasn't there.

Marijuana is like modeling clay; it molds itself to you. If you're active, it will allow you to get even more out of these activities; if you're spiritual, it will allow you to meditate more deeply; if you enjoy crafts, it will help you find great ideas, and so on. If you want to lie down, cool down, it will chill you out as much as possible. If you don't feel the urge for self-improvement, it absolutely won't force you to do so; if you don't want to dream big, it will keep you grounded. Do you understand? Marijuana doesn't define who we are.

A PADLOCKED FRIDGE? IS THERE ANOTHER WAY?

Unfortunately, there's no silver bullet for gastro. In fact, simply knowing why this happens, and that we don't feel true hunger, but rather that THC is making us feel full, should help us control our uncontrolled consumption. This is somewhat doable, because the awareness of being deceived makes it easier to avoid being deceived.

It's worth stocking up on healthy versions of fillers. It's worth eating well before using it to ensure you don't get seriously hungry. Sipping fruit juice, snacking – find your way, and remember that it's only the THC that's trolling you about hunger! Don't let yourself be trolled!