Cannabis and Keto, Keto and cannabis. Health, fitness, and cannabis enthusiasts are all singing the praises of combining cannabis and the keto diet.
Can you smoke weed while on keto?
Of course the answer is yes. Inhaling weed is not going to change anything as far as your carb counts and staying on your diet.
However, when it comes to cannabis and the keto diet, many people claim they actually enhance each other’s health benefits.
Is there anything to these claims? Can using cannabis on a keto diet enhance the effects of either or both? Does eating a keto diet alter the effects of cannabis? What are the effects of cannabis on a keto diet?
These are all common questions. Sadly, like many issues surrounding cannabis, there is little in the way of actual scientific research at this point.
But from what little we do have, combined with what we know about both cannabis and the keto diet, things do look promising.
However, it is important to always keep in mind that a lot of what we currently know about cannabis and the keto diet is purely based on anecdotal evidence and educated speculation.
What is the Keto Diet?
Before we go further, let’s define what we are talking about. The keto or ketogenic diet is a high fat, low-carbohydrate way of eating. It tends to be heavy meats, although it does not have to be (yes, I know vegans who are following a keto diet, but it takes a lot of discipline).
When following a proper keto diet the body will go into a metabolic state called ketosis. This means that the glucose levels available for the body to use as fuel are so low that it starts burning fat.
What Do Cannabis and Keto Diets Have in Common?
There is a striking similarity between the afflictions commonly treated with a keto diet and those treated with medical marijuana.
In fact, a lot of people don’t realize that the keto diet was originally designed to treat seizures in children suffering from treatment resistant epilepsy. Cannabis also famously helps in reducing seizures.
Both keto and cannabis can help stabilize blood sugars, insulin, and energy levels.
They are both associated with lower inflammation levels.
Both keto and cannabis have profound effects on the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), a regulatory system found in all mammals which helps maintain homeostasis through all the body’s systems.
The Cannabis and Keto Diet Fat and Gut Connections
The endocannabinoid system produces its effects through something known as lipid signaling. This means it is fueled by fat, both the fat stored in the body and the fat we eat.
We know that cannabinoids like THC and CBD are fat soluable. We also know that the keto diet relies on fats for a majority of its caloric intake.
When we consider these factors, it is not a far leap to postulate that cannabis and keto can enhance each other’s effects.
The scarce bit of scientific research we do have, a 1998 study on mice, did find that CBI and CB2 regulators in the gut were upregulated. In other words, ketogenesis seemed to increase the responsiveness of the ECS and the overall number of cannabinoid receptors within the intestines.
Likewise, it is theorized that the ketogenic diet alters the endocannabinoid system within the intestines. Read more here.
Cannabis and the Keto Flu
Cannabis can also help with one of the Keto diet’s famous side effects, known as the “Keto Flu.”
Not everyone encounters this annoying condition, but many people starting a keto diet do.
Keto flu is not a virus, but it’s symptoms mimic those of the common flu, hence the name. These include nausea, muscle cramps, irritability and gastrointestinal issues, all symptoms cannabis is known to successfully treat.
Incorporating cannabis into your health routine, might just be the things to get you over the keto flu hump that happens before many people’s bodies go into the state of ketosis.
Does the Keto Diet Affect Cannabis’ Effects?
Anecdotally the internet is filled with individuals in newsgroups and subreddits singing the praises of combining the keto diet with cannabis.
When it comes to the actual science, it’s true we don’t know much. But it’s important to realize that a lot of what we have learned about cannabis comes from people’s personal experiences.
This is largely because for political reasons the government has stood in the way of meaningful research for decades. That’s a topic for another discussion, but the point is, anecdotal evidence should not be dismissed out of hand.
Cannabinoids and their metabolites are stored primarily in fat cells. In theory, when the body shifts into ketosis and and starts burning fats, it would mobilize THC metabolites more rapidly. Likewise, you might feel the effects of cannabis edibles more quickly.
This phenomenon might also help you clear your system of cannabinoids, say if you wanted to take a tolerance break.
In theory it could also help when taking a drug test. If you know you have one coming up, start eating a keto diet now, as the state of ketosis will help burn off those THC metabolites faster.
As always, more research and more data is needed to know for sure.
Keto and Cannabis Edibles
As we’ve already stated, cannabinoids bind to fats and the keto diet is fat intensive. It’s really a match made in heaven.
When people ask me, “What cannabis edibles can I eat on keto,” I say any kinds of foods you can eat without cannabis on the keto diet you can eat with cannabis.
Cannabis edibles can be far more than the typical sugar-laden cookies, brownies, and gummies. Likewise making keto cannabis edibles can help you break out of those common habits and the recipes marijuana users typically fall back on.
That’s right kids, combining cannabis and the keto diet can help you get far more creative in your cannabis cooking overall.
Dosing for Keto Cannabis Recipes
Since most keto recipes rely on substantial amounts of butter or oil, it’s a simple matter of swapping out some or all of it for cannabutter or cannaoil to turn your favorite keto recipes into your favorite cannabis keto recipes.
How much of these fat staples you will swap out will depend on the strength of the cannabis you are cooking with, your personal tolerance levels, and the effects you want to get from the edibles. My FREE dosing class or my $5.00 dosage calculators will help you achieve cannabis dosage that is right for you whenever you you make cannabis keto edibles.