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Hormones are some of the most misunderstood components of our mental and physical health. To some, hormones are a negative thing – causing women to be stressed, agitated or hostile towards their poor male counterparts. On the flip side, hormones can apparently make men act like fools and commit adultery or fight their close friends. Suffice to say, most peoples’ understanding of hormones focuses on adverse reactions of these chemical concoctions inside our brains and bodies.
Hormonal imbalances can account for some of our behaviors, but it’s not so simple as blaming our reactions or emotional states on hormones. Millions of people around the world experience hormonal imbalances and aren’t even aware of it – millions more have to live with hormone fluctuations on a daily basis. This means that for many of us, unfortunately, the symptoms of hormone imbalances are a day-to-day reality that can hinder our abilities to be healthy & happy.
Do you suffer from a hormone imbalance? Chances are you or someone you care about will – 80% of women will experience some form of hormone imbalance in the later stages of their lives, with around 20% of men suffering hormone imbalances of their own. If you happen to be a cannabis user as well, you might have wondered about cannabinoids impact on estrogen, testosterone or other hormones.
The stigma has often been that smoking weed or ingesting edibles can cause a variety of hormone-related imbalances. Does weed cause hormonal imbalances in men and women? Can CBD lower cortisol like they say? Or does weed increase estrogen?! We’re here to dispel some myths about how weed affects hormones and deliver the facts about the ways in which cannabis can positively/negatively influence your hormone levels.
HORMONAL IMBALANCES IN MEN & WOMEN
Whenever we’re discussing hormone imbalances, we’re typically referring to one of the big five: estrogen, cortisol, insulin, progesterone and testosterone. Hormonal imbalances aren’t limited to this handful of examples, but the majority of people who are suffering from symptoms of irritability, fatigue, weakness, lack of energy or weight gain usually turn out to have one of these 5 hormones in flux.
Hormone imbalances can manifest in many ways, but most cases include:
Sudden weight gain or weight loss
Persistent back, shoulder, hip or joint pain
Swelling between the shoulders, in joints, around limbs
Chronic fatigue, lethargy, lack of energy
Muscle aches, spasms or general feelings of weakness
Heart palpitations or loss of circulation
Hormone imbalances in men and women can also show in very unique ways. For instance, many young men experience lack of energy or weight fluctuations due to lowered levels of testosterone. In other examples, women can show signs of sudden weight gain or increased heart rates when their estrogen levels skyrocket for no apparent reason. Hormones don’t treat the sexes similarly either – some people suffer from reversed symptoms from increased/decreased hormone levels while others don’t suffer any symptoms at all. Like with most cannabis-related intolerances, it’s difficult to determine the causes & effects with hormones because everyone’s genetics, fitness, diet and lifestyles can greatly impact their hormonal health.
Hormone, just like cannabinoids, are neurotransmitters that essentially act as messages. These communicate with our vital organs and trigger responses accordingly. Hormones and cannabinoids like estrogen, cortisol or progesterone don’t necessarily conflict with THC or CBD, but we’re learning that long-term cannabis consumption can impact your hormone levels in various ways.
How does weed cause hormonal imbalances? Does CBD lower cortisol or does weed increase estrogen? Now let’s cover the exact causes & effects of ingesting or absorbing cannabinoids and how they can influence your hormones.
DOES WEED CAUSE HORMONAL IMBALANCES?
In the simplest terms, weed affects hormones similarly to medications or supplements: consistent use can raise or lower hormone levels by increasing hormone production or reducing it. Some hormone fluctuations can result in positive health effects, while others can be damaging to our short- and long-term wellbeing. So, how does weed affect hormones, exactly?
Your ECS – endocannabinoid system – can communicate with multiple receptor networks throughout your body. Hormones are governed by your endocrine system, which your ECS can communicate with and influence how much or how little of certain hormones are being produced. What little is currently known about the direct impacts of cannabinoids on estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, cortisol or insulin has to do with how your endocannabinoid system can instill changes in your various endocrine system functions.
Definitive research is limited, but some studies have shed light on a few key ways in which weed can cause hormonal imbalances. Four such research projects have focused on the following areas of cannabinoids and hormones axes: HPA axis, HPG axis, HPT axis and the GH axis.
HOW DOES WEED AFFECT HORMONES: HPA Axis
The Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal axis, or the HPA for short, is one of the most well studied hormone systems with relation to cannabinoids. Your HPA axis is primarily responsible for cortisol production – an important hormone that helps with maintaining blood sugar levels, metabolism, blood pressure and more. Cortisol is an essential hormone for good health & wellbeing, but too much can always lead to negative outcomes.
The issue with higher doses of THC or CBD is that these cannabinoids can apparently lead to increased cortisol production. This might not sound like a problem, but the negative health effects of higher than normal cortisol levels involve depression or PTSD-like symptoms. Patients who suffer from mental health disorders like depression or anxiety have been shown to have erratic cortisol levels, which consistent high-doses of THC can cause in some cases.
That being said, cortisol and cannabinoids like THC and CBD can certainly help to reduce the symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD with microdosing or safe, consistent lower doses over time. It all depends on your tolerances to cannabis in its various forms – some people might not experience fluctuations in their cortisol hormones due to THC ingestion/inhalation. The question of does CBD lower cortisol levels seems to be false, as many examples of higher doses of THC or CBD showed a propensity for increased cortisol production, not decreased levels.
On the flip side of how calm you are with relation to cortisol levels is adrenaline. The HPA axis is also involved in adrenaline production in addition to serotonin management. Lower adrenaline levels can mean sluggish, delayed responses in terms of physical reactions and mental alacrity. Serotonin is well-known for its impact on our moods, restfulness, memory and gastrointestinal health. The HPA is the processing engine for many important hormones like serotonin, so cannabinoids can potentially throw off hormone balance and cause you to feel restless, anxious, nervous, hyper or scatterbrained.
HOW DOES WEED AFFECT HORMONES: HPG Axis
THC has been known to impede hormone levels in men and women, albeit under very certain circumstances. One of the ways in which weed causes hormone imbalances in men and women has to do with reproductive health, of which the Hypothalamus Pituitary Gonadal (HPG) axis has some influence.
Data is limited, but some relationships between consistent, excessive THC consumption have resulted in irregular menstrual cycles in women, or erratic testosterone levels in men. Women’s HPG axis can be affected by cannabinoids during ovulation, as increased THC compounds potentially disrupt menstrual cycle normality through fluctuating production of anandamide (an endocannabinoid produced in the body, linked to reproductive health).
Readers should take this example with a grain of salt, however, because THC, CBD and other cannabinoids have also been shown to positively impact menstrual pain, inflammation and other symptoms of PMS.
From the male perspective, the HPG axis and THC can interact to cause irregular testosterone levels. This in turn can reduce energy, cause fatigue, and initiate weight loss in some areas while increasing weight gain in others. These instances have been rare in occurrence, but the possibility for cannabis-induced testosterone or estrogen inhibitions is concerning for anyone who already suffers from lowered hormone levels.
HOW DOES WEED AFFECT HORMONES: HPT Axis
Also well-known and thoroughly researched are cannabinoids effects on the Hypothalamus pituitary thyroid axis (HPT). The HPT axis governs heart rate, metabolism, muscular functions, digestive system and bone health. Anyone familiar with hyperthyroidism is probably familiar with the dragging symptoms of fatigue, foggy mindedness, weight gain and abnormal sexual health or reproductive system. THC can apparently contribute to these symptoms by interrupting regular TSH production – the primary hormones that the HPT axis produces to manage these areas of your health.
CBD, however, appears to help counteract the potential for altered TSH production. This is just one of the many reasons why a growing number of cannabis users prefer full-spectrum cannabis products – balanced profiles of many cannabinoids that compliment one another. There are examples where lowered TSH levels can be beneficial – in patients who suffer from insomnia or struggle with maintaining health weight, just to highlight a couple.
HOW DOES WEED AFFECT HORMONES: GH Axis
Growth hormones (GH) from the GH axis play very important roles in brain development, cell regeneration and energy levels in the brain & body. Cannabinoids don’t necessarily disrupt these integral functions in developing young people, but long-term impacts of THC, CBD, CBN or CBG ingestion in young people is not fully known. For these reasons, and until we know more about how weed can cause hormone imbalances in men and women, most experts argue that cannabinoids might negatively impact the GH axis and its many functions.
THC is particularly controversial with regards to brain development in young people. Some studies have suggested that this psychoactive compound can impede neurological health if taken too young, too often. The opposite is true in older adults, where cannabinoids like THC and CBD have shown many benefits in reducing mental fatigue, improving focus and potentially increasing neurogenesis.
Cannabis has also demonstrated positive influences on insulin production through the IGF-1 axis (Insulin-like growth factor). Many people wonder if weed increases estrogen levels, but what is more apparent is that cannabinoids like CBD, CBG or CBN can help to regulate insulin levels, allowing the body to process sugars more efficiently.
