Covid, cannabis and loss of smell

There was an article in the news today about how many folks had lost their sense of smell due to Covid. And that set off my memory of a news article from over a decade ago.

Ingredient in cannabis restores taste for cancer patients
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-02-ingredient-cannabis-cancer-patients.html

The ingredient that gives cannabis its "high" and famously whets the appetite can help cancer patients recover lost pleasure in food, according to a study published on Wednesday.


Researchers in Canada enrolled 21 patients who had been treated with chemotherapy for advanced cancer, and gave them either capsules containing THC -- delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis -- or dummy lookalike pills.


The volunteers took the tablets for 18 days, and were asked to fill in questionnaires.

Seventy-three percent of those who took the THC reported an increased liking for food and 55 percent said the medication "made food taste better". In the placebo group, these figures were only 30 percent and 10 percent.


Both groups consumed roughly the same total of calories, but the THC patients said they ate more protein than before the start of the experiment and enjoyed savoury foods more.


The THC-takers also reported better quality of sleep and relaxation than in the placebo group.(snipped)


Cannabinoids that your body makes (endocannabinoids) have been shown to enhance your ability to taste sweets. And we all know that food simply tastes better when you are high.

Enhanced sweet taste: This is your tongue on pot
Enhanced sweet taste: This is your tongue on pot

PHILADELPHIA (December 21, 2009) -- New findings from the Monell Center and Kyushu University in Japan report that endocannabinoids act directly on taste receptors on the tongue to enhance sweet taste.


"Our taste cells may be more involved in regulating our appetites than we had previously known," said study author Robert Margolskee, M.D., Ph.D., a Monell molecular biologist. "Better understanding of the driving forces for eating and overeating could lead to interventions to stem the burgeoning rise in obesity and related diseases."


Endocannabinoids are substances similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Produced in the brain and body, they bind with cannabinoid receptors to help regulate appetite and many other processes involved in health and disease.


So I wonder if cannabis could help Covid survivors to be able to enjoy their food again? I haven't had Covid, so my taste buds work just fine, but what about the rest of you?


Granny