Everyone knows there’s no such thing as a holistic approach to health that doesn’t include substantial attention paid to mental health. Indeed, physical and mental health is a dyad, in ways both subtle and overt. For instance: regular exercise improves your mood, and with an improved overall mood exercise becomes less of a chore.
But that balance also makes maintaining a healthy lifestyle difficult sometimes. Serious depression might call for medication whose side effects might include weight gain and low energy. An injury sustained during exercise might call for enough of a rest that it’s hard to get back into the groove of exercise – so your mood falters — difficulty in one realm of good health ripples outward.
Here’s another for-instance: The best treatment for anxiety and depression, you can get over the counter – at least, in states where “recreational” use is legal – is cannabis. But the quickest way to get THC and CBD – the parts of cannabis that relax and enliven – into your system is to inhale it, which can be rough on your lungs in the long term. Not as bad as smoking cigarettes, but it still takes its toll.
The answer: edibles. Edible weed – whether it’s in the form of a gummi or a cookie or a chocolate bar or something else – is an easy way to get THC and CBD into your system without risking your lungs. The process takes a bit longer, and it’ll be more of a challenge to determine your proper dosage, but if you’re looking to please your respiratory system, it might be worth it to you.
(Of course, you can buy weed edibles online without a medical card in California, but other states with medical marijuana laws in place may make it so easy. In that case, talk to your doctor.)
Edibles are great for health-conscious weed users for a variety of other reasons:
Edibles are generally pretty low-calorie. Chances are, you’re not going to go off your diet by eating a whole bag of cannabis gummies or cookies. More than likely, you’ll be consuming just a few candies per day. Some are lower in calories than others, but these are small food items. We’re not talking about a whole pan of lasagna here.
Edibles are more versatile than you think. Most people – and heck, even this article – tend to focus on candies and baked goods. But these days you can get cannabis-infused cooking oil and butter. One California brewery makes a cannabis “beer” – essentially seltzer with flavoring and cannabis elixir blended in – and a broad scope of food companies are exploring new potential products.
Edibles are compatible with most dietary needs. It’s no problem to find edibles that are fat-free, sugar-free, gluten-free or vegan.
If you’re considering using cannabis as part of your healthy lifestyle, here are some strategies to consider:
Wake & Bake. The biggest complaint most people have about edibles is that they take such a long time to kick in. So if your depression or anxiety acts up in the morning hours, you may be in luck – just set a “dummy” alarm one hour before your normal wake-up alarm goes off, then gulp down your edible and head back to bed. An hour later, you’ll open your eyes as you crest a wave of calm enthusiasm, and you’ll be ready to face the day. Just be careful not to choose a super-chill Indica strain, or you may relax too much and have trouble getting out of bed!
Pair It With Exercise. Going to the gym high might not be the best idea, depending on the strain you’re working with. But if you’re going out for a run or hitting the exercise bike at home, boosting your blood flow and overall activity level is the perfect opportunity to get that edible to do its job faster.