Was sind Munchies und wie wirken sie?

Munchies have become an almost constant element after the consumption of marijuana, although there are still many people who do not associate this term to its real meaning and why this phenomenon occurs.

What are munchies?

Munchies are the food you eat after consuming marijuana. I’m sure you know what we mean. You have finished your cigarettes and soon after that you are very hungry and you would devour anything you can get your hands on.

However, its reference is not associated with any type of food, but mainly to snacks and junk food, which is quick to consume, has a high calorie content or is ready to eat. We are talking about sweets that we can eat in very small portions.

The term munchies comes from the English language and it is related to eating too much or devouring. Instead of saying “eat like there is no tomorrow”, the word munchies is funnier and has been established in the popular culture of smokers.

How do munchies work after smoking?

Even if we already know what munchies are, what is it that makes us want to eat? It is a neurological process.

Our neurons go “quietly” through our body sending orders about what we should do. In particular, there are some neurons called “pro-opiomelanocortins” whose main function is to release satiety signals when we don’t need to eat.

When you smoke marijuana, the CB1 cannabinoid receptor is stimulated and when this happens, neurons are no longer in a normal state, but altered, so they indicate that the body is hungry and needs to eat as soon as possible.

Not only that, the CB1 receptors, that love neurons, also affect those responsible for smell. A curious thing is that, when it is more sensitive, it allows better to identify the smell of food and raises hunger.

All the messages from the altered neurons come together and, at the end, what we feel is an irrepressible desire to eat that we must satiate as soon as possible and with the first thing we can.

It would be a good idea to prepare a healthy salad, cut its ingredients, dress it, etc. But munchies are not going to let us do it. It is faster, more accessible and satient to eat something sweet or a slice of pizza.

The best snacks for munchies

There are some famous snacks for munchies and some more recommendable ones. They usually are not the same, but we are going to show you all of them in case you want to choose.

The most famous snacks for munchies are gummies, ice cream, chocolates, chips, products with a doughnut format, chocolate cookies, etc. You know where we are going.

However, there are other much more healthier snacks for munchies, such as the following:

• Nuts ( walnuts, almonds and pistachios are recommended)
• Cereals or muesli without products such as chocolate and similar.
• Seeds of different types
• Sweets with natural ingredients
• Wholemeal biscuits
• Corn or rice cakes

Simply try to have them on hand so that, when munchies kick in, you can eat them and satiate your hunger in a more recommended way.