Can Magic Mushroom Assist with Weight Loss?

Now I know what you’re thinking…

I recently found an online article asking if psychedelics were the future of weight-loss, and my immediate reaction was it was just as one more click-bait headline. Another magic mushroom cure-all claim that seemed too good to be true. While it certainly sounds that way I did think back through my past mushroom trips (of which there have been many) and thought there may indeed be something to this… I mean when was the last time I was tripping and hungry? It’s not like one gets the munchies from mushrooms, in fact, I can’t recall ever craving food when high in mushrooms. So I read deeper on the subject and found some pretty compelling information.

By now we’re all well aware that the use of psychedelic plant medicines for the treatment of mental health issues like anxiety, PTSD, depression and even addiction, has garnered some amazing and impactful results, so is it so outlandish that researchers have turned their attention to whether psychedelics could help tackle obesity as well? (https://www.insider.com/researchers-believe-magic-mushrooms-could-curb-obesity-2021-1).

SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

Without getting into the complexities of neural pathways and brain functions, It’s generally understood that psychedelics reduce activity in the brain’s default mode network. This is a network of habitual pathways that communicate between brain regions.

We tend to default to the tracks that have been built up over time, making it harder to take any path other than the ones already established. It’s understood that the default mode network is overactive in conditions including depression, anxiety, addiction and OCD.

So, by interrupting default mode network activity, psychedelics may allow for a break from deeply ingrained psychological patterns and may act to increase brain neuroplasticity, creativity and allow for the setting of new tracks. 

In simple terms, it can assist us in breaking bad habits. Overeating being just another habitual default built up over time by the release of dopamine from eating, is just one-more habit-formed psychological pattern.

While much more testing is needed to definitively demonstrate whether psilocybin can be used in this manner, early indications are very positive. And given the numerous health risks that come with being overweight (hyper-tension, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, increased risk of heart disease and more), and the fact that nearly one in three people in North America are clinically overweight, and one in ten are severely obese, there’s certainly good reason to investigate further.

Surely, there will be many questions around effective dosage sizes, frequency of treatment etc, but its another exciting chapter in plant-based medicine! And I for one, will be keeping an eye out for the next weight-loss craze to drop… Move over Keto diet …it’s The Psilo Diet.  

So while we wait for this new diet craze to sweep the country, ask yourself how is your appetite effected while taking mushrooms?