Lately I have been seeing some negative reviews about the ingredients contained in the supplement CB-1 Weight Gainer.
These reviews have come from website owners who create a review page and basically say that CB-1 does not work because the ingredients do not work.
Then they will refer you to another product which they are selling.
First I will explain to you what I found out about these ingredients, what they are, what they do, how they work. Then I will compare them to what these other websites said about them.
What Does The ‘C’ And The ‘B’ And The ‘1’ Mean in CB-1
CB stands for cannabinoid receptor, and the 1, stands for the type of receptor because there is more than one.
So CB-1 stands for cannabinoid receptor type 1.
I will try to keep things simple, but we first need to break things down in order to understand how everything works.
I had to do this so I could fully understand whether or not the ingredients did what was said they should do. This means understanding what the words mean.
What is a cannabinoid type 1 receptor.
Cannabinoid– A cannabinoid is one of a class of diverse chemical compounds that acts on cannabinoid receptors in cells that alter neurotransmitter release in the brain
Receptor– a receptor is a protein molecule that receives chemical signals from outside a cell.
Cannabinoid receptor type 1
“CB1, is a G protein-coupled cannabinoid receptor located primarily in the central and peripheral nervous system.” Wikipedia
What Does CB-1 Do?
Does CB1 Increase Your Appetite
“CB1 facilitates ghrelin release, normally happening when the stomach is constricted In the presence of a relatively active system, overeating is promoted. This is the genesis of its appetite-stimulating effects, colloquially called “the munchies.” ” Wikipedia
Remember CB-1 is a receptor located in the nervous system of mammals, humans are mammals. A receptor accepts signals from outside itself. So it needs to be activated.
NCBI says, “Rimonabant is the first selective blocker of the cannabinoid CB1 receptors being developed for the treatment of obesity, tobacco smoking and cardiometabolic risk factors. Following 1 year of treatment, rimonabant 20 mg/day leads to greater weight loss compared with placebo.”
I point this out in order to prove that the CB-1 receptor does in fact stimulate your appetite when activated, because here it is being suppressed by rimonabant in order to cause weight loss.
NCBI says, “Blockade of cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors was the only successful clinical development of an anti-obesity drug during the last decade. Whereas blockade of CB1 receptors acutely reduces food intake, the long-term effects on metabolic regulation are more likely mediated by peripheral actions in liver, skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and the pancreas. Lipogenic effects of CB1 receptor signalling in liver and adipose tissue may contribute to regional adipose tissue expansion and insulin resistance in the fatty liver.”
Again this proves that by blocking the CB-1 receptor food intake will be reduced, and by activating the receptor food intake will increase. CB-1 also regulates the metabolism.
Does CB-1 Slow Down Your Metabolism
Wiley.com says, “CB1 has been shown to play a role in energy metabolism, appetite control, endocrine and metabolic regulation [12]. A number of polymorphisms for the CB1 receptor have been identified. Importantly, these variants may have a possible role in the modulation of obesity.”
CB-1 helps to regulate the metabolism. In my research there was no reference that CB-1 slows down the metabolism, but that it regulates it.
I take this to mean that if you are having trouble gaining weight then maybe your metabolism is too fast. CB-1 will regulate your metabolism bringing it back in balance. For this to happen it would have to slow it down bringing it back to a more normal function.
How is CB-1 activated?
We first need to know some more definitions.
What Are Alkamides
Alkamides are a broad and expanding group of bioactive natural compounds found in at least 33 plant families.
A type of Alkamide is the Echinacea genus.
Echinacea is a native herb from North America and Europe that is used as an immunostimulant. An immunostimulant is going to activate a receptor by binding to it.
NCBI says, “Alkamides are the major lipophilic constituents of Echinacea angustifolia roots. Due to their structural similarity with anandamide, we have evaluated their ability to bind to rodent cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 by a standard receptor binding assay using [(3)H]CP-55,940 as a radioligand.”
This proves they bind to CB-1 receptor in your brain.
What activates CB-1 resulting in an increase in your appetite?
Dodeca-2E,4E,8Z,10E/Z-tetraenoic acid isobutylamides
Dodeca-2E,4Z-diene-8,10-diynoic acid isobutylamide
Undeca-2Z,4E-diene-8,10-diynoic acid isobutylamide
Undeca-2-ene-8,10-diynoic acid isobutylamide
Dodeca-2E,4E-dienoic acid isobutylamide
Dodeca-2E-ene-8,10-diynoic acid 2-methylbutylamide
Dodeca-2E,4E,8Z-trienoic acid isobutylamide
Pentadeca-2E,9Z-diene-12,14-diynoic acid isobutylamide
Dodeca-2E,4Z-diene-8,10-diynoic acid isobutylamide.
These alkamides and isobutylamides found above are extracted from the Echinacea plants, normally from the roots.
So basically to sum up so far, CB-1 is a receptor found in the nervous system of the brain.
When it is activated it will stimulate your appetite.
Echinacea are natural herbs which bind to CB-1 which causes it to activate.
There are other ingredients found in the CB-1 supplement like:
Vitamin D
Zinc
Vitamin E
Vitamin C
Lecithin
These ingredients in and of themselves may not cause weight gain but there is a reason why they are included. The website providing negatives reviews did not do enough research.
NCBI says, “The alkamides of Echinacea species are highly unsaturated compounds, and therefore, they may be prone to oxidation.”
Oxidation means the loss of electrons, so the substance is breaking down. If this happens to the ingredients in CB-1 then that would make it less effective, which is why they have added ingredients in order to prevent this oxidation from happening.
These added ingredients are vitamin C and E, and lecithin, which are antioxidants. They will reduce or stop the oxidation of the Echinacea compounds which were extracted from them.
According to wikipedia, “Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and multiple other biological effects.”
The more nutrients you can absorb from food the more weight you can potentially gain. People who have persistent diarrhea don’t absorb as many nutrients as they should.
They usually lose weight and become weaker. I know about this from person experience. You don’t want to eat food, and then have it run right through you.
Zinc
Zinc is an antioxidant which helps to fight free radical damage. It also helps to support a healthy metabolism by aiding in nutrient absorption and digestion. Absorbing nutrients is important in order to gain weight.
Plus, zinc helps in muscle growth and repair. As you eat more, you will gain weight in the form of fat and muscle. Its a good idea to lift weights in order to gain weight. This must be supported by eating enough of the right food and being able to absorb its nutrients.
What Does Taking CB-1 Pills 30 Minutes Before Each Meal Have To Do With The Ingredients
The instructions say to take 2 pills 30 minutes before each meal. This is because according to tests the ingredients are detectable in the blood at their highest concentration levels after 20 to 30 minutes after you swallow them.
Conclusion
From my research the CB-1 weight gainer supplement will increase your appetite by activating the cb-1 receptor. Plus it will regulate your metabolism if it is too fast by slowing it down to more normal levels.
As far as the negative reviews by other websites, they just did not do enough research on the ingredients being used and how everything fits together.
I hope my research has been helpful in understanding more about this supplement and gives you confidence to pursue your goal in gaining weight with it.
Sources
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140200200
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid_receptor_type_1
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120503103446.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16570100
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16503766
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20054157
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/dom.12144/full