This article is contributed by Leafly , the creation ’s tumid cannabis information resource . For more data please visitLeafly .
Cannabis check numerouscannabinoidsthat interact with your consistence ’s natural endocannabinoid system . Some of them , such as THC , induce euphoric event in your brain and body . But cannabis is n’t the only thing that brings about the " high " sensation with which we ’re so familiar . In fact , everything from usage to guilty - pleasure food can deliver chemically similar sensations . We already acknowledge thattruffles contain a " bliss mote " similar to THC , but here are five other things that can mime your best-loved bud to deviate degrees .
Running
The " runner ’s high " is an actual matter , and until recently it was commonly associated with the spillage of endorphins , hormones that fundamentally officiate as " pleasant painkillers . " But scientist from the Central Institute of Mental Health at the University of Heidelberg medical school in Germany have linked the ball carrier ’s high to the endocannabinoid system .
Researchers had some laboratory black eye run on a bicycle ( hopefully fit them in petite lovely run shoes and shorts ) and noticed elevated point of both endorphin and endocannabinoids after their run . The mouse acted less unquiet and were serious able to tolerate painfulness . stop endorphin receptors did n’t change their behaviour , and the mice still experienced the smuggler ’s high .
However , when the scientists close up the mice ’s endocannabinoid systems , the little Pre - furr - taines were just as anxious after their run as they were before running , and they were also more sensitive to pain . Additionally , the feeling of the moon-curser ’s high only kick in after a sure amount of mileage . Mice who ran more than three miles a day exhibited less dying behavior . ( I ’m not sure what that equates to in human miles , but as someone who ’s run a number of marathons and half marathons , I can differentiate you it emphatically kicks in during longer - space races . )
picturepartners/Shutterstock
Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Marcelo Gleiser think that this study stimulate gumption from an evolutionary standpoint :
" We develop to hunt fast moving animals and to escape from evenly fast predator . Such prolonged runs are tiring and painful . If we get a reward from influence hard , our chances of running longer and quicker are increase . And , with them , our chances of survival . As Christopher McDougall level out congenital to execute , his prompt book about long - distance running , go is in our desoxyribonucleic acid , in how our body germinate to have an Achilles tendon and sweat secretor and a series of other adaptations that make us all into possible long-distance runner . "
That ’s right , your body has actually evolved into an effective running machine . And not only does running mime the high you get from your favourite strain , it ’s good for you for you . Talk about a win - winnings !
Love
Apparently when love is in the atmosphere , it can make you feel pretty friggin ' high . Scientists recently found that higher stratum of oxytocin can liberate anandamide , an endocannabinoid that plays a role in the neural generation of motivation and delight , among other deportment . Oxytocin is a internal secretion that play a crucial part in societal bonding , sexual attracter and replication , childbirth , and female parent - babe bonding . These tactile sensation of " love " ratchet up your oxytocin levels , which in twist dial up your physical structure ’s anandamide essence .
Anandamide is internally similar to THC in that THC can seize to cannabinoid receptors on neuron in the brainiac and activate them in a style similar to anandamide . Thus , scoring a hug from that cutie you ’ve been crush on will produce exchangeable chemical effects to a nice euphoria - inducingOG Kush .
Speaking of anandamide …
lzf/Shutterstock
Chocolate
In 1996 , researcher discover that chocolate contains anandamide , as well as two substances that could mimic anandamide ’s effects , N - oleoylethanolamine and N - linoleoylethanolamine ( yes , those are both actual words ) . That ’s correct , chocolate , the luscious kickshaw that ’s let people to use up their feelings since 1900 BC . According to researcher Daniele Piomelli of the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego , the old wives ' tale that chocolate is an aphrodisiac may have stemmed from the blissful effects it can redeem thanks to anandamide .
However , do n’t rampage through the Hershey ’s factory like Augustus Gloop and expect to feel as blitz as you would from an eventide ofBruce Bannerconsumption . Said Piomelli , " We are speak about something much , much , much , much milder than a high . "
Cheese
If you ’re more of a fromagerie fan than a chocolate addict , I have good news for you ( or speculative , reckon on the rigor of your kinship ) . investigator from the University of Michigan have bump that tall mallow hold a chemical that ’s also present in drug . Well , actually a lot of processed food is associated with addictive - similar eating behavior , but cheese in fussy contains casein , a protein commonly found in mammal milk . Casein provides your body with amino group acids , saccharide , Ca , and phosphorus , and it can also touch off your head ’s opioid receptors and save smell of euphory alike to those delivered by cannabis .
Although casein in milk provides only a tiny social disease of the drug - alike effects , to make a punt of cheese you need about 10lbs of Milk River . The casein split from liquids and coagulates substantial milk fat , resulting in a higher assiduousness of it in cheeseflower and the voltage for addictive eating . So the next clock time you exclaim , " Man , I ca n’t get enough of this high mallow ! " , you could really be utter about both the cross strainCheeseand the delicious cheese and charcuterie spread in front of you , but either style , you ’re likely experiencing similar feelings of felicity and euphory .
Catnip
Catnip , orNepeta catariafrom the genusNepeta , is a mintage of plant that ’s commonly used in cooking and brew herbal teas . Oh , and about 66 % of cats go unbalanced for it .
An essential oil called nepetalactone that ’s found in the stalk and leaves of theNepetaplant can have powerful effects on kitties ( and not just domesticated true cat , but other species such astigers , panthers , and leopards ) . sniff the plant is thought to stimulate the sense organ in a computerized axial tomography ’s brainiac that respond to " happy " or enjoyable pheromones , while eating it can bring about mellow effects .
playfulness fact : Nepeta cataria is pertain to the hemp plant life ; in fact , author Michael Pollan wonders if both cannabis andNepeta catariaboth use their several chemicals to " confound " their pestilence as part of anevolutionary strategy :
g-stockstudio/Shutterstock
" Killing pests can be counterproductive , because they spawn or pick out for immunity very quickly . This happens with a quite a little of poisonous type of plants , as it does with pesticide . But if the plant merely confuse the pests or disables their memory , it can support itself against them overindulge . thoroughgoing speculation , as I say in the book . It occur to me that it might help explain what ’s happening with cannabis , which of course also disables computer storage . "
( And to answer your inevitable follow - up question , no , humans ca n’t get in high spirits on catnip– for reason yet unclear to researchers , nepetalactone does n’t affect us the way it does our feline Quaker . Also , do n’t fee cannabis to your cat for the lulz . That ’s not nerveless . )
This article was in the beginning bring out as " 5 Things That Are Chemically standardized to a Cannabis High . " For this and more articles on cannabis news and cultivation , visitLeafly News .
Drew Swantak/Thrillist
Sign up herefor our daily Thrillist electronic mail , and get your fix of the best in food / drink / sport .
Matthew albanese/thrillist
Doug McLean/Shutterstock
