CBD products have gained monumental popularity over a short time. You’d have definitely come across the term ‘CBD’ unless you’ve been living in a cave the past couple of years. CBD has made its presence felt in many industries from health supplements, foods, and beverages to beauty products.
CBD’s legality status
Though CBD aka cannabidiol sounds like a fairly new compound, it has been around for centuries. There are anecdotes in the history of CBD being used to ease certain medical conditions. Researchers started exploring CBD’s potential and currently, the use of CBD is legal in about 50 US states.
CBD has been a huge hit among the masses due to its wide range of medicinal benefits. It helps with mood swings, anxiety, stress, pain, inflammation, insomnia, certain types of seizures, nausea, etc. If you are considering trying CBD products find reputable CBD vendors. Since there aren’t any proper FDA regulations for CBD, not all CBD products available are effective.
Purchase CBD online
Check the reputation of the CBD vendor before going ahead with the purchase. You can check out the website of CBD Oil Solutions. They are one of the top CBD manufacturers in the US with a wide customer base. They feature the highest quality CBD products in the market and each product is made from pure CBD cannabinoid.
What exactly is CBD?
CBA is a predominant cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant contains over 100 cannabinoids and many other chemical compounds among which cannabinoids CBD and THC are popular. THC is the intoxicating component of cannabis and CBD promotes the positive effects of cannabis without the associated high.
CBD products contain high levels of CBD and less than 3% THC and hence don’t possess psychoactive effects. Our body naturally produces cannabinoids known as endocannabinoids and CBD is found to indirectly boost the natural production of our body’s cannabinoids and thereby delivers many health benefits.
Extraction of CBD
CBD is derived from seeds, stalk, and flowers of hemp plants. There are a couple of techniques to extract CBD from cannabis including decarboxylation, oil fusion, winterization, distillation, etc. The resulting CBD oil extracted is infused in CBD products. The three types of the extract are:
- Full-spectrum CBD: CBD oil extracted from cannabis consists of THC and many other phytochemicals present in cannabis. This extracted CBD oil is added to CBD products without further processing.
- Broad-spectrum CBD: Broad spectrum CBD oil contains all the compounds extracted during the extraction process with the exception of THC.
- Isolate: It is the purest (99% pure) form of CBD. No other chemical compounds are present and the users get the sole benefit of CBD.
Some people may choose to use pure CBD and resort to CBD isolate while some don’t mind the presence of other cannabinoids other than THC. In full-spectrum CBD oil, every chemical compound present acts together creating an entourage effect and provides effective results. Broad-spectrum is almost similar to full-spectrum and results in an entourage effect.
The presence of THC in full-spectrum can give false positives in drug tests due to the presence of THC which is not the case with broad-spectrum. Hence broad-spectrum is seen as the middle ground between isolates and full-spectrum.
Popular CBD products – CBD oil and tincture
CBD can be ingested in a number of ways among which CBD oil and CBD tinctures are popular. Many aren’t aware of the difference between both. CBD oils and tinctures are very different from each other.
Ingredients of CBD oil
CBD oil is mixed with certain carrier oils to dilute it. The reason CBD is mixed with base oil is to enable it to get absorbed by the body easily. The base oils could be:
- Hemp seed oil
- Coconut oil
- MCT oil
- Vegetable glycerin base
CBD tincture
Tincture refers to medicines that are made by dissolving a drug with alcohol. CBD tinctures are a combination of CBD oil extracted in the liquid form from hemp, alcohol, peppermint oil, and glycerin. CBD tincture has comparatively lower potency than CBD oil but has a longer shelf life due to the presence of alcohol which serves as a preservative.
However, the presence of alcohol in CBD tincture paves way for better bioavailability of CBD. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of the drug that enters the bloodstream. When ingesting CBD only a proportion of the product is absorbed into the bloodstream and bioavailability differs for each administration method.
Ingredients of CBD tincture
- Certain essential vitamins like B12, D, and C
- Water
- Herbs
- Melatonin
- Sweeteners
- Essentials oils like lavender, basil
Difference between CBD oil and CBD tincture
- Base: CBD oil has the base as oil while CBD tincture as the base as alcohol. Both are effective in treating various health conditions.
- Concentration: CBD oils and tincture generally have higher CBD concentrations than other CBD products. CBD tincture has additional ingredients than CBD oil which results in more dilution and comparatively lower CBD concentration than oil.
- Taste: Due to the higher CBD concentration, some may be put off by the earthy taste of CBD oil. Some may use other techniques to mask the after-techniques whereas CBD tinctures are available in a wide variety of exciting flavors like berry, lime, vanilla, chocolate, etc.
- Price: The price ranges between 50$ and 100$. It could go higher depending on the potency and extraction method employed.
- Administration: CBD oil can be vaped and CBD tincture can be taken sublingually under the tongue or mixed with foods and consumed.
- Shelf life: The ethyl alcohol/ isopropyl alcohol used extends the shelf life of CBD tincture. If you notice your CBD oil getting foggy, it is an indicator that the oil has expired.
CBD oil and tincture sold by trustworthy CBD vendors are packed with benefits. Choose whichever method works for you. There is no one best CBD product. The answer varies for everyone. Incorporate CBD into your daily routine to see effective results.