I’ve been using CBD in my clinical practice for quite a while with great success but was not overly vocal about it until I started to use it with family and myself. Both my partner and myself have become huge advocates of CBD, not to be confused with THC (but I will get into that as well)
I won’t get into ALL of the benefits in this post but I will definitely clarify a few of the misconceptions going around. First of all there are many ways to get it into you, I prefer tinctures made with high grade oils (be sure you know the oil is good quality such as MCT), or in the form of sticks as well as in capsule form during certain times of the month or gastro issues. I also like suppositories but that’s a whole other ball game of awesomeness you need to be comfortable with. I personally do not advocate vaping but hey to each his own right? Something to know about ingesting CBD oil is that your liver needs to process it, this means you are losing some potency and may only get 10-15% of what you were originally taking or in some cases as low as 6%, however that is still plenty. Some may say wait a second MCT doesn’t get processed by the liver…. no but the CBD does and unless you have shrunk the molecule down to a size which can be utilized sublingually through the mucosa in your mouth then you are still processing it via your liver.
The delivery system is something that you want to look at, the capsules also go through the digestive process but are fantastic to help boost the oil for period issues, IBS and IBD. If you can get your hands on a nanoparticle – liposomal sublingual format that is even better, the molecule has been shrunk to a size that is going to go straight into your bloodstream and crossover that blood brain barrier which is ideal.
Some have fillers, are extracted with shady and harmful methods or are made with rancid oils claiming to be olive oil however they are not so be wary of those. Even hemp oil or almond oil as a base has it’s draw backs, which is why I prefer MCT. It’s more shelf stable and doesn’t require refrigeration. You also need to look at the mg of the CBD, not the total mg of the content in the container, but the potency in the product.
Something to look at is the extraction process, as I’ve mentioned above. C02 is my preferred method, watch out for those nasty chemical agents some companies use. While you are at it I would also request a look at their certificates of analysis. You can always request these from any company, I do! If a company won’t show you this then they clearly have something to hide. You will want to look for the soil quality, what chemicals were used, look for molds or fungus as well as if it was genetically modified. If you have any immune disorders these will cause crazy health issues so be careful. Be sure you know the difference between how many mg of CBD are in the whole container vs each dose, this is something that a certificate of analysis will state. I’ve seen some with high amounts stated however it was the entire bottle not per dose, which brought the dose amount down quite a bit.
Ok back to the topic at hand, let me start by saying CBD is only one of the 113 cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant, each one has a different effect on the body. It does not have any psychoactive properties like THC does and is perfectly safe as well as legal. What I have been using is a hemp based CBD, co2 extracted in an MCT base. You can also get it from marijuana but for me the hemp version is beautiful and works well. Some will say they are not the same, but herbalists and botanists would disagree, as would I.
There is no difference in the CBD or the quality of the CBD based upon whether it is derived from hemp or marijuana. Both are cannabis, marijuana can be cannabis Indica or cannabis Sativa, and hemp is cannabis Sativa. The distinction between hemp and marijuana is legal. Hemp is defined as cannabis that has less than .03% THC by dry weight material. Marijuana is defined as cannabis that has less than .3% THC by dry weight material. When someone says that CBD from hemp is inferior it typically comes from someone in need of a basic botany class. The hemp plant does not contain THC, or rather will contain under .03% as described above, the marijuana plant contains THC. I’m not saying that THC is not useful, it is in specific situations however for 90% of my patients are looking for the effects of strictly cannabidiol and therefore go for the hemp versions.
Very interesting, thank you for explaining the difference between majuariana and hemp.
Thank you so much Kate!! kisses