Oh the questions! Daily I hear people asking why I choose whole plant rather than isolate since so many companies seem to have jumped on the isolate bandwagon. Well you see this is what sets us apart, the ones who have an herbal or botanical background vs those who heard about something that sounded good and decided to run with it… I’m not saying that isolate won’t work, of course it will! It’s just not going to work AS WELL and ‘good enough’ is not what I want when I’m doubled over in pain.

It’s also cheaper to produce and source from a manufacturing standpoint (see why people are using it now?)

As with any popular supplement on the market you are going to find one that takes off becoming a hot ‘new’ trend and a thousand wanna be companies who have decided to market low grade stuff preying on the weakness of the sick. When it comes to supplements that’s my jam baby. I was especially happy when I got to throw my R&D hat on at the same time as wearing my Herbal Alchemy Hat (teamed up with a friend who’s a kick ass botanist). So we started digging.

The beneficial properties of CBD (cannabidiol) are seemingly almost endless. This non-psychoactive (won’t get you high) cannabinoid helps balance almost every single system in the body, including our endocannabinoid system which supports our endocrine system (this directly affects our hormones). You really want to be choosing something that shows the most positive effect and boasts the highest quality. Let’s break it down:

Isolate

CBD isolate is cannabidiol in its purest form (sounds good so far right?) The compounds have been ISOLATED and REFINED down to eliminate oils, waxes, plant materials, chlorophyll, and basically anything else that isn’t one specific compound. From an herbal stand point this doesn’t appeal to me, I’ll get to that in a minute. Isolate became popular in it’s powder form (yup it comes in powder) because you could be specific in your dosing, add it to butters, baking, infuse it into liquids like coffee (holy jacked up bulletproof coffee!) and it had no odor or taste. I’ve even added it to honey for my evening tea. Isolate is around 99% pure, giving patients a better way to have an exact dosage, much like a tylenol, right down to the mg.

Whole Plant, Full Spectrum CBD Hemp Oil

Whole plant is exactly what it sounds like, the whole plant. This includes the seeds and stalks so you get what’s called FULL SPECTRUM. What this means is the molecules of the whole plant remain intact, you get the full spectrum of the CBD compounds, not just a few or one. You retain the fatty acids, the terpenes, the flavonoids, plus the essential vitamins and minerals. All of that is missing in the isolate version. Over 100 other cannabinoids that are present in hemp naturally will remain intact including the much sought after CBN (cannabinol), CBL (cannabicyclol), THCV (tetrahydrocannabivarin – not the same as THC known as tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBCVA (cannabichromevarinic acid). 

Scientists have shown (yes this is evidence based) that full spectrum hemp CBD offers an entourage effect – this means it magnifies the natural effects of the compounds as they work together synergistically. Look, the creator (whoever that may be to you) didn’t mess up when they created plants, they made them so that each compound had a job just like each of our body’s systems has a job. These systems support each other and don’t function as well on their own. When you isolate something you leave out the important and much needed therapeutic properties.

When you remove the terpenes and other compounds you remove each of these benefits:

If a company is out there saying they are the best, the best in the world, or there is no other brand better than there’s I suggest running in the opposite direction. No one can claim that. You can claim to be high quality but in no way is there ONE magic brand that has the golden additive making it superior to everyone else.

One of the studies out there on the effects of isolate vs whole plant showed that full spectrum versions were much more effective at reducing muscle spasms than isolate. The proof is in the pudding folks, or should I say plant.