CBD can have many benefits – managing stress, decreasing pain, and helping sleep. But with so many products and brands out there, how do we know which ones work best?
This article discusses the principles and techniques used to determine a CBD product’s effectiveness and tips to help you choose high-quality, worthwhile products before you buy CBD. Read below to find out more.
What Do We Mean by “Effectiveness”?
Effectiveness is defined as the degree to which something is successful in producing desired results. Therefore, a CBD product’s effectiveness will depend on your reason for using it. For example, whether you’re looking to unwind or treat something specific, such as pain.
Our unique biological makeups and differences in metabolism also mean the effectiveness of the same CBD products can easily vary from person to person.
However, there are three factors necessary for effectiveness common among all users. These include:
- Strength: the amount of CBD in a product
- Bioavailability: how much CBD can enter the body and have an effect
- Purity: whether or not the product is contaminated
Different Types of CBD Products
CBD products feature one of three different formulas:
- Isolate: pure CBD, usually in crystal form, which contains no other cannabis plant materials
- Full-spectrum: CBD, usually in oil form, containing small amounts of other plant materials – terpenes, flavonoids, and other cannabinoids, including THC.
- Broad-spectrum CBD: the same as full-spectrum CBD but with the THC removed
Strength
You can find the total amount of CBD in a product by reading the label. However, when considering a product’s effectiveness, the dose is more important, as this helps to determine how potent a product is (i.e., how much of the product is required to bring about an effect).
For full and broad-spectrum CBD, the mixture of plant materials plays a vital role in potency because the interaction between the different compounds can enhance CBD’s action, known as the entourage effect.
To demonstrate the entourage effect, one study found that CBD’s anti-pain and anti-inflammatory effects were more significant in mice when using a cannabis extract enriched with CBD rather than CBD alone at the same dose.
Therefore, when determining the effectiveness of a CBD product, you should consider whether the product is an isolate or spectrum. If it’s the latter, you could investigate whether it contains plant-based ingredients that have a synergistic effect with CBD.
Bioavailability
As well as strength, bioavailability – the amount which can be absorbed into the bloodstream – plays an essential part in CBD’s potency and effectiveness. Researchers measure bioavailability by providing animals or humans with CBD and measuring the amount of CBD in their bloodstream until the CBD is removed.
Because a lot of CBD gets broken down in the stomach, eating or swallowing CBD isn’t often very effective. In fact, estimates suggest only 6% of CBD is absorbed by the body when consumed orally.
Smoking CBD is a lot more bioavailable, at an estimated 31% bioavailability. However, because this method is relatively short-lasting, the sublingual method (placing a drop of oil under the tongue to be absorbed through the tissue) tends to be the most popular.
In recent years, more products are coming to market that use special techniques to enhance CBD’s bioavailability. For example, the biotech firm Satifarm contains CBD in tiny capsules, which prevent it from getting damaged by stomach acid.
Purity
Hemp is a bio-accumulator, meaning it absorbs harmful compounds from the soil, for example, radioactive elements, heavy metals, and pesticides. This ability makes hemp great for soil health. However, it also means when manufacturers extract CBD from hemp, improper methods can result in toxic contaminants making the product less effective and potentially even dangerous.
The purity of CBD products can be measured with special laboratory techniques. The most common is liquid chromatography, which is passing a liquid mixture over a column to separate its components. After liquid chromatography is performed, scientists then use mass spectroscopy – which measures the weight of particles – to identify the different components.
If you’re looking to buy a CBD product, be sure to check it has a certificate of analysis (COA) – an official document showing the item has been laboratory tested for purity.
With an extensive range of third-party lab-tested products, we recommend checking out the online store Premium Jane for pure and high-quality CBD. Ensuring complete transparency, the company has included up-to-date lab reports in each online product description.
How the Effectiveness of CBD Products Is Measured: Summary
Strength, bioavailability, and purity are vital to CBD’s effectiveness. So before you buy any CBD products, do your research to check your product dosage and see if it’s been lab tested.
Another important step before buying products is to read customer reviews, as they will give you insight into whether a product is effective for other people.