Trending across the globe with incredible velocity, CBD products have become very popular. This article will help to explain some of the core distinctions between CBD products and how to know what to look for.
What Kinds of CBD Are There and What Do The Terms Mean?
The main compound is extracted from the hemp plant is cannabidiol, or CBD, a cannabinoid, that has been known to aid in reducing inflammation and helping users to calm their mind and body.
There are a number of methods of extracting the oils from the plant. Some extract only the cannabinoids, like CBD, in as pure a form as possible, while others pull many more compounds from the plant, like the minor cannabinoids and terpenes (more on that below).
Care By Design Hemp has conducted extensive research to learn how different combinations of hemp compounds react in the body. While CBD alone is very effective, it is made even more powerful by the inclusion of other minor cannabinoids from the plant, like CBG or CBDV (there are as many as 200). This interplay between compounds is known as the Entourage Effect. Let’s understand the differences between types of CBD available:
Full-Spectrum CBD
A full-spectrum extract pulls much more than just CBD from the hemp plant. It includes CBD oil, any additional cannabinoids, terpenes, and sometimes even additional plant lipids or other compounds. Quite literally, the extract contains the full spectrum of therapeutic compounds that can be beneficial for health and wellness.
Many argue that full-spectrum CBD is the most powerful form of hemp medicine, which is backed up by a 2015 study that showed full-spectrum CBD provided more relief to mice than isolated CBD. Because of the Entourage Effect, the inclusion of the minor cannabinoids and terpenes provides a more robust effect and increases the extract’s bioavailability (how well it is absorbed into the body).
Full-spectrum CBD is used in Care By Design Hemp’s entire product line.
When buying one of our hemp products, you are guaranteed to get the most powerful CBD available.
CBD Distillate
The most common form of CBD available on the market is derived from CBD distillate. Almost all vape pens available, as well as edibles like chocolate or gummies, are made with distillate. Distillate is a thick sap of hemp oil that is typically 85-99% CBD content. Most distillate is very low in terpenes, sometimes the distillate contains the same plant’s terpenes, and sometimes additional plant-derived terpenes are included.
CBD Isolate
Isolate is the only type of extract that is 100% CBD. The name gives away this fact, as CBD is isolated from the plant and all the other compounds. It takes a powdery crystal form as an isolate, like sugar, and is far more soluble than the other types. That property allows CBD isolate to be used in many products from edibles to drinks to capsules.
What to Look for
It should be noted that there is no such thing as a full-spectrum CBD isolate. That would be against the very nature of isolation, a process of extracting a single compound. Yet, many companies do still try and use these buzzwords on products to help them sell, so be aware.
Furthermore, because of the popularity of CBD, so many companies are producing it, and not all are entirely ethical or consistent. Many CBD products don’t contain the amount of CBD they advertise, some don’t contain any at all! Some may even contain toxic ingredients. But this is easy to avoid if you know what to look for.
All good quality hemp companies and products test their product and make those test results readily available to their customers. Test results should be easy to find and access to confirm the CBD content is as advertised and that the ingredients are non-toxic.
Care By Design is committed to quality and laboratory testing. In fact, we even triple test all of our products to ensure purity, consistency, & potency. Here are a few of Care By Design Hemp’s test results so you know what they look like.
Are Cannabinoids All That Matter? What About Terpenes?
While cannabinoids are the most important part of the medicine, we also know that the terpenes in the plant (kind of like the essential oils that impart smell and flavor) seem to create more specific effects, like making one calm or uplifted.
A great example of this is lavender. Used to create relaxing environments for thousands of years, lavender is used by many spas as a predominant scent to help patrons feel calm and comfortable. The terpene in lavender chiefly responsible for this calming effect is called linalool, and it is also present in hemp, as well as innumerable other plants.
Another example is spending time in forests. The alpha and beta-pinene from forest trees and evergreens are uplifting, and myrcene and other terpenes create relaxation and relief, while also boosting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds in the body. Forest bathing, hiking, and camping are great stress reduction activities for this very reason.
We’ll dive into terpenes in much more depth in our next article, as well as how specific formulations help steer the effects of CBD into different directions. The most important factor is, however, the quality of the CBD in a product. For the most effective CBD on the market, full-spectrum is the way to go.
Good news! All of our hemp products feature full-spectrum CBD; and, because they are hemp-derived, you can purchase these products nationwide. Click here to shop our products today.
