How to take CBD?
Probably the reason you are here is that finally, you’ve taken the tough decision to give CBD a chance to steer your health. However, the tougher part is still to come.
With literally innumerable forms of CBD available in the market, which one should you rely on? Moreover, what should be an appropriate dose to start with?
When the market is flooded at once with such a huge variety of CBD products, it is only natural to be confused about the one most suited for your particular needs. This comprehensive guide on how to use CBD will help you boil down to the most appropriate CBD product.
There are a few factors that determine which mode of administering CBD will work best for you.
Factors Affecting the Mode of Administering CBD
Every different way of taking CBD has a different impact on the body. Moreover, it also affects the time taken by CBD to start showing effects. Some of the important factors you must take into consideration while selecting an appropriate mode and dosege include the following;
What are Your Aims?
More than anything else, the purpose for which you want to rely on CBD is a decisive factor. Everyone has different health goals and hence everyone’s needs for supplements are different. While some might be switching to CBD from conventional medicine because of its minimal side effects, others might be interested in it just to get a healthier lifestyle.
Where one form of CBD might be good for overall health, the other might be best for just temporary recreational purposes. The reason for which you want to use CBD defines the form in which you’d take it.
How Quickly You Want CBD to Act?
A person who is using a CBD-based product to relieve chronic pain obviously cannot wait as long as the one using it for improving overall health. Different CBD products are designed to show visible effects in different spans of time.
Where some products might start showing effect in a matter of a few minutes, others may take a few hours. Similarly, where one product may stay in the body for a longer time, others may vanish along with their effects in a few hours. Some have long-term effects while others are meant for a couple of hours or so.
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On What Part of the Body CBD Needs to Act
Even the best CBD product is of no use if it doesn’t reach the target area. I.e. the part of the body or the organ which needs to be targeted decides which form of this supplement is appropriate for you. Or example, if it needs to target your skin or hair, topically used CBD might be the best option here. However, if the aim is to rectify or strengthen the immune system, or cardiovascular system, or nervous system, topically used products are obviously not recommended. In such cases, oral administration would be the best. In this way, CBD would travel through your bloodstream to reach where it is needed to act.
Your Allergies, Taste, and Food Preferences
Some people might find it unpleasant or difficult to take one specific form of CBD as compared to the other. So, this can be a decisive factor especially when you have many options available
Similarly, if you are allergic to a specific ingredient, you might want to prefer another form of CBD which is devoid of that particular ingredient. Besides, your preferences regarding different foods may vary. For E.g. where some people might not bother about the added preservatives in edible forms of CBD, for others, it might be something that needs to be avoided.
Different Forms of CBD Available in Market
Although, the market is being flooded every other day with a number of new brands of CBD products, the different forms in which it is taken can be broadly classified under the following categories;
CBD Edibles
CBD edibles are among the very commonly used methods of taking cannabidiol. There is a huge variety of CBD edibles available in the market. Some of the examples include gummies, chocolates, cereals, truffles, CBD edible oil, and even lollipops.
Besides, pills, capsules, and powders can also be included in this category as these are also taken orally.
One of the advantages associated with these edible options is that they do not taste like a weed. Anyone can take CBD in edible form and actually enjoy the taste. Select a flavor of your choice and you are ready to chew on CBD!
However, there is a disadvantage associated with this form of CBD supplement. Most of the edible CBD products come with artificial flavors, food additives, and preservatives. If you are allergic to any of such contents or just aren’t the one preferring the preservatives and additives, this might not be a suitable form of administration for you.
Moreover, taking cannabidiol in the form of edibles is among the slowest absorption options. This way, the effects may take longer to be evident. The edibles first have to pass through the liver where they’d be broken down into an absorbable form. This means a longer span of time is required for CBD to be absorbed completely in the body.
This might typically take a couple of hours or more before you feel the effects. Moreover, this method also has a low absorption rate. I.e. of all the CBD, you take in edible form, only around 30% of it is absorbed by your body to the maximum.
However, on the other hand, if you want to keep CBD in your body for longer, these edibles are a great option though, they show effects late, but hose effects can be felt for a longer time. For example, CBD sleep-inducing pills taken a couple of hours before bedtime can not only help you fall asleep but also stay asleep longer.
Sublingual CBD Products
These include CBD oils, tonics, tinctures, lozenges, and sprays. These CBD products are typically absorbed by placing them under your tongue.
This way of taking CBD is not only faster than the edible but also helps your body absorb more of the CBD as it is not subjected to the digestive tract. It quickly gets absorbed into the bloodstream by the way of capillaries under the tongue. On average, it takes around half an hour for sublingual products to start showing effects.
Moreover, if you are taking one of these products on a full stomach, the results can be even quicker. This is because the chewing action while eating food increases the flow of blood to the capillaries of the mouth. Hence, when CBD is taken immediately after that through the sublingual route, it absorbs quickly in the blood.
An important thing to consider here is that it is recommended to keep the sublingual CBD product in your mouth for at least a minute or so. This helps improve absorption. Moreover, moving the product around your mouth during this time helps increase the area of contact with the capillaries and quicken the absorption process.
CBD Topical Products
As the name suggests, these products have to be applied topically. This means that they don’t have to be first directed to the digestive system to be broken down. Hence, this allows a quicker action and also ensures maximum absorption of CBD.
There I a huge variety of CBD products available under this category. E.g. CBD lotions, creams, balms, soaps, shampoos, bath salts, transdermal patches, salves, and many more.
Since these products absorb quickly and you get a high concentration of CBD, they are ideal for quick relief from pain and inflammation. Research strongly backs CBD’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. Moreover, these are used a lot for treating skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, skin cancer, and others. Research shows that CBD acts effectively on skin tissues to rid them of a number of skin problems.
Moreover, the studies suggest that topically applied CBD products are even effective against joint pain like that resulting from arthritis.
A thing to be considered here is while choosing a CBD topical for pain relief, try to go for the one which also uses other analgesics e.g. camphor or menthol. This way, the results will be even quicker and better.
CBD Inhalable Products
CBD-based inhalable products are among the most popular of all CBD products today. The items like vape pens joints, dabs, etc. are becoming increasingly popular because of two obvious reasons;
- Inhaling the vapor gets CBD into your bloodstream in the shortest possible time. Being the quickest mode of absorption, results are experienced almost immediately. The maximum time required for CBD to show symptoms in such cases is 10 minutes
- Moreover, it allows thorough absorption o CBD in the bloodstream. Above 50% of the CBD you inhale finds its way to the bloodstream.
However, there is one disadvantage associated with this method. The period for which CBD remains active in your body after inhalation is the smallest in this method. The effects vanish quickly just as they show up quickly.
While selecting products like vape pens or vaporizers, you need to consider one actor. Instead of relying on low-quality, disposable items, try to go for the ones with ceramic parts. It provides the cleanest vapor and most enjoyable experience.
Another very important thing to consider here is, while vaping has its own benefits to offer, it might not be the safest option when it comes to your health. There is a rigorous study still undergoing regarding the possible side effects of vaping, especially when it comes to the health of the lungs.
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Dosage of CBD-Based Products
The quantity of a specific CBD supplement that will be most appropriate for you depends upon a number of factors. The most important one of these to be considered is the ratio of THC in the product. Unlike cannabidiol, THC is a cannabinoid that can get you high. It is psychoactive and highly intoxicating. So, those who do not want to get high and want to use CBD just for medicinal benefits should avoid products with THC higher than 0.3%.
However, since CBD and THC together provide even greater health benefits, some people prefer using full-spectrum CBD products, i.e. the ones containing all cannabinoids including THC. This is because the research shows that THC and CBD work together to give an entourage effect, offering significantly higher health benefits.
If you do prefer full-spectrum CBD products, even in that case, the sensitivity shown by each person to THC is different. This means one formula doesn’t fit everyone. It is basically a hit-and-miss formula. You’d have to give it a few tries with varying potencies before you settle for the one that works best for you.
In most cases though, there aren’t any serious side effects associated with the continuous intake of CBD. Some studies have shown that taking even 1200 mg daily for a long time has not shown any long-term side effects. However, the lower you start with, the better it is.
Conclusion
No matter how safe other people’s experience is with CBD, it is always recommended that you consult a physician before starting your regimen with CBD. It does have the capability to interfere with other medications. Besides, every person’s metabolism reacts differently to different products.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7023045/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25061872/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejp.818
