CBD Bioavailability of Different Delivery Methods
What is CBD bioavailability and why is it so important? Hemp extracted Cannabidiol (CBD) continues to gain in popularity, and there aren’t a shortage in companies offering products containing the cannabinoid.
Finding the right CBD brand or product can be a daunting task, and when you do find one, it’s not going to be cheap. So since you are paying top dollar for your CBD product, it is really important to know the bioavailability that each delivery method provides.
What is Bioavailability?
The proportion of a drug or other substance which enters the circulation when introduced into the body and so is able to have an active effect.
Oxford Dictionary
In laymen’s terms, bioavailability is how much of a substance will be available to use biologically in your system, or what percentage of a substance will eventually enter your bloodstream.
And since there are many delivery methods, such as smoking, vaping, and ingesting, each one has their own specific bioavailability.
So, going back to the cost of high-quality CBD oil extracts and products, it’s important to understand how much CBD will eventually end up in your system, so that you are getting the best bang for your buck. This will also help you in choosing the right delivery method for your needs.
Bioavailability of Different CBD Delivery Methods
Due to CBD being so popular and appealing to the entire population, naturally, a wide variety of delivery methods have been designed. And as mentioned above, each method have its pros and cons, but also its own bioavailability.
Smoking
Smoking has always been the choice for many to get substances into the bloodstream. Why do you think tobacco companies choose smoking to delivery nicotine? Because it’s efficient.
As for CBD, smoking would entail smoking CBD buds, otherwise known as hemp flower. There are many strains being designed with different percentages of CBD. They can range from 10% to over 20% of CBD, but you are also getting something called the “entourage effect.”
The entourage effect is the effect you get when all the cannabinoids in hemp work in unison. It’s a kind of buzz, but it should not be confused with getting “high,” because at less than 0.3% of THC, that’s impossible. It’s hard to explain, but that’s the biggest appeal, other than the fact it has a high bioavailability.
Vaping
Vaping, in general, is taking over smoking – for many reasons that we won’t go into here – but it has the same appeal that smoking has: high bioavailibility. However, the amount of CBD that you can get into a vape cartridge, such as this CBD cartridge 1000mg, can be anywhere from 30% to 81%!
With such high amounts of CBD in a vape cartridge, it is no wonder why it is so popular. Moreover, vaping doesn’t have the smell that hemp flower has (it is reported to look and smell like marijuana). So, people like the discreetness of vaping.
What about the entourage effect? Is that gone with vaping? Not quite. Check out this CBD / CBN hybrid vape cartridge 1000mg, which will give you a nice buzz without the need to spark up.
Concentrates
Concentrates are isolates. CBD is isolated through a very rigorous process, and you usually end up with something that has 90+% of CBD. Examples of this are CBD kief, CBD hash, CBD wax and CBD shatter.
These are also inhaled by smoking (kief and hash) or using a dab rig or specialized vaporizer (wax and shatter). Concentrates are very high bioavailability.
Tinctures
Smoking and vaping is not for everyone, so there are many other ways to get CBD into your system. CBD tinctures offer a great alternative, however the bioavailability decreases a little bit.
Tinctures go under the tongue for about 60 seconds with some CBD enter the the bloodstream through there, then the rest is swallowed. Experts say that tinctures can provided anywhere from 10-20% of the CBD used to enter your bloodstream.
What does that mean? if you take 100mg of CBD, then you can expect that 10-20mg to finally end up in your system. But that unrealistic. Most tinctures have 5-15mg of CBD per dropper. The good news is that for most ailments, like sleeplessness or mild anxiety, you won’t need more than 2 droppers a day. So, regular tinctures are considered medium bioavailability.
Liposomes
If the bioavailability of tinctures is disappointing, then you can use liposomal CBD. What are liposomes? Liposomes are basically fat cells. CBD oil is carefully injected into liposomes which helps protect the CBD from being damaged by your gastro-intestinal system.
That means more CBD can get delivered to your system. How much more? The amount could go up to 50%, which is why they carry a little more of a cost. Liposomes are considered high bioavailability.
Capsules
CBD capsules are a very popular way to deliver CBD into your system. There is no need to taste anything at all. However, capsules have to go through your gastro-intestinal system unprotected, and therefore are low bioavailability.
How low? It could range between 5-10%, but it differs from person to person. However, most people taking CBD in capsule form are athletes that are using to recover and usually use it in unison with a CBD cream. Also, when CBD is mixed with other calming ingredients, such as these capsules, it can help calm you down.
Edibles
CBD edibles, such as gummies or chocolates, like capsules, have to go through the digestive system. Which means they have low bioavailability, however, being mixed with sugar and coco can boost its bioavailability slightly. That said, not everyone can take capsules, so edibles are a great way of getting CBD into your system in a fun and yummy treat.
Creams
CBD creams are not to be ingested, but to be applied topically, massaged into the skin, and more focused on a certain area. CBD bioavailability does not apply in this situation, however, it goes without saying, that the more potent a topical balm you are using, the better it can get rid of pain or inflammation.
We hope this guide will help you on your journey of understanding CBD bioavailability with different delivery methods. At WeedUpdate, we always strive to give you most up to date information effecting the cannabis and hemp industries.
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