Cannabis has long been a plant of interest to medical professionals and ancient healers, alike. Cannabis contains over 400 chemicals that help to create the various therapeutic effects for which it’s known. Since scientists first discovered cannabinoids, pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and scientists alike have been trying to isolate these chemicals known as cannabinoids and extract them to determine their medicinal benefit.
The cannabinoid gaining most of the attention (other than THC) now is CBD. You can find it everywhere from gas stations to health food stores these days. There are two common types of CBD produced: isolate and full-spectrum, but what’s the difference between these two? Which is more effective?
In this article, you’ll learn the following:
- The difference between CBD isolate and full-spectrum CBD
- Which is more effective, CBD isolate or full-spectrum CBD and why
- Cautions to take when purchasing CBD
What is CBD Isolate?
CBD isolate refers to oil or capsules made from exclusively CBD, no additional terpenes, cannabinoids, or anything. They extract pure CBD and make sure to isolate it from all other components of the hemp. This is slightly cheaper than creating full-spectrum CBD that still has the required low amount of THC (< 0.3%) but is complete with other cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and phenolics present in CBD.
What is Full-spectrum CBD?
Full-spectrum CBD, on the other hand, contains all the bells and whistles marijuana has to offer without the “high” feeling. Full-spectrum CBD oil still does not contain THC (less than 0.3% as with all CBD products) but is rich in other cannabinoids, terpenes, and phenolics that help to emphasize the effects of CBD.
The Entourage Effect
While it is possible to get CBD isolate, it’s not as effective as the full-spectrum CBD because of the entourage effect. What is the entourage effect? It’s the idea that you get more effect from an entourage of other cannabinoids, phenolics, and terpenes accompanying your CBD than you do from just the CBD itself.
The problem with using CBD isolate over full-spectrum CBD oil is that it stops being effective at a point. Scientists have found through various rodent and human experiments studying CBD isolate’s effect on their anxiety that the effectiveness of this treatment peaks at a medium dose. This means that it’s not as effective in both larger quantities and smaller quantities.
This means that the effectiveness of CBD isolate is very limited. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact dosage to be effective and it’s far too easy to surpass it. However, full-spectrum CBD was shown to have benefits throughout; in the sections that follow, we’ll detail how.
Full-spectrum CBD Oil is More Effective
There are two major positives that full-spectrum CBD has over CBD isolate: it works at all dosages and it takes less of it to work, but why?
The Entourage of Terpenes and Phenolics Supports the CBD
Did you know that the terpenes and phenolics present in cannabis help to boost the effects of both THC and CBD? Many of these chemicals have the same effects as these cannabinoids, thus adding to the medicinal benefits. CBD has over 65 target endocannabinoids receptors throughout the human body and many terpenes and phenolics also react with these endocannabinoid receptors, thus helping to boost CBD’s effects on mood, inflammation, and pain.
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The Entourage Complements the CBD
There’s more than one way to achieve your desired outcome. Many of the terpenes, cannabinoids, and phenolics found in full-spectrum CBD oil effectively treat anxiety, depression, and pain but by reacting with different receptors in the body than CBD does. This allows you to have a more well-rounded treatment.
Resolving the Downsides
The reason for CBD isolate’s peak effectiveness, scientists believe, is its ability to react with different target receptors at different concentrations. One example of this in action is CBD’s ability to relieve anxiety when moderate doses are consumed, but when higher doses are consumed, CBD isolate can trigger the neurotransmitters that cause anxiety. When other terpenes, flavonoids, cannabinoids, and phenolics are introduced, however, they found it to be effective at all doses.
Full-spectrum CBD is More Bioavailable
Scientists have found reason to believe that CBD isolate doesn’t travel as far through the human body as full-spectrum CBD does, meaning full-spectrum CBD is more bioavailable. For instance, you can use topical CBD treatments, but they have to contain certain terpenoids found in cannabis and full-spectrum CBD to be able to move the medication past skin barriers.
The Dangers of CBD Oil
There are some dangers to purchasing CBD in the current market. CBD is not currently regulated in the United States. This means the FDA doesn’t have their hands in it, insist on any type of testing or consistency in the product, or verify its quality or integrity. This means you have to be particularly careful when purchasing CBD-infused products.
Not All Companies are Created Equal
Due to CBD not being regulated, there’s ample opportunity for less than reputable business practices to sneak their way into the market and make a quick buck at the expense of their customers. Many of these businesses use cheaper CBD isolate (which is less effective) in their CBD oil, rather than full-spectrum, and some even use CBD sourced from areas with lower purity standards.
How to Stay Safe
The number one way to ensure that you’re only buying CBD of the highest quality is to do vast and extensive research into the quality of the product and the brand. We recommend only purchasing from companies that have their products lab tested and that either include lab results or have the lab results available online. This ensures that your product only contains what you think it does.
The number one way to ensure that you’re only buying CBD of the highest quality is to do vast and extensive research into the quality of the product and the brand. We recommend only purchasing from companies that have their products lab tested and that either include lab results or have the lab results available online. This ensures that your product only contains what you think it does.