How to choose the right CBD product for your needs.

CBD or cannabidiol products promise a host of health benefits, ranging from their well-researched pain- and stress-relieving effects to relief from the symptoms of cancer treatment. If you’ve tried CBD but haven’t received the health benefits you expected, you might be quick to declare the products and the industry a scam.

However, many people use CBD to manage symptoms related to chronic pain, anxiety, inflammation, and insomnia, according to many treatment studies. If the products aren’t working for you, you may need to reassess your dosage, the type of CBD you’re taking, and the quality of your chosen brand.

Read on to learn how to effectively select and use CBD products so you can get the most out of your investment. The health benefits they promise may seem out of reach to you now, but they don’t have to be.

How Much CBD Are You Taking?

CBD dosage is tricky to figure out. Since the effectiveness of different products varies, there’s no gold standard for effectiveness that can be used across the entire industry. Our individual responses to CBD differ as well.

The best method is to start with a low dose and increase it incrementally until you find an amount that provides the symptom relief you’re looking for. Since CBD stimulates the natural endocannabinoid system in your body, its effects build in your system. Adapt and change the amount you take over time as you build a tolerance to its effects to make sure you get the benefits you deserve.

Since CBD may provide symptom relief or even slow the progression of certain cancers, according to Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, it’s worth it to experiment until you find the right dosage.

What Kind of CBD Are You Taking?

CBD comes in many forms depending on how it’s extracted from the cannabis plant. The number and type of compounds – including essential oils, terpenes, and cannabinoids – that remain in the CBD after extraction determine its classification and change its effects.

If CBD is not working for you, you may need to switch to a different form. Simpler types can provide mild anxiety relief, but brands that contain diverse compounds can be used to greater effect. Some have even reduced spasms in people with sclerosis.

Read on to learn about the composition of each form individually so you can decide which is right for you.

Isolate

Isolate is the purest form of CBD. This comes with advantages and disadvantages. Depending on how the CBD is extracted from the cannabis plant, it could contain additional compounds like other cannabinoids, terpenes, essential oils, and THC. THC is the psychoactive component of cannabis, the compound that gives recreational marijuana users a “high.” CBD isolate contains no THC, which means that it doesn’t appear on a drug test.

However, since it also does not contain any additional terpenes or essential oils, CBD isolate doesn’t have as many benefits. CBD isolate may be good for people that want to see if CBD alone can give them the benefits they seek. However, if pure, isolated CBD is not working for you, consider trying those listed below for more diverse effects.

Broad-Spectrum

Unlike CBD isolate, broad-spectrum CBD is extracted with other natural cannabis compounds intact. This means that other cannabinoids, essential oils, and terpenes make it into the final CBD oil mixture.

However, though broad-spectrum CBD contains other cannabinoids, it doesn’t contain any THC. This means that broad-spectrum CBD also doesn’t show up on drug tests and has no psychotropic effects.

Full-Spectrum

Full-spectrum CBD contains the most compounds of all the CBD varieties we’ve discussed. When extracted from cannabis, full-spectrum CBD retains its natural essential oils, terpenes, and cannabinoids, including THC. This means that it could have sedative effects, as well as potential legal consequences if not used responsibly.

Why would anyone use full-spectrum CBD if these risks exist? The answer is called the “entourage effect.” This refers to how the oils and cannabinoids interact with each other to compound their effects. This is why full-spectrum CBD has the most potential to provide the expected health benefits. Its benefits increase the more you take it, making it possible to continue reaping its effects even after you’ve developed a tolerance.

Water-Soluble

Like most CBD oil varieties, water-soluble CBD does not contain THC. However, in powder form, it’s easier for your body to absorb than others.

Water-soluble CBD can be added to drinks and food without worrying about whether your body will be able to absorb it. Water-soluble CBD is a great way to take CBD if you don’t like the taste of the oil. If that has prevented you from keeping up your regular doses in the past, water-soluble CBD may be able to help you get the benefits you hope for by being more palatable.

Is the CBD You’re Taking High-Quality?

An inferior brand of CBD could be to blame for its disappointing performance. Saving money on CBD oil may not be the best idea, since a lower quality product could have little to no effect on you. CBD is safe, but only if you know what’s in the brand that you’re taking. This is why it’s worth asking: what makes CBD high-quality?

Known Brands

The CBD industry may be relatively new, but the most reputable brands already have a strong following. When searching for a CBD oil product, you may be tempted to pay less for a lesser-known brand, but this could come with the risk that the product won’t work.

Research which brands consistently offer the products you’re looking for and include customer reviews in your search. The effectiveness of their extraction methods and the resulting products may be evident in the reception they’ve received from others. Just remember that everyone’s body and tolerance level is different.

Third-Party Testing

CBD products advertise how much CBD is in them, their THC content, and the breakdown of the other cannabinoids, oils, and flavors present in their specific spectrum. However, the only way for us to know how truthful these numbers are is to rely on third-party laboratory tests. They reveal the percentages of the products’ content so you can pick the one that’s right for you.

If a brand doesn’t prominently advertise testing on their site or it’s proving difficult for you to view the results, try a different brand. The most reputable CBD brands are confident in their extraction procedures and the accuracy of their marketing in terms of their products’ content. They want you to know what you’re putting in your body.

If those numbers are hard to find, a company’s third-party testing procedures may be unreliable or non-existent.

The Takeaway

The right CBD product can provide a host of health benefits, including pain and anxiety relief. However, CBD may not be working for you, so it pays to know how the dosage, spectrum, and brand can affect each product’s effectiveness.

This guide should help you navigate the claims of different brands, as well as their chemical content, to choose the brand, spectrum, and dosage that’s right for you. Even though some experimentation is warranted, most people can find a CBD product that provides the benefits that have made this once-taboo substance a phenomenon in the world of pharmaceutical stress relief.

For high-quality hemp-derived CBD products that seamlessly enhance your wellness routine, check out A88CBD™!