As many countries around the world move towards the full legalization of CBD products, big and small businesses have been rapidly established to meet a growing demand. Everything from pure CBD oils to vape liquids, dabs and even edibles is being sold quickly by both physical and online dispensaries. If you are reading this article, chances are you would like to try out the benefits of cannabidiol as well.
However, the booming nature of today’s CBD market is making many customers buy products without verifying their effectiveness or doing some research on the suppliers’ background and quality standards. Cannabidiol is only effective when manufactured correctly and taken in adequate doses. Before purchasing any CBD oil, we recommend you to dome some research to understand what is CBD oil exactly, and then take into account the following 3 aspects:
1) Extraction Methods
While the growth and harvesting steps are important, perhaps the best proxy for determining the quality of a CBD oil is the extraction method used to retrieve it. While cannabidiol is naturally available in the hemp plants, it must be extracted and isolated into an oily substance which can be taken sublingually or used to manufacture edibles and other CBD-infused products.
From the manufacturers’ point of view, chemical and solvent-based extraction methods are the cheapest, as they provide large yields and do not required expensive machinery or high-tech solutions. However, aggressive substances and solvents such as alcohol or butane can damage the chemical composition of cannabidiol and reduce its effectiveness.
Before purchasing any CBD product, make sure to verify the extraction techniques used by your selected supplier. High quality products such as the FormulaSwiss CBD Oil are made from organic hemp plants and extracted with manual techniques without using any solvents, heavy metals, preservatives or synthetics.
2) Full Spectrum vs Isolates
Once you have verified that your CBD supplier uses clean extraction techniques, it is time to determine the type of cannabidiol product you would like to purchase. On one hand, CBD isolates contain all the beneficial properties of cannabidiol and are effective for people who do not want to consume any other components of the hemp plant.
Broad spectrum and full spectrum CBD oils, on the other hand, contain not only cannabidiol but also other naturally-occurring cannabinoids and terpenes. While CBD and THC are certainly the best-known components of hemp, this plant contains several additional substances which can act together and provide better pain and stress relief through a process called “entourage effect”.
3) Carrier Oils
Although CBD oils are certainly effective on their own, chemists and scientists have found out that there are ways to enhance the “bioavailability” of these substances. This term refers to the percentage of a substance that is effectively absorbed by the body and into the bloodstream. To increase the absorption rate of cannabidiol, manufacturers can mix either CBD isolates or full spectrum CBD oils with carrier substances such as MCT oil, olive oil or hempseed oil.
Apart from enhancing the bioavailability of cannabidiol, carrier oils are often used to improve the naturally bitter taste of raw hemp. While MCT oil is a flavorless carrier, olive oil is very popular among CBD users in the United States and Western Europe.
