CBD Oil for Health
What to Avoid with CBD Oil: The Top 5 Dos and Don’ts
Jun
CBD is arguably the most popular natural product on the market today. From regular tinctures and salves, to bath and beauty products, to food and drinks, you can find it almost anywhere. It’s not longer a fringe product that’s trying to find its legs.
That being said, there is still some confusion, and some questions people tend to have, when it comes to how to get the best results (and the best CBD oil. This is especially true of those just getting into CBD.
Want to hit the ground running? Or want to try and up the ante when it comes to results? Here’s what to avoid with CBD to stay on the right track.
What to Avoid with CBD
Let’s get down to business. Here are the top 5 things to remember when it comes to what to avoid with CBD:
1. Don’t Buy Cheap
We’ll start with this.
Good CBD isn’t cheap. That’s just the way it is.
There are a few reasons for this:
- Hemp farming hemp farming is a huge job. It requires a lot of manual work and inspection during growth, and then there is the drying process. Good quality hemp is grown using cultivation best practices. Mother Nature does a lot for the hemp plant, but she can’t do it all.
- Organic costs more. But it’s vital. Hemp absorbs toxins from the soil. So, if a farmer uses any chemicals (pesticides or fertilizers) during the growing process, or if there are heavy metals in the soil, those will inevitably end up in your CBD – and in your body! Because farmers can’t rely on those more cost-efficient pesticides, and need to monitor the soil very closely, organic farming is more costly, so that makes the better hemp more valuable.
- The extraction process. The extraction process to separate the CBD and other cannabinoids from hemp requires significant setup with high tech equipment. And the better the extraction process, the most costly that equipment. The best extraction method, resulting in the cleanest CBD without the use of solvents, is Supercritical CO2 extraction.
- Development, testing, and quality control. A high quality CBD will go through rigorous testing and continuous quality control, whereas a cheap product may not. You want to make sure the company you buy from is committed to developing the highest quality product and making sure that quality is maintained with every batch.
You don’t have to find the most expensive to get the best, but buying based on price (ie. the cheapest out there) won’t give you the results you want. Do a little research first.
Speaking of testing…
2. Don’t Forget to Check the COA
A COA, or Certificate of Analysis, is a certificate from a third party lab that outlines all of the testing done on a specific product. It tells you exactly what is – and isn’t – in the bottle. This includes the good stuff – various cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids – and the bad – any heavy metals or solvents, for example.
Without it, you can’t be sure of how clean your product is, or if the potency and purity claims of the company are true. And that’s really important.
In fact, a 2017 study of 84 different CBD products found that only 31% were accurately labeled. 26% contained less than the CBD listed on the label. If you’re buying just based on the label, you could be getting only a portion of the CBD you’re paying for.
Or, you could be getting CBD that’s not grown organically, and thus full of pesticides or heavy metals from the soil.
Any reputable company will provide access to their COAs, or at the very least provide the when you ask for them. This is an important marker of transparency. ALWAYS CHECK THE COA!
[RELATED] Find out more about a Certificate of Analysis, and how to read one, here.
3. Don’t Get Confused by Hemp Oil vs CBD Oil
We mentioned that CBD comes from hemp, but that doesn’t mean that hemp oil and CBD oil are the same. They are not. This is important when it comes to what to avoid with CBD – you don’t want to confuse the two.
Hemp oil comes mainly from the seeds of the hemp plant. The seeds contain little to no CBD and no THC. Hemp is usually much cheaper than CBD as well, and often comes in much larger bottles. It’s mainly used as a nutritional supplement since its high in nutrients, fatty acids, and healthy bioactive compounds.
Cannabinoid (CBD) oil also comes from the hemp plant, hence the confusion. However, instead of the seeds, CBD is found in the highest concentrations in the stalk and flowers of the hemp plant. It’s used mainly for therapeutic uses, rather than high nutrient value.
When you’re shopping, make sure you’re actually buying CBD oil and not just hemp oil. Hemp oil is great, but it’s not going to give you the same benefits you’re looking for with CBD oil.
4. Don’t Believe that CBD is a Cure-all
We talk about benefits, so this in an important don’t. There are claims out there from both CBD companies, experts in the industry, and regular consumers in regards to what CBD can do. A lot of this is backed by science, and we’ve seen some amazing results ourselves.
But, and this is a big but, CBD is not a cure-all. Taking CBD every day is not going to miraculously make you the healthiest person on the planet. It can help with a lot (and we mean a lot), but it isn’t going to cure every illness under the sun, or stop a major disease in its tracks. Is there anything out there that can – natural or otherwise? Unfortunately not.
Expecting CBD to be a miracle may leave you disappointed, so just remember that there are many, many things it can help with, but it isn’t a cure-all for everything.
5. Don’t Give Up
Let’s end this on a positive note.
Firstly, CBD is not one-size-fits-all. Everyone is different, so results can differ from one person to the next.
For some, it takes no time at all. You take the recommended dose and start to see results in 30 minutes. For others though, the body needs more time. It can take up to a few weeks to see results, and you may find you need more or less CBD that recommended. Give it time, and don’t give up. A little trial and error is often all it takes to find that sweet spot.
Other tips to get it right:
- Eat foods high in fatty acids when you take it
- Go for full spectrum
- Use it sublingually
- Take it at the time of day when you want it to work
To get the best results, you need to know what to avoid with CBD. Use these tips when shopping and starting out, and you’ll have the best success! Good luck!
