Cannabidiol (CBD) is an ever-increasing popular health supplement that’s taking the health, food, and beauty industries by storm. It has gained plenty of attention for its health benefits, and there is plenty of ways to take it, which will be discussed below.
What is CBD?
If you’re new to CBD, it’s best to explain what it is before diving deeper into how you can take it. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is one of the two most prevalent chemical compounds found in cannabis. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the other. THC is responsible for the psychotic ‘highs’ associated with cannabis, whereas CBD does not cause this. CBD has been proven to have numerous health benefits on the body due to its interaction with our endocannabinoid system (ECS) and its anti-inflammatory properties.
Despite its powerful medicinal and therapeutic properties, many people remain skeptical about CBD due to its association with cannabis. However, it’s important to note it’s considered one of the safest plant compounds compared to other herbal extracts.
Popular Intake Methods
Due to CBD being a chemical plant compound, it can easily be integrated into various products, which means there are several ways users can take CBD. To get the highest quality CBD products, it’s essential to buy from the best CBD stores.
Oral Tinctures
Oral tinctures are often either oral drops or sprays. They are the traditional and most standard way of taking CBD and are recommended for beginners. Typical administration involves up to three sprays or drops under the tongue every day.
Oral tinctures are one of the most popular ways of taking CBD because of their fast uptake time in the body. This is because the CBD enters your system directly through your mucous membrane in your mouth, allowing CBD to enter your bloodstream quickly without passing the digestive system and liver.
This form of CBD uptake is one of the safest, too, since the tinctures offer accurate dosage.
Edibles
CBD can be infused into chocolates, sweets, gummies, mints, even your favorite baked goods. One of the main benefits of intaking CBD this way is that it’s very discreet. You can easily have a sweet or piece of chocolate without drawing any attention to yourself.
Smoking
Smoking would be the most popular way for smoking cannabis recreationally, and it happens to be one of the most effective intake methods of CBD. CBD is smoked in the form of dried hemp flowers and is a popular intake method for smokers.
Smoking CBD is advised among tobacco smokers because some research has shown CBD can treat nicotine addiction by decreasing attentional bias to tobacco in users.
Despite the absorption rate of CBD being good when smoked, it’s not necessarily the best intake method for your health. That’s due to other toxins that can be inhaled alongside the smoke.
Vaping
For people trying to quit smoking by vaping but want a similar absorption rate of CBD, there are CBD e-juices available. After being marketed as a safe alternative to smoking, vaping has become popular. The main difference between vaping and smoking is that a vaper inhales vapor instead of smoke, reducing the likelihood of nasty toxins being inhaled.
Topicals
The beauty industry has done a brilliant job of integrating CBD into many products. Examples include creams, lotions, body oils, balms, salves, shampoos etc. This intake method of CBD is popular among those who want the effects of CBD to be localized. For example, suppose you were suffering with muscle soreness in your lower leg. In that case, you can apply a topical treatment in that area rather than having it enter your entire system via other methods.
