5 Ways You Can Enhance The Effects Of Your CBD Oil

There is nothing trending more right now in the health and wellness industry more than CBD oil. This non-psychotropic medicinal compound derived from the Cannabis plant has been causing quite a stir.

As research into CBD continues to unveil more and more of its remarkable health benefits, it is fast becoming one of the most sought after all-natural remedies for people seeking to improve their health and manage various medical conditions.

Like many CBD enthusiasts, you may also be looking for the most efficient ways to experience the host of natural benefits in CBD oil.

Even though any method of consuming CBD oil that you pick will eventually get it into your system, there are indeed some strategies you can employ to ensure that these benefits are felt as soon and as efficiently as possible.

 

 

Knowing how CBD works will help you utilize it better

Before we take a look at some of these strategies, let’s first take a quick look at how CBD works once it enters our bodies.

For CBD oil to work for any condition, it first must be absorbed from its point of entry into the bloodstream. Once delivered to the bloodstream, CBD interacts with cannabinoid receptor such as CB2 as well as non-cannabinoid receptors such as the serotonin receptor 5-HT1A and vanilloid receptor TRPV-1.

Cannabinoid receptors are part of the endocannabinoid system – a signaling network that maintains balance (homeostasis) for all your body functions.

CBD stimulates this system and supports its efforts to keep your body processes running at optimal conditions.

 

How you take your CBD oil matters

How CBD is delivered into your bloodstream is highly dependent on the method of consumption, also known as route of administration. The route of administration will influence how CBD is absorbed, distributed and eliminated from the body.

This is crucial information since the method you choose will eventually determine the effectiveness of the CBD oil in overcoming your medical issues.

There a wide variety of ways for consuming CBD oil. You can vaporize it, swallow CBD pills, smear it on your skin as a topical, swallow tinctures or even place it under your tongue.

Some routes such as inhalation allow CBD to be absorbed almost instantly into the bloodstream. Other methods, such as oral ingestion may take longer to kick in but lasts longer. 

Whichever method you prefer, here are some things you can do to maximize the effects of your CBD oil.

 

Strategies for maximizing CBD oil effects

1.    Place CBD oil under your tongue longer when taking sublingually

Sublingual administration involves placing drops of CBD under the tongue for absorption by the sublingual gland and into the bloodstream.

For those who prefer to take CBD sublingually, it is important that you do not swallow the oil immediately. Instead, keep the tincture under your tongue for at least 90 seconds.

This way, you will give the mucous membrane under your tongue enough time to break the oil and absorb the active ingredients.

By bypassing the tedious digestive system, sublingual administration is the second fastest way of getting CBD oil into the bloodstream after inhalation.

 

2.    Take the right amount of CBD oil on a daily basis – dosing

To function properly, the endocannabinoid system requires cannabinoids such as 2AG and anandamide at all times. When these natural cannabinoids are depleted or not enough to bring the body back into homeostasis, taking CBD oil will help bolster the system.

To do this effectively, you need to take the correct amount of CBD oil on a daily basis. A lot of times, people tend to use CBD because of a specific condition, only to find it helps other areas of their health as well.

Remember, your endocannabinoid system runs throughout the entire body at a cellular and sub-cellular level. CBD is a whole-body compound. When you start taking CBD for the first time, pay attention to everything going on in your body. Do not be surprised if you find various benefits from your daily dosage.

 

Dose properly

Figuring out how to dose CBD oil is also a crucial skill that will help you maximize the benefits of CBD. First of all, consider who the CBD oil is meant for. If it is for a child or a small pet, then they will require smaller doses at a time compared to adults.

Similarly, consider if you want mild, moderate or high effects of the CBD oil. For instance, if you are taking your CBD oil for pain, you might need to take much more compared to if you were taking it for mild nausea.

The best way to dose CBD oil is using the Stepwise Dosing Procedure. This method which you to start with smaller CBD doses and work your way up to what works best for your condition. That being said, most adults will need to take at least 10-20 milligrams of CBD oil 1-2 times a day.

Finding the right CBD oil dose for you is crucial since it helps maximize the benefits of the medicine while using the least amount needed – hence saving you money.

 

3.    Choose inhalation and bypass digestion for fastest results

CBD oil has to reach the bloodstream for it to offer its therapeutic effects. One of the best strategies for getting CBD into your system quickly and in high concentrations is by bypassing the digestive system. The digestive system can be bypassed in a number of ways. Nonetheless, the fastest way (besides injecting it directly into your veins) is via inhalation.

When you inhale a substance, it gets ingested through the lungs. The lungs have a huge surface area made up of millions of alveoli, which are surrounded by tiny blood vessels.

When blood cells pass through the lungs for oxygen, the CBD is also transferred from the alveoli to the bloodstream and to the endocannabinoid system.

Therefore, inhaling CBD, will yield the effects much quicker compared to other methods of consumption. This makes it a good option, especially for those seeking fast relief, such as for pain.

 

4.    Consume CBD Oil with fatty acids during oral ingestion

Oral consumption is one of the easiest and most convenient ways of dosing CBD. Making it very popular with people using CBD oil for various purposes. Also, when ingested orally, the effects of CBD oil take longer to be felt, but once there, they also tend to last longer.

One of the ways you can enhance the effectiveness and absorption of CBD oil when taken orally is by taking it with fatty acids as shown by this study [1].

When you swallow CBD, it has to pass through the lengthy digestive tract after which it travels to the hepatic portal system via the portal vein and finally, into the liver.

In the liver, the processes become a little complicated. This study [2] elaborates on how CBD compounds are broken down in the liver. In what is called the “first pass effect”, CYP450 enzymes in the liver break down CBD, and in the process reduce its concentration dramatically.

The leftover CBD is then passed onto the bloodstream and lastly into the endocannabinoid system. This whole process takes at least 2 hours.

According to results from another study, fatty acids act as binding agents for cannabinoids such as CBD and help bypass the “first pass effect” [1].

When taken together, the fatty acids help protect the CBD oil from being broken down by enzymes in the liver. Leaving its concentration intact and increasing its absorption rates after ingestion.

To get you started, here are some foods that are rich in fatty acids:

  • Coconut oil
  • Fish
  • Soybean oil
  • Olive oil
  • Eggs
  • Nuts
  • Avocado
  • Sesame oil
  • Meat

5.    Go for full-spectrum CBD oil over isolates

If your goal is to get the most health benefits from your CBD oil, then you have no option but to choose full-spectrum CBD oil over pure CBD isolates.

Before 2015, it was of the popular opinion that CBD isolate was better than full-spectrum CBD oil because of its purity.

Nonetheless, this opinion turned out to be wrong after Israeli scientists from the Lautenberg Centre for General Tumor Immunology in Jerusalem discovered that full-spectrum CBD oil offers more health benefits due to what is known as the entourage effect [3].

The entourage effect phenomena results when the many cannabinoids, terpenes and fatty acids in the whole cannabis plant interact with the body to produce more health benefits than any of the components used alone.

 

Conclusion

Now that you know exactly what to do to make CBD oil work better for you, it is still important to remember that everyone’s body and system is unique. No one person reacts to CBD oil exactly the same way.

Factors such as age, health, genetics, metabolism, tolerance levels, brand of CBD, just to mention a few, may influence how you respond.

Nonetheless, based on your preferred method of intake, the strategies mentioned above have scientific backing and sound reasoning on how they would help to enhance the effects of CBD oil.

Getting the most efficiency from your CBD oil will enable you to cut on costs and more importantly, lead a healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle.

 

References

[1]

Z. Atheer, W. J. C, B. L. Jong, J. Mistry, S. Olena, W. Kishor, I. Hennig, B. David, C. Cris, F. Peter and G. Pavel, “Dietary fats and pharmaceutical lipid excipients increase systemic exposure to orally administered cannabis and cannabis-based medicines,” PubMed, Vols. 8(8):3448-59, 15 August 2016.

[2]

I. Ujváry and L. Hanuš, “Human Metabolites of Cannabidiol: A Review on Their Formation, Biological Activity, and Relevance in Therapy,” PMC, 2016.

[3]

R. Gallily, Z. Yekhtin and L. O. Hanuš, “Overcoming the Bell-Shaped Dose-Response of Cannabidiol by Using Cannabis Extract Enriched in Cannabidiol.,” Pharmacology & Pharmacy, Vols. 06, 75-85., 2015.

[4]

M. A. Huestis, “Human Cannabinoid Pharmacokinetics,” PubMed, no. 1770–1804, 04 August 2007.

 

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