With such a wide range of CBD products available on the market and a mixture of messaging coming from seemingly everywhere, it’s understandably difficult for new CBD users to figure out how much CBD they should be taking. The truth is that there is no one clear answer to that question. It depends on a few different important factors. What is right for Person A might be a lot less than what is right for Person B. Only after considering all the variables will you be able to determine what the right dose is for you.
What are you trying to achieve?
People take CBD products for a wide variety of reasons, and the proper dose will change depending on what the outcome is that an individual is trying to achieve. For example, an individual taking CBD before going to work to reduce stress might only take a 10-20mg dose on days that they know are going to be challenging. But a person taking CBD to reduce pain from a back injury they got 10 years ago in a car accident might take 50mg or more every day to help manage their symptoms.
CBD can be used regularly and situationally. A regular use case could look like taking a CBD supplement every day for general health maintenance and wellbeing - to get healthy and stay healthy. A situational use case could look like taking CBD only when you feel a headache coming on, or if you injure yourself and want to immediately reduce the inflammation. Of course, it can be used in both ways, taken daily in low doses and increasing the dose situationally as needed.
What is your starting point?
CBD interacts with a complex web of receptors and systems all over your body. In particular, the Endocannabinoid System is the ‘home base’ of cannabinoids like CBD and plays a fundamental role in the functioning of your nervous and immune systems, as well as other critical pathways in the body pertaining to sleep, mood, memory, appetite, and so much more.
The state of these systems will vary from person to person. We all have unique internal chemistry for CBD to interact with. For that reason, if you have two people that want to take CBD to achieve the same health outcome, they might need to take different doses to land on what is perfect for them as a biochemically unique individual.
What product are you using?
An often overlooked factor that greatly contributes to the finding the right dose of CBD is the type of product that you are using. This is important because of something called bioavailability, which is the amount of any given drug compound that gets effectively absorbed into your body compared to the original dose you take. Basically, if you took a 10mg CBD dose and only absorbed 5mg, it would be 50% bioavailable.
Not all CBD products are created equally. The bioavailability of CBD will vary greatly based on the way that you’re introducing it to your body. Many topical applications, like creams and salves, only have around 50% bioavailability. Oil-based tinctures that are swallowed instead of held under the tongue can have bioavailability as low as 10%. Smoking or vaping CBD has relatively high bioavailability, right around 70%.
Ultimately, the best type of product for you to use is one that fits into your routine and lifestyle so that you actually take it. That being said, it’s important to consider the bioavailability of what you choose so that you can properly take into consideration what you’ll actually be absorbing into the body. At UnCanny Wellness, all of our products are made with a water-soluble CBD that has been converted from its original oil form specifically for optimal absorption in the stomach. The technique we use allows you to swallow the CBD and get 90% or more bioavailability.
What form of extract is it?
There are three types of hemp-derived CBD extracts used in products: full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate. Studies have shown that full-spectrum and broad-spectrum products are more effective than isolates. That means you need to use less of a full/broad spectrum extract than you would isolate in order to achieve the same results.
This is because of something known as the Entourage Effect, which is a phenomenon where the other natural compounds found in the extract add to the benefit of CBD, making it more potent than just CBD alone. Full and broad spectrum extracts contain an array of other natural cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, polyphenols, etc., whereas isolate contains only CBD and nothing else.
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Now you can understand why there is no one ‘right answer’ for how much CBD you should take. There are a lot of moving parts and variables for you to consider. A great way to approach it to find the perfect dose that works for you is to ‘start low and go slow’, adjusting how much and how often you take it until you find your personal sweet spot.