Oh my goodness, the world of CBD can be REALLY confusing … and sometimes downright misleading! So here is a summary to help you to choose CBD oil and know what you are getting.
What Is it?
- It’s a food supplement – think of things like vitamins etc that you take to support your body (but in my opinion, better!)
- It’s made from hemp plants
- It is completely legal in the UK if the THC levels are only trace levels so it won’t get you high!
How Can You Take It?
- The Oil – is the main option I recommend – better value for money
- Gummies – have been useful for my family and are very portable
- Vape – I never expected to recommend a vape (good quality, no chemicals, no nicotine), but it has become indispensable for me, as I will forget to take the oil during the day, when I have over done it or become stressed.
- Pills – often mixed with other vitamins or minerals – some prefer this, as it can go straight into the stomach, but it is more expensive than the oil on it’s own.
- Other – you can literally have CBD in anything – bath bombs, creams, serums, coffee, tea, biscuits
Is it the Solution to Every Problem you’ve ever encountered?
Does taking CBD oil mean all your illnesses and diseases will be miraculously cured?
That you will never have to eat healthily, drink water, exercise and sleep every night?
NO – of course not!
I’m really sorry, there is NO ONE SOLUTION to anything – I would love to be able to wave a magic wand for you, but that isn’t the case. And there is no option that doesn’t mean that you also need to take responsibility for your own body.
In fact if you don’t make other lifestyle changes, then a lot of the work that the CBD oil is doing will be counteracting unhealthy choices, rather than supporting your body. Which is fine. But it’s more sensible to let it work on the main problem, and choose healthier actions to help it do more for you.
Of course if you are interested in potentially taking CBD oil, you SHOULD ALWAYS check with your medical professional to see if there is any conflict with any medication you are taking or contraindications for your health challenges.
How Does It Work For Me?
CBD oil makes it easier for me to make the other changes that I had to make and makes a noticeable physical, emotional and mental difference for me.
It’s like a physical & mental ‘lift’ in a bottle.
It is an incredibly supportive part of my own toolkit to handle my health challenges*:
- I wake up feeling more refreshed
- I’m able to stay calmer and handle stress more easily
- I feel more balanced physically & mentally
- My body is less uncomfortable and doesn’t creak as much.
- I seem to have less symptoms from being at ‘that time of life’ than most women my age
- Without the oil, my body just feels ‘wrong’, which I feel means that it is doing more than supporting my body, but also improving the situation
- The vape helps me stave off flares from over doing it, or emotional upsets & shocks
Whilst I can totally see being symptom free next year, and therefore being able to reduce some of the money I invest in myself, there are a couple of things that I don’t see myself stopping and one of them is CBD oil.
*Please note we are NOT allowed to mention our diseases / illnesses when discussing CBD, so that it doesn’t give the wrong impression, and I am not allowed to use any term that might be considered ‘medical’ to describe what it does for me. Or use any testimonial that suggests it either.
Phytocannabinoids available naturally
CBD oil is a food supplement extracted from hemp with additional terpenes & flavinoids (also good for you).
- Full spectrum CBD oil includes THC, but as that is legally literally a trace amount now, it is virtually the same as broad spectrum oil.
- Broad spectrum has no THC, but does have flavonoids and terpenes, as well as CBD, which is considered a good idea, as you get the ‘entourage effect’ – i.e. the mixture together is stronger than apart
- Isolate has no THC and no terpenes/flavinoids. I would only recommend this when there is a taste requirement and you can’t get what you need in a Full or Broad Spectrum option
CBD is a phytocannabinoid, that helps the natural endocannabinoid system in the body that binds to the brain receptors that affects a lot in our body including our perception of pain, immune system, central nervous system, sleep and anxiety.
A lot more scientific research into how it works is needed, but many people claim to find it very supportive of their health and wellbeing.
What is the Endocannabinoid System?
The Endocannabinoid system is made up of endocannabinoids, receptors and enzymes and helps to body to come back to homeostasis or balance – so it’s ‘job’ is to help everything run smoothly.
There are receptors through out the body. When an endocannabinoid binds to it, it signals the ECS to take action.
The CB1 Receptors are mostly in the nervous system.
The CB2 Receptors are mostly in the peripheral nervous system especially the immune system.
Enzymes then break down the cannabinoids, once they have carried out their role.
CBD behaves differently from THC and scientists are still trying to work out exactly what it does and how it helps the ECS. But many people are finding that taking CBD oil supports the areas of the body that the ECS governs.
What is important to look for?
It can be really confusing, so here are the criteria that I used for choosing an oil:
- Full/Broad Spectrum (this includes terpenes, flavinoids and hardly any or no THC).
- Under 0.2% of THC (legal limit) in the hemp it is created from AND only 1mg in a bottle / container, which would be for under 0.01% in a 10ml bottle.
- Organic – hemp sucks up the rubbish from the soil, so it must be organic
- CO2 extraction – otherwise there might be chemicals left over from the process.
- Clear Lab Test Results – so you can see it’s been tested
- Clear description of the strength and size of the bottle – some are very misleading
- UK supply – so that postage is quick and there are no customs issues (or your country).
- Ethical company – that sticks to the compliance rules and doesn’t creating a range just for the sake of it.
- Strong options for me, light options for my family.
The lab tests will show you how much of the bottle is actually CBD – beware that some might consider hemp seed oil the same, it is NOT the same (although it’s a good carrier oil).
MCT / Hemp Carrier oil?
The CBD oil can either be in MCT oil or Hemp oil, personally I prefer MCT oil.
MCT oil is easily absorbed by the body and helps the rate of absorption of the CBD, it also has a slightly less strong taste than the hemp oil. It has the benefits of the carrier oil (coconut oil in this case).
Hemp oil also has the benefits of the compounds in hemp, but a slightly stronger taste.
What Strength?
When choosing an oil it will tell you how many mg’s are in it and the size of the bottle.
E.g. a 500mg strength in a 10ml bottle is different from 500mg’s in a larger 30ml bottle.
Generally they come in 500mg, 1000mg, 1500mg and 2000mg in 10ml bottles.
People build up, so only in certain circumstances would they go straight for 2000mg’s. Instead they would start lower, and then just increase the number of drops they take, until it’s worth going for the stronger bottle.
Normally I would have a chat with my customers about their current situation and what might suit their lifestyle and challenges the best. I also send my books to help with sleep / stress / weight / handling chronic pain or fatigue so that they get the best out of the CBD.
I often suggest starting with one drop morning and evening of the 500mg, which is 5mg. Then increasing to two drops. If there is an improvement, but more improvement would be nice, then we would increase again.
Some customers stay on 500mg, but if they are increasing the numbers of drops, we would increase the strength and reduce the number of drops for better value for money. We would keep gradually increasing until there was no more improvement (you can’t take too much). Also, more is needed for larger clients.
A bottle has about 200 drops per bottle – so if you were having 2 drops, twice a day, they should last nearly 7 weeks.
Personally I think I am a little heavy handed – mine last about a month!
E.g (10ml Bottles)
- 2000mg is 20% – 1 drop is 10mg
- 1500mg is 15%- 1 drop is 7.5mg
- 1000mg is 10% – 1 drop is 5mg
- 500mg is 5% – 1 drop is 2.5mg
- 250mg is 1.5% – 1 drop is 1.25mg
Personally I take 1 heavy drop morning and evening of the 2000mg and then supplement with vapes during the day – from 0-5 puffs.
I drop the peppermint version under my tongue, hold it there for 30 secs and then swallow. My daughter pops it in a little squash. Other members of the family use dummies /vapes.
More Help
I really hope this has helped you to understand how amazing CBD is and reduce all the confusion!
Please do pop me a message on social media or email, if you would like a quick chat … no strings attached. But of course if you did love this blog, I would love to support you as one of my customers.
The advantage of buying from me, is that you get extra support in my what’s app group, and the ability to ask questions when you need more ideas. The CBD oil I recommend is from Les-Bonne, who have ranges from £20, so it is really affordable, good quality oil.
There are 2 options to buy from me – for anyone who lives nearby, I have a small stock at home (thus saving you postage), for anyone who lives further away, I have an affiliate link and code, for you to order yourself and get a discount.
One of my lovely customers, Amanda, had immediate improvements.
She was already following an anti-inflammatory diet, so this was the icing on the cake for her (without the cake!)