WHAT IS CBD?
Cannabidiol or “CBD” is the largest chemical compound in the cannabis/hemp plant that is believed to have a very wide therapeutic potential. Unlike it’s cousin tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, it does not have a psychoactive effect. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! Studies show that CBD will actually counteract the psychoactive effects of THC. A quick google search on CBD reveals millions of individuals worldwide experiencing relief from nausea, seizures, migraines, anxiety, chronic itch, muscle pain, joint pain, depression, and much more! But how and why?
CBD products are actual more simple than they seem. They fall into 3 different categories:
- Crystalline Isolates – ZERO THC
- Full Spectrum -Some THC (less than 0.3%)
- UNREFINED Full Spectrum – Some THC (less than 0.3%) PLUS CBN, CBG, CBN,
Crystalline isolates look like little salt crystals, full spectrum oil looks golden and see through, unrefined full spectrum is very DARK, thick, and cloudy.
All CBD products fall into one of these 3 categories.
- Crystalline isolateproducts are good because they have zero taste and zero chance of failing a drug test since there is zero THC, only CBD. Downside is that since they are so stripped of all the plants nutrients, the products are weak and take alot of product to feel the CBD effects.
- Full spectrumproducts are good because they are less refined than crystalline isolate products and have some THC. THC amplifies the effects of CBD and makes the product much more effective. This is called the “entourage effect.” The downside is that there is a small drug test fail risk and the taste can be pretty earthy if not flavored properly.
- UNREFINED full spectrumproducts are good because contain THC to amplify the effects of the CBD, AND they contain many OTHER cannabinoids and plant nutrients like CBN, CBG, CBN, CBDV, terpenes, plant sterols, omegas 3,6,9, etc. This is called RICK SIMPSON STYLE CBD because it’s so raw and dark and full of nutrients. The downside is that there is a small risk of drug test failing just like all CBD full spectrum products and the taste can be earthy if not flavored properly by a good company who makes it.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Did you know we actually produce cannabinoids inside of our bodies and have an actual system of them working together? What are cannabinoids you say? In easy terms, think of cannabinoids as little soldiers in your body fighting to keep everything balanced in there.
Everything on earth with a vertebrate has what is called an ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM or ECS that produces these little soldiers. This system is a relatively new discovery in the human and animal body that many are still completely unaware of. Like the nervous system and immune system, the ECS has specific duties. It is in charge of regulating homeostasis or maintaining balance in the body by producing your very own army of cannabinoid soldiers. It regulates things like mood, memory, motor control, pain perception, appetite, and sleep, just to name a few.
Unfortunately, like everything else in the body, the ECS wears out as we age and has trouble maintaining balance. Injury and disease also influence the ECS throwing our bodies even further out of balance. As we age, we run low on cannabinoids and can even become cannabinoid deficient. So how do we replenish our little cannabinoid soldiers? Well the last time you received cannabinoids was from your mother’s milk at infancy! Most of us don’t have mother’s milk available on the drink menu, so where else can we get them?
Yes, from the cannabis/hemp plant where cannabinoid soldiers are grown from the soil!
CBD is the most prevalent of over 100 different phyto-cannabinoids found in the cannabis/hemp plant; (phyto meaning plant) These plant-based cannabinoids naturally stimulate your ECS by giving it reinforcements! Once you use CBD and your army of cannabinoids is fresh, the body re-balances. Do you have chronic anxiety? Your body is out of balance. CBD as a plant soldier stimulates your bodies’ natural defenses to rebalance and help soothe the ailment.
No pills, no dangerous chemicals, just a natural reinforcement that the earth gave us.
HOW MUCH CBD SHOULD I TAKE?
How many more little soldiers do you want to give your body? Well, there’s never too much, it’s like drinking herbal tea or eating fruits and vegetables. You can’t overdose on drinking plenty of healthy tea or eating plenty of healthy fruits and vegetables. Problems arise when you are not eating enough of them.
The same principle goes for CBD. Plenty of it is good, too little is not good.
It is important to know how much CBD you are putting into your body especially when it comes to the product you intend on using. Here is a “best practices” chart offered from http://how-much-cbd-should-i-take.com/ and starting point to help find what amount of CBD is best for your body per day. Find your weight on the horizontal chart, then the severity of the condition you have on the vertical chart. Animals are welcome!
This is a good starting point. You may increase or decrease the amount based on how you feel. Just like the vegetables you should be eating 3 times a day with every meal, maybe CBD after every meal, 3 times a day might help you. After all, cannabis/hemp plants are like vegetables! There is no exact way to dose CBD for every person nor are we legally allowed to give exact dosing. Dosing remains experimental and subjective. One dose at night before bed may help an individual with sleep issues whereas an individual with chronic pain may take 5 doses a day whenever the pain arises. It is a natural plant and everyone processes things differently. This is simply a good place to start your experimenting. Listen to your body!
HOW TO FIND THE MILLIGRAMS PER DROPLET OF ANY CBD PRODUCT:
This is the most important part of this article, how to find the milligrams per droplet in any CBD product to use the best practices chart above. First, start with these 2 questions:
- How many milliliters (ml) is the bottle? It should say printed on the label.
- How many total milligrams (mg) of CBD are the bottle? See label.
*Note*
- 1ml = 20 droplets of liquid.
- A full dropper of most bottles are equal to 1ml
- You will need a calculator
Let’s say you have in your hand a 30ml bottle with 1000mg of CBD in it. You first need to know how much CBD there is per milliliter (ml) in order to dose properly.
- 1000mg of CBD divided by 30ml
- 1000 / 30 = 33.33. Always round down so you get a little extra CBD in the end. There are roughly 33mg of CBD per milliliteror one dropper full.
THIS IS NOT ACCURATE ENOUGH, SO LET’S DIG DEEPER…
- Remember, 1ml = 20 droplets of liquid. There are 33mg of CBD per ml.
- 33mg divided by 20 droplets = 1.65
- There are 65mg of CBD in one single droplet(One long vape hit) of your product!
ALMOST DONE! STAY WITH ME
- Let’s say you have a severe case of anxiety and you weigh 150 pounds. The chart says to try 18mg of CBD per dose.You know one droplet contains 65mg of CBD
- 18mg divided by 1.65mg = 11
- You need 11 drops of your product to achieve 18mg !
You only need to do this once with the product you have. Now you know forever how many drops you need to hit your place on the chart. You may need a bit less or a bit more like we stated earlier because this is not a dosing article, but it’s a good place to start.
BEWARE OF LOW MILLIGRAM CBD IN BIG BOTTLES
The size of the bottle does NOT MATTER unless the milligram amount is very high. Smaller bottles with high milligrams of CBD are the best. It means more potency per droplet.
For example, a 200mg CBD product in a 30ml bottle would require a lot of product to achieve the desired 18mg.
- 200mg / 30ml =6mgof CBD per ml
- 6 / 20 = 0.33mgof CBD per droplet.
- 18mg / 0.33 = 54
54 DROPLETS ARE NEEDED TO ACHIEVE JUST 18MG
That’s a lot of droplets to take! That’s almost 3 full droppers! Most people would not take that much at once and the bottle would run out fast. Not good if you spent your hard earned $50.00 on it and it lasts barely a week. This product has very little CBD compared to whatever other ingredients in it. This is probably why some people say the CBD didn’t work for them simply because the milligram amount they took was too low. CBD that is diluted down this much is not as good as if it were a higher mg. Now, I’m not saying that the chart is 100% fact as I have seen lower doses work for many people. Remember, everyone’s body chemistry is different.
Now lets say you find that same 200mg of CBD offered in a 10ml bottle.
- 200 / 10 = 20mgof CBD per ml
- 20 / 20 = 1mgof CBD per droplet
- 1 / 18 = 18
18 droplets are needed to achieve 18mg! Less than one dropper full!
CONCLUSION
Before you buy CBD make sure you are getting a good price and check the amount of CBD vs. the size of the bottle. Watch out for diluted down products. Do the math! Lab work is also essential! You never know what is in your bottle unless it is documented on batch numbered lab results from a verifiable lab. Always ask for lab results before purchasing CBD products and call the lab directly to make sure the paperwork has not been falsified. Good CBD companies have nothing to hide and have their lab work ready to share. If it’s not there readily available for you to see or on request, be very careful. Lab work is not that expensive and there is no excuse for any company not to have it.
This information is for personal reference only and its validity is left to the reader’s discretion. We are not doctors and these statements are not endorsed by the FDA. Use CBD at your own risk as the FDA has not approved of its use. These statements are not intended to replace any advice from a medical professional and are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. We do not own any of the information from http://how-much-cbd-should-i-take.com/ This is a mathematical opinion on how to calculate milligrams and our opinion on how CBD works in the body based on our research and the references below. Do your own research to learn more about CBD.
PLEASE REVIEW TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE PURCHASING OR USING CBD,