Bioavailabilty of CBD
What is cbd, where is from, what does it do
Not all CBD products are made equally. Below you will learn the difference between different delivery forms of CBD and the forms with the best bioavailability. Without a reasonable bioavailability of CBD you will not receive its full benefits.
Cannabis plants are mainly made up of two naturally occurring chemical compounds called CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). Those two compounds are only two of out over 100 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant.Two commonly known cannabis plants are hemp and marijuana. Legal hemp in the United States must contain less than 0.3% THC. Both compounds have therapeutic benefits however the key difference that may make CBD a more desired route is that THC is psychoactive which gives you a “high” feeling where CBD is non-psychoactive. CBD has been highly studied since its decriminalization and legalization in most states, the emergence of various types and delivery forms of CBD have hit the market.
CBD offers many potential benefits that are backed by science and evidence including but not limited to, pain relief, appetite promotion, relief of nausea after chemo, and reduced anxiety and depression. The compound is non addictive and safe making it an excellent alternative to conventional medicine.
What is bioavailability and why is it important in CBD
The whole point of eating, taking supplements, taking your medicine is to help improve and maintain your health. When you take these added efforts you would like it to work so that you can reap the benefits. This is where bioavailability comes in the picture.
Bioavailability measures the degree of how much of the nutrients/ medicine gets into the bloodstream by calculating how much gets absorbed and what is excreted.
Why is bioavailability important in CBD? When products are not formulated with bioavailability in mind, your body will only absorb and deliver to your body a small amount of the compound that you are actually taking.
We have to take into consideration other factors that will change the bioavailability of CBD, such as what an individual has eaten that day, the age and health of the individual etc.
What is the bioavailability of cbd
Let’s discuss the different methods of delivery that provide the best bioavailability of CBD.
1.Oral delivery of CBD (ingestion through the stomach)— Has the lowest bioavailability, after the first pass of metabolism the bioavailability with most studies for CBD range below 10% bioavailability.
CBD is fat soluble, making it more difficult to absorb versus water soluble.
This can be improved with supplements or innovative technology (we shall discuss this later)
2.Inhaled CBD — Offers a high-rate of absorption with a range of 10- 60%. You are probably wondering why such a wide gap but this is due to how a person is able to inhale the CBD. Some people find it challenging to inhale smoke and would receive on the lower side of bioavailability.
This method bypasses the digestive system and enters the bloodstream through the small air sacs of the lungs known as alveoli.
This can be damaging to the lungs over time or irritating. Some people may choose to vape or nebulizer ( inhale mist).
3.Sublingual CBD — Sublingual delivery have absorption rates similar to ingested CBD (sublingual drops or oral sprays), while nasal inhalers have more rapid absorption rates comparable to inhaled CBD,
You could improve the absorption by holding the sublingual drops under your tongue for 20-30 secs to allow the mucous membranes to absorb it before allowing the rest to go to the digestive system.
4.Transdermal CBD — Provides a slow and steady delivery, however as mentioned above, CBD is fat soluble and there is a water soluble layer of the skin that acts like a barrier making it more difficult.
This is a slower method of delivery and people with chronic pain would benefit from this method versus other methods where you may get a strong dose at a time but not consistently throughout the day.
5.Intravenous CBD (IV) — This offers 100% bioavailability but it leaves the body the fastest. This is the fastest route of administration.This method is reserved for hospital use only.
How to improve bioavailability
Nanoparticles
Nanotechnology is the most commonly used method to increase solubility. The CBD molecules are broken down into nano sized particles through his technology. Smaller molecules are able to pass through the cell membranes more easily to reach your bloodstream compared to larger molecules.
Pairing CBD with fats and fatty oils
CBD is fat soluble, meaning it requires fat to break it down and if you put it in water it would just simply float. Our bodies are made of up to 60% water so our bodies would have a more difficult time digesting and absorbing CBD through the digestive system. CBD molecules are highly soluble in fats and fatty oils, when eaten with either of these forms, CBD molecules will be broken down into smaller particles making it easier for the body to absorb into the bloodstream. Some examples of fatty oils are coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil and even hemp seed oil. Let’s not forget the high fat content food you could eat with CBD, nut varieties, seed varieties, avocado, and fatty fish. You could pair CBD with these fats and fatty oils or you could make a CBD infused snack for your enjoyment.
Piperine supplements
CBD when consumed with fat and fatty oils, a balanced diet becomes more bioavailable. There is one more combination that can increase the bioavailability even more, and that is piperine supplement.
Piperine promotes the molecules that help transport CBD from the intestinal membrane into the bloodstream. There are enzymes that break down CBD in the intestines and once CBD is absorbed by piperine, it inhibits the enzymes that degrade the CBD, this will give CBD more time to reach the target tissues.
Studies have shown that when CBD oral supplement is formulated with piperine, the maximum concentration found in the blood increases 6-fold compared to the same supplement made without piperine.
Choose high bioavailable CBD
Bioavailability is just as important in CBD as it is anything else that we put into our bodies. We hope that what we are consuming is reaching the target tissues in order for it to be effective. Knowing that when CBD is consumed orally, the max bioavailability is under 10%, we would want to pair with other compounds to increase its bioavailability. The products that we should be taking are the one with the highest bioavailability. If we do not, our efforts, and money would be excreted along with the CBD.