CBD is a fantastic product that’s helped countless people live richer more active lives but can be challenging for new users to figure out. One major factor in the CBD learning curve is the ambiguity relating to how much CBD to take for an individual’s specific situation.
To get the most out of taking CBD, new users should choose a type and method of taking extract which they can seamlessly incorporate into their natural routine. Through knowing a few basic principles of CBD dosing, individuals can select the best CBD product for themselves and quickly optimize their CBD usage.
CBD dosing is personal
One reason CBD dosing can be perplexing is how widely sensitivity can vary between individuals. The amount of CBD needed to feel the desired effect can vary significantly due to characteristics including age, gender, genetics, and cannabinoid tolerance. All these factors impact the rate at which a user will absorb and metabolize the active compounds in CBD products and contribute to the user’s unique sensitivity.
More CBD isn’t always better CBD
Less CBD isn’t better either.
Manufacturers of CBD infused products will generally have a recommended serving size, one that can be a good starting point but may need significant adjustment. To dial in a good CBD dose it’s useful to understand what an optimal dose is.
An optimized CBD dose maximizes the amount of time in the optimal effect range without reaching a concentration that causes side effects. This can be illustrated by a plasma concentration curve which plots the concentration of CBD in a user’s blood versus time.
The bioavailability of CBD is represented by the shape and size of this plasma concentration curve, it is strongly impacted by the method that CBD is consumed. The optimal effect window is affected by the type of CBD and the time that the CBD is taken. Together, these three factors represent the variables that users can control to shape their CBD experience.
The Three T’s of CBD dosing
The three T’s of dosing are not a mathematical equation, in the scope of this post they are more like general guidelines to help understand how the different kinds of CBD work. Day to day, three will be significant variance in how much CBD is absorbed due to user technique and cannabinoid sensitivities can vary significantly. The difference in product formulation between brands, especially for topical products, will significantly impact bioavailability and absorption rate.
What the three T’s can do is help guide users to get a more effective and economical CBD experience. Choosing the right Time, Type, and method of taking CBD for an individual’s specific circumstance will maximize the benefits users enjoy.
How you take the CBD
The way an individual consumes CBD is the factor that most significantly impacts the quantity of cannabinoids that will enter the bloodstream and the speed at which they will enter the system. Methods of taking CBD with high bioavailability will have a larger area under the plasma concentration curve, and methods with fast absorption will have a steeper rise and a sharper peak.
Four of the most common types of CBD are sublingual, inhalable, Edible, and topical.
Sublingual dosing is efficient with good technique
Applying tinctures directly to the blood vessel-rich tissue directly under the tongue allows some of the cannabinoids to bypass the digestive system and enter the bloodstream. This direct access through the tiny blood vessels in the mouth makes sublingual dosing a quick and efficient way to access the system-wide effects of CBD extracts including their calming and discomfort-relieving properties.
The key to effective use of sublingual tinctures is holding them under the tongue for an appropriately long time-several minute in some cases. The tincture that is not absorbed through the mouth is swallowed and enters the system through the oral-digestive route.
Inhaled CBD is fast-acting but difficult for individuals with sensitive lungs
Taking CBD through the lungs is great for providing acute relief and maximizing the psychoactive effects of a CBD extract. It also can be an efficient mode of titrating a dose provided the vaporizing device isn’t too strong.
Inhaling CBD, through both smoking and vaporizing, has a very fast onset of effects and high systemic bioavailability as intrapulmonary administration bypasses the liver and delivers active compounds to extremely vascular lung tissue. Smoking and vaping CBD will have a similarly fast onset, however, smoked CBD will have a lower bioavailability due to some of the cannabinoids being destroyed by combustion.
Edible CBD is simple to take but slow
Eating CBD extracts provides users a rich full body experience, albeit one that comes on slowly and that will require a relatively larger dose to take effect. With oral ingestion, cannabinoids must first be absorbed by the intestines and pass through the liver before entering the bloodstream. This First pass absorption through the liver eliminates a large proportion of CBD taken and also converts some of the cannabinoids into secondary active compounds.
Consuming CBD orally is an easy and predictable method of getting CBD into a body, a user either takes it with food or on an empty stomach and is done. It also is a good way of taking larger doses which may be impractical to apply topically or uncomfortable to vaporize.
Topical delivery provides steady long-lasting action
Topical CBD is great for when relief is localized relief is needed in specific body parts, they work especially well in areas near the surface of the skin. When an effective topical CBD extract is applied, it delivers active compounds directly into problem areas like knee and wrist joints, hands, ankles, and painful muscles creating a high localized concentration of active compounds. This localized effect is great for achieving targeted relief while minimizing system-wide psychoactive effects.
The rate at which topical CBD formulations deliver cannabinoids into the body is largely a product of their ability to transport active compounds through the skin. Products formulated with penetration enhancers will enter the system relatively rapidly, while products with cosmetic functionality may only interact with the skin. Topical CBD products formulated for skin penetration will be felt faster than oral CBD and slower than vaporized CBD.
The time when you dose
The time when a User chooses to consume CBD significantly impacts the optimal size of a dose.
Great times to take CBD
During Meals
Taking CBD with meals is a great way to spread out the effects of CBD extracts and make ingested CBD more effective. Eating CBD extract during or after a meal will slow cannabinoid absorption. Studies have shown a 3 to 4-fold increase in the total quantity of CBD that reaches the bloodstream when extracts are consumed with fat-rich foods.
After Working Out
Athletes utilize various forms of CBD both before and after workouts for their post-workout muscle soreness. Topical CBD is particularly effective after workouts, the body’s increased blood flow and heart rate during and shortly after workouts enhances the ability of topical CBD to diffuse throughout joints and muscles, and its localized effect, when applied directly to sore muscles, enables it to relieve post workout discomfort at relativity low doses
After Showering
Using topical CBD after showering is great for sore muscles and joints. This application will allow the extract to pass through soft moist skin while pores are open. This effectively increases the strength of topical extracts and lowers their time of onset.
Before Bed
Taking edible or sublingual CBD before bed is a great time for larger doses which may cause drowsiness during daytime activities.
The Type of CBD Extract
The type of CBD extract will determine what taking CBD feels like. When users find a CBD product that doesn’t have the desired effect–or has too much effect–they are most often the wrong type.
The three main types of CBD are:
Isolate
Pure CBD, refined to its powder form then added back to products.
- Lowest psychoactive effect
- The most studied CBD type by far
- Products can taste and smell like anything since terpenes and flavor compounds are absent.
- Can require high dose due to lack of synergistic compounds
Broad Spectrum
Processed extracts with select compounds removed by separation techniques.
- Synergistic action between CBD, terpenes and minor cannabinoids creates an “entourage effect.”
- Strength is between that of Isolate and full spectrum
- Significantly different feel than full spectrum.
- Great for individuals who are tested and can not take full spectrum.
Full Spectrum
A minimally processed extract containing all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, and ancillary compounds found naturally in hemp.
- The inclusion of all cannabinoids creates the strongest “entourage effect.”
- Generally believed to be felt stronger and more effective at lower doses than isolate.
- Light processing preserves all active compounds.
Finding your dose by titration or adjustment
Titration is a safe way to get familiar with CDB
Titration is a slow and steady technique where users start at a very low dose and work their way up. It’s great for users who have never tried cannabinoids before and are concerned about the possibility of side effects. Titration helps users identify their minimum effective dose and minimizes the possibility of getting unwanted side effects.
The process of titration may begin with as little as 1mg of CBD, or 0.1ml of a tincture. The user will take the dose, wait an appropriate amount of time for the cannabinoids to be absorbed, then journal the results and side effects. If the effects are less than what’s desired, the user will increase the dose by 1mg the next session, observing and recording the effects, repeating this process until an acceptable dose is identified.
Adjustment gets users to a good dose fast
Adjustment is better for users familiar with cannabinoids and less concerned with side effects, it will enable users to get fast relief– often within the first session of trying CBD. Adjustments avoid the common problem of CBD feeling like it’s not working and avoids the unnecessary discomfort of starting with too low of a dose.
To adjust a CBD dose, start at a moderate (or suggested) dose during a time when you don’t have many demands and adjust downward or upward from there during the next session. For example, a user may start taking the suggested ½ ml serving tinctures, then adjust up to 3/4ml during the next session to get a greater effect.
One important thing to keep in mind is that cannabinoids will build up in the system if taken daily. A user’s tolerance will change over time too. Users may find that their optimal dose varies over time and the side effect they experience may change as their body acclimates to taking CBD.
Conclusion
Taking CBD correctly is important. Understanding how the time, the type, and how a CBD extract is taken will influence an individual’s response to CBD is essential to determining what their optimal dose is. Once a good dose is determined, many users will find CBD naturally incorporates itself into their routine as it enriches their quality of life.
If you enjoyed this post and are interested in trying an authentic and fresh CBD extract check out our topical products. Fresh Spectrum produces full-spectrum CBD extracts made with a unique cold-filtering process designed to preserve and concentrate active compounds.
