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CBD has become one of the hottest health supplements of the past decade, but for many it’s still a bit of a mystery. Is CBD medical marijuana? Is it marijuana at all? How does CBD work? What does CBD stand for? What is CBD oil? For that matter, what is CBD? The list of commonly asked questions about CBD goes on and on. And so, today we’re going to answer a few of those cannabidiol queries, and show you some of the best CBD products available in the UK for 2022 while we’re at it. But first things first …
What Is CBD Oil?
CBD oil is the oil derived from the buds, leaves and stalks of the cannabis plant. For CBD products, that refers to the low-THC form of cannabis, which is called hemp (or, industrial hemp). While there certainly exists a high-THC form of cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, this type of cannabis is not used for legal CBD products in the UK.
What Is CBD?
CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of a group of compounds found in the cannabis plant, known as cannabinoids. There are over 100 cannabinoids in cannabis hemp, with CBD and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) being the two major cannabinoids. Other cannabinoids include CBG (cannabigerol), CBN (cannabinol), CBC (cannabichromene), among many others. Each of these compounds has its own unique effects when consumed. And we’ll get to those CBD benefits in a minute.
But first, let’s have a look at the different types of CBD oil UK products available, as well as some best-in-class items in each category.
How Do You Take CBD?
CBD can be consumed in a variety of ways, each with its own advantages.
Edibles: CBDfx Original Mixed Berry CBD Gummies
One of the most popular ways to take CBD is in edibles. While CBD edibles take the longest of any type of CBD product to get into your bloodstream (because they have to work their way through your digestive tract), their effects are the longest lasting. In fact, the effects of CBD edibles can last six to eight hours, depending on personal bioavailability factors, such as height, weight, body mass, CBD tolerance, and other factors. And because the CBD in edibles is premeasured, you never have to worry about figuring out the dosage.
CBD gummies are incredibly popular edibles, in large part because people simply love gummies. But while CBD gummies certainly taste as wonderful as a normal sweet, they also deliver the calming wellness benefits of cannabidiol. CBDfx, a longtime leader in the CBD industry, has a broad line of organic CBD gummy products. Their Original Mixed Berry CBD Gummies deliver 50mg of broad spectrum CBD per serving and no other active ingredients to cloud your CBD experience. The delicious burst of natural fruit flavour is an added bonus for these best-selling CBD gummies.
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CBDfx CBD Soft Gel Capsules
It’s worth mentioning the variety of products you’ll find in the CBD edibles category. From CBD gummies to CBD cookies to CBD drinks and more, there’s no shortage of CBD edible products. CBDfx CBD Soft Gel Capsules fall under the edibles category, and provide a CBD-only experience similar to their Original Mixed Berry CBD Gummies above. These CBD capsules contain 25mg of broad spectrum CBD per capsule (take one or two per serving, depending on personal preference) as well as natural, coconut-derived MCT oil to help your body better absorb the cannabidiol. Other than added gelatin to help form the capsules, those are the only ingredients in these pure and potent CBD Softgels, making them a perfect product for people who want to experience CBD by itself.
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Sublinguals: CBDfx CBD + CBG Oil Wellness Tincture
CBD tinctures are sublingual CBD products, held under the tongue so that the cannabidiol can absorb into the bloodstream through the capillaries of the mouth. The benefit of sublingual CBD is that it gets into your system quicker than CBD edibles (sometimes as quickly as 20–30 minutes) and its effects last much longer than CBD vapes (four to six hours, depending on bioavailability factors). This makes oil tinctures a great middle-ground CBD product, sort of a best of both worlds. Oil tinctures also allow you to dial in your CBD dosage right down to the tiniest mg.
CBDfx sells two wonderful CBD tinctures in the UK. Their CBD Hemp Tincture is similar to the products above, in that it shines the spotlight on the CBD itself. Their CBD + CBG Oil Wellness Tincture, on the other hand, contains a robust and effective blend of ingredients designed for energy and focus. While CBD is often thought of as purely a relaxation supplement, it actually is effective in energy products because it helps to calm the mind, giving you laser focus to attack your day. CBD + CBG Oil Wellness Tincture supplies energy and antioxidant benefits through the inclusion of curcumin and coenzyme Q10, as well as a special blend of terpenes. CBG (cannabigerol) helps boost the performance of the CBD through a phenomenon known as the Entourage Effect, in which multiple cannabinoids and other hemp compounds actually increase each other’s overall effects when taken together. CBDfx Wellness Tincture makes a great addition to any morning health regimen.
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Vapes: CBDfx Blue Raspberry CBD Vape Pen
CBD vape products provide the quickest effects of any CBD products, because the CBD is absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the lungs. This means that you can feel the CBD effects within minutes. While the effects of a CBD vape are notably shorter-lasting than tinctures or edibles (generally, up to two hours), many people enjoy the versatility of a quick-hitting product with a narrower window of effects.
CBDfx carries CBD vape pens in six different flavours, ranging from fruity to minty to classic cannabis strains. And their recently updated pens deliver a whopping 500mg of broad spectrum CBD per pen — and approximately 800 puffs per 2mL pen. The Blue Raspberry CBD Vape Pen is a perennial favourite for CBD vape enthusiasts due to its burst of berry flavour, as well as its potent CBD punch. The pen contains no buttons, making it simple to use. And while it can be charged via Micro USB, the pen is disposable — allowing you to more easily experiment with different flavours.
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Topicals: CBDfx CBD Muscle & Joint Cream
Topical CBD products include CBD creams, CBD balms, CBD masks, CBD lotions, and other products that are rubbed directly onto the skin. Unlike the other categories of products above, CBD creams absorb directly into the affected area, either an irritated or inflamed patch of skin or muscles and joints beneath the skin, providing natural pain relief. Topical CBD creams can bring soothing relief within 15 minutes, with effects lasting up to six hours, again depending on bioavailability factors.
CBDfx CBD Muscle & Joint Cream delivers potent broad spectrum CBD, plus other active ingredients for natural pain relief. White willow bark and caffeine are both natural pain relievers (in fact, salicin from white willow bark is chemically similar to the active ingredient in aspirin). Menthol adds cooling pain relief, as well. Taken together, the ingredients in CBD Muscle & Joint Cream are great for minor pain relief and are a must for any medicine cabinet or training table.
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What Are the Benefits of CBD?
All vertebrate animals, including humans, create their own cannabinoids. The body produces these endocannabinoids to serve as neurotransmitters in a cell-signalling system called the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). Endocannabinoids send signals to receptors in various organs and systems throughout the body, most notably the brain and nervous system, and help them to maintain homeostasis, or balance. This helps the body to regulate such important functions as sleep, appetite, memory, mood, immune function, stress, pain, motor control, and more.
As it turns out, plant-based cannabinoids (such as CBD) have a similar effect on the body, mimicking endocannabinoids and helping the body’s ECS to perform more efficiently. This produces wellness benefits for several systems and organs throughout the body, and it’s the reason that CBD wellness products have become so incredibly popular.
You can enjoy these CBD oil benefits in products as diverse as CBD vape oil, CBD oil tinctures, CBD gummies for pain and other CBD gummies, CBD creams and lotions, CBD capsules, and other such products. In the US, you can also get legal, hemp-derived delta-9 THC gummies, THC pen and THC oil vape products, CBD for dogs, and even CBD mushroom products.
What Are the Types of CBD Oil?
You probably noted in some of the product descriptions that we referred to the type of CBD oil used. There are actually three types of CBD. Full spectrum CBD refers to the initial extract from the hemp plant. Full spectrum CBD contains all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and healthy fatty acids of cannabis hemp. This includes trace amounts of THC. In the UK, the legal limit is 0.2% THC. Full spectrum CBD can actually contain more than this (up to 0.3%). For this reason, you won’t likely find real full spectrum CBD in the UK. You’re more likely to find a CBD product labelled as full spectrum that is, in fact, broad spectrum CBD.
Broad spectrum CBD is the same oil as full spectrum, except it’s undergone a filtration process to remove all detectable amounts of THC. While some small part of the other cannabis compounds get removed in the process, broad spectrum CBD still retains nearly all of the cannabinoid content and is a robust and potent oil.
CBD isolate is CBD with all other cannabis content removed (making it 99% pure CBD). Isolate won’t give you the Entourage Effect, but it is often preferred in products like vape oils and bath salts, because it’s flavourless and odourless.
How to Shop for the Best CBD Oil UK Products
When you shop for CBD oil UK products, whether it’s CBD tinctures or CBD gummies UK items, there are several things to consider in terms of where to buy CBD oil.
For starters, always make sure the CBD in your product was made with organic hemp. Cannabis is a bioaccumulator, meaning that it takes in whatever chemicals are in the soil that surrounds it. This is great for absorbing nutrients, but if there are pesticides, heavy metals, or other harmful substances in the soil, you should understand that those will end up in your product. The tricky part about shopping for CBD in the UK is that there are a lot of government restrictions around labelling a product as organic, even if it is organic. But you can look for words like non-GMO and pesticide-free, which will give you a clue as to how the product was farmed.
Also, look for CBD that was extracted from the cannabis hemp with clean carbon dioxide. Cheaper CBD brands will often use solvents to extract the oil, but those solvents can leave behind a chemical residue that could be harmful to your health. Carbon dioxide not only leaves your CBD solvent-free, it also extracts the cannabinoids more efficiently, giving you greater CBD potency in every product.
You can verify how CBD was farmed and extracted with a lab report produced by an independent, third-party laboratory. Third-party lab reports will show you how much CBD and other cannabis content is in your product, as well as any contaminants. Every reputable CBD company will supply you with such a report.
Lastly, look for a CBD company that uses all-natural ingredients in every product. It somewhat defeats the purpose of finding pure, organic CBD if it’s blended in with artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives.
CBD and Your Health
You, no doubt, noted that all of the products we recommended above come from the same company, CBDfx. We did so because CBDfx meets all of our criteria, with organic, CO2-extracted CBD, backed by a third-party lab report and complemented by all-natural ingredients. If you’re looking for the best CBD products, CBDfx is a great place to start.
We hope we were able to answer some of your questions about CBD and that you’re now able to shop with confidence for CBD in the UK. We wish you all the best on your health and wellness journey.
