6 Ways To Ingest CBD
The best CBD delivery method for you depends on the wellness goals you want to achieve, how quickly you’d like relief, and which is most convenient for you.
Most people are looking to try CBD to get relief from everyday stress, improve their quality of sleep, experience less exercise-induced pain in muscles and joints, have a calmer and more focused life, or just for general wellness.
Here are six ways to take CBD…
1. Ingesting CBD Under the Tongue
Place the CBD oil (or easy dissolve tablets) under your tongue and hold it there for a minute. The CBD enters your bloodstream through the mucous membranes. This method gets the CBD into your bloodstream faster than ingesting it in capsule or edible format.
Format: Oils and tinctures, easy dissolve tablets. (A tincture is an infusion of a plant in a liquid base such as olive oil, coconut oil, or alcohol to help body absorption.)
Timeframe to feel effects: 15 minutes to 60 minutes.
Effects last: Six to eight hours.
Bioavailability: 6% to 20%
Note: Bioavailability is the proportion of a drug or substance that enters your circulation and has an active effect on the body.
2. Ingesting CBD with Edibles
Edibles are a fun (and fast-growing) way to administer CBD. Edible food and snacks come in various shapes and sizes from gummy bears to mints, and liquid energy shots to adding CBD oil to smoothies or your favorite recipes. Because, with edibles, the CBD passes through both the digestive system and the liver, this method is the slowest way to feel the effects of CBD.
Format: Edibles, capsules
Timeframe to feel effects: 30 minutes to two hours or more.
Effects last: Six to eight hours.
Bioavailability: 8 to 15%
There are many options when it comes to edibles. CBD gummies, CBD energy shots, and CBD mints are the most popular options.
3. Ingesting CBD with Capsules/Softgels
CBD also comes in capsule form. Like edibles, they have a slower release because they must be absorbed through the digestive tract and processed through the liver. Besides being extremely convenient (great for traveling), they also offer consistency in dosing.
Bioavailability: 4 to 20% (most studies have the bioavailability to be below 10%)
Timeframe to feel effects: Up to an hour.
Effects last: Six to eight hours.
4. Applying CBD Infused Topicals
Topical CBD is applied to your skin for localized pain relief. This is an ideal delivery method for pain relief in muscles and joints, as well as skincare. Topical CBD bypass the digestive tract and liver, this means the effect can be felt much quicker.
Format: Salve, balm, body creams, body moisturizers, body butter, face creams, facial oils, pain relief roll-ons, ointments, soaps, bath salts.
Timeframe to feel effects: 15 minutes
Effects last: Up to 6 hours
Bioavailability: About 45%
5. Applying Transdermal
An alternative to other options, transdermal medicated adhesive patches are applied to your skin and release small amounts of CBD into your bloodstream over a long period of time.
Format: Patch or gel.
Timeframe to feel effects: 15 minutes
Effects last: Patch, 12 hours; Gel, four hours
Bioavailability: 45%
6. Inhalation by Smoking or Vaping
Smoking is the fastest way to feel the effects of CBD (it enters your lungs and then goes rapidly into your bloodstream). A benefit of smoking is that you feel the effects immediately. But as with anything you smoke, it can burn the throat and be harsh on the lungs. Plus, secondhand CBD low-THC, high CBD bud smoke contains many of the same cancer-causing compounds and toxic chemicals that secondhand tobacco smoke contains.
Vaping is an alternative to smoking and while it doesn’t produce any of the harmful by-products of smoke, the jury is out on how safe it is. This article published by Time, points out that vaping may be behind some serious lung diseases.
Format: Smoke, vaporize
Timeframe to feel effects: Immediate.
Effects last: Two to four hours
Bioavailability: 10 to 35%
The two most popular ways people get their daily dose of CBD are by ingesting CBD oil under the tongue and taking capsules/softgels. Ingesting CBD oil is popular because the effects are felt relatively fast. the CBD Capsules/softgels are a popular method as people love that they are extremely portable, easy to administer, and they know exactly how much CBD they are ingesting with each capsule/softgel.
