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There is still a lot to be discovered about CBD and how it works in the body. Although each individual reacts differently to the substance, there is always some science that applies to all consumers. And while we’ve long had to rely on anecdotal evidence of how CBD really works, a growing body of scientific research is making it easier for us to understand the plant’s essence. Providing us with answers to questions such as: “should I consume CBD oil drops with food or does it work better on an empty stomach?”
Using CBD
As you may know, most CBD products are best taken several times a day—in the morning, around noon, and at night before bed, for example. However, something you may not have considered is that your body processes CBD oil drops differently in these various situations.
For example, you can take CBD drops on an empty stomach when you wake up, after a light meal in the afternoon and after a serious meal at night. Although it seems that this will not make much difference, nothing could be further from the truth. As science proves, the food you may or may not have eaten affects the way the body processes CBD and consequently, the way it affects the body.
How Does CBD Work in the Body?
To understand why this happens, we need to examine how the body absorbs cannabidiol. More specifically, we’ll focus on CBD’s bioavailability and how it can be affected by the “first-pass effect.” Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a substance that becomes actively available where it is needed after consumption. In other words, how much CBD and how quickly it enters the bloodstream after taking the oil.
And as you may have learned in one of our other articles – for example on water-soluble CBDactive+ – cannabidiol itself has very low bioavailability. Even when diluted with carrier oil, such as hemp seed oil or olive oil.
In fact, regular CBD oils provide a bioavailability of only 6-12% of the Cannabidiol we have consumed. This means that much of the consumption of the cannabinoid is actually broken down by the body before it makes a difference. Considering that fat molecules find it difficult to travel in the oral tissue. Ordinary CBD oils must pass through the digestive system before they can be processed by the liver.
There, the body breaks down the ingested cannabinoids into more than 100 different metabolites. All of this occurs with the help of enzymes known as cytochrome P450. Unfortunately, however, the body breaks down and excretes many of these metabolites before they reach the bloodstream. This results in the product’s low bioavailability. This means you may need more CBD oil to achieve the desired effect, compared to CBD products with higher bioavailability, such as CBDactive+.
Taking CBD oil drops with food
Although, as science shows, there is an easy and inexpensive way to make the substance more effective, and that is to take your CBD oil with food. As proven by researchers at the University of Minnesota, consuming CBD with food could increase the effectiveness of the drops you take.
Research was conducted on eight adult participants with treatment-resistant epilepsy and focused on exploring the impact of food on CBD effects. For the experiment, participants were given “one dose of 99% pure CBD capsules”. In other words, capsules filled with CBD crystals and instructed to consume them on an empty stomach, as well as after a fatty meal (840-860 calories). Plasma blood levels were noted immediately after taking CBD and again several days later.
As the results show, the body absorbs four times more cannabidiol – and much faster – when consumed with fatty foods than on an empty stomach. And despite the relatively small size of the study, it confirms what we know about the rate of absorption of fats and oils.
Fatty Acids and CBD
The results of this study are supported by a review from Harvard Medical School —which focused on the bioavailability of fatty acids in the body and showed that conventional fats and oils act as high-energy, fast-acting fuels.
As a result, the body absorbs fatty foods faster. In most cases, CBD is diluted with a carrier oil consisting of organic fats or fatty acids. However, this is often not enough to protect CBD from P450 enzymes. Therefore, it would be advisable to start taking your CBD after eating or combine it with fatty foods such as fish, avocados, nuts, red meats and coconut oilto name a few.
Most Effective CBD
On the other hand, there are products available that are specifically designed to achieve maximum bioavailability. Take our CBDactive+, for example, a water-soluble CBD extract containing all the cannabinoids and terpenes needed for the best results. Due to the chemical composition of the active ingredients in this product, it completely avoids “breakdown” by P450 enzymes and is 100% absorbed. Consequently, this means that a CBDactive+ product with 4% CBD is comparable to a standard 40% CBD oil in terms of results.
In summary, it would be advisable to increase the number of healthy fatty acids you consume daily to increase the effects of regular CBD oils. Another possibility is switching to a cannabis product with high bioavailability such as CBDactive+. It all depends on what you want to achieve by using cannabinoid supplementation, of course!
Source: dutchnaturalhealing.com
