The 3 Types of CBD: CBD Isolate, Broad Spectrum, and Full Spectrum
Let’s face it, life is stressful. To deal with life’s stressful moments, many people have found ways to either manage it as best they can or distract from it.
Whether through a hobby, exercise, or even the use of medications and supplements, finding healthy ways to manage stress is one of the best things to ensure a long and happy life.
As mentioned, one of the ways many people choose to manage minor as well as significant amounts of stress is through the use of supplements, including CBD. The usage of CBD has skyrocketed since the legalization of hemp in 2018.
What Is CBD?
Ever since hemp was legalized, CBD has become an ever-popular choice for stress relief and for relaxation. CBD is a specific compound that can be found in hemp (also in marijuana); however, it lacks any significant amounts of THC, the ingredient that produces the high specific to and popularized by marijuana, although it still maintains most of the effectiveness for stress and pain relief as does cannabis.
CBD is sold and used in many different forms. In the past, the most common usage has been in the form of ingestible oils but other options including extracts, capsules, gummies, drinks, beauty products, and food and other edibles having been growing in popularity, in major part due to the inconvenience and dislike for ingesting ‘earthy tasting’ and hard to measure oils. There are many different ways to use CBD so you can likely find a product or combination of products that suits your specific needs and desired outcome.
CBD can be formed into many different products, but its chemical composition has been divided into basically three major types of CBD. These three types are CBD isolate, broad spectrum CBD, and full spectrum CBD. Each has its own attributes and composition and understanding these will help you to make proper choices when it comes to your own selection and usage.
CBD Isolate
CBD isolate is pure CBD, usually in the form of a crystalline powder, extracted from hemp without any of the other terpenes present in the CBD oil derived from the hemp plant. As pure CBD, it does not contain any THC (the intoxicating element present in cannabis). Because of this lack of THC, CBD isolate is a great type of CBD to use if you’re beginning to check out different types of products and especially if you want to avoid any THC, whether to avoid any of its intoxicating effects or any THC showing up in a drug screening test.
The other major benefit of CBD isolate is that it is a tasteless and odorless form of CBD, making it much more easily and desirable to ingest for a lot of CBD users who do not care for the earthy, often pungent, taste and smell of hemp oils. It is a great way to add CBD to drinks, foods, and other edibles due to this lack of taste and odor yet still reap all the benefits of pure CBD.
How Is It Made?
CBD isolate is one of the safest types of CBD products to use, especially due to its complete lack of THC. CBD processors use several different methods to extract the hemp oil and then remove all the unnecessary and potentially harmful compounds from the raw oil. Winterization, a process that basically allows a chemical compound to cool for the removal of any and all impurities, leaves the processors with pure, extracted CBD that is in a crystalline form. The crystals are then typically ground into a fine powder. As mentioned, there is no odor or taste associated with the pure CBD isolate.
Effects and Uses of CBD Isolate
All types of CBD work by acting on the cannabinoid receptors that exist in all humans. The cannabinoid receptors are those that exist in the body because, in actuality, the human body automatically produces cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are a factor in the body that can affect certain functions, such as:
- Inflammation
- Memory
- Mood
- Appetite
- Pain
Research has found that CBD doesn’t necessarily connect with the cannabinoid receptors, but that it manages to find ways to modify them and have an impact on how much the cannabinoid receptors produce and in what way. Through this process, CBD can exert an influence on the body and its state of wellness.
Because of this influence in the body, CBD can have a wide range of positive effects. CBD isolate can have many effects in addition to those ones mentioned above, such as:
- Giving a boost to the immune system
- Preventing further tumor formation
- Reducing nausea
- Helping the nervous system recover from a shock
Quick note: One of the cannabinoid receptors is the receptor that deals with serotonin. Serotonin is the chemical that directly affects sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, and other emotionally connected bodily responses. Because of this connection, CBD can help soothe these negative states of mind for many people.
With CBD isolate, you may miss out on the benefits of the ‘entourage’ effect of the other compounds found in hemp oil besides the pure CBD. There are some theories that this entourage effect has further synergistic benefits from these compounds working together than with just the pure CBD. Despite this potential limitation of CBD isolate, it is still a very useful option for people who choose to avoid THC completely or for those who prefer CBD in a tasteless, odorless, pure form.
Broad Spectrum CBD
Broad-spectrum CBD is the second of the three types of CBD. Similar to CBD isolate, Broad Spectrum CBD lacks THC (its possible that some CBD broad-spectrum products may contain very minute trace amounts). The main difference between broad-spectrum CBD and CBD isolate is that broad-spectrum CBD contains many of the naturally occurring compounds that are a normal component of the full cannabis plant oil.
As the name suggests, broad-spectrum CBD is a type of CBD that falls between CBD isolate and full-spectrum CBD, which contains all compounds including THC. Like CBD isolate, broad-spectrum CBD doesn’t contain THC; however, like full-spectrum CBD, it contains multiple other compounds in addition to pure CBD.
How Is It Made?
When it comes to extracting CBD from the original plant, many common methods are used. However, unlike CBD isolate, these methods do not include processes like winterization which results in pure, extracted CBD.
The main types of distillation/extraction for removing CBD from the cannabis plant are:
- Carbon dioxide extraction
- Solvent extraction
- Steam distillation
- Lipid extraction
These different methods are used on different types of cannabis plants. Different cannabis plant strains contain different compounds, and the particular classification and makeup of a specific plant can affect how CBD oil is extracted from the plant.
Effects and Uses of Broad-Spectrum CBD
Because broad-spectrum CBD products contain other components in addition to pure CBD, many experts maintain it has a higher level of efficiency than CBD isolate. This theory maintains that broad-spectrum CBD products can produce heightened results due to the entourage effect – the theory that additional cannabis compounds, when taken together, produce a better effect than CBD taken alone.
Broad-spectrum CBD also comes in many different forms, many of which include tinctures and oils as well as CBD gummies and other edibles. It is also widely used within CBD topical products.
Due to the potential heightened benefits of broad-spectrum CBD, these products may be particularly helpful for those with sleep issues, anxiety, for treating acne and other skin issues, as well as helping to relieve pain and inflammation.
It is another excellent choice for those who choose to avoid THC completely as broad-spectrum CBD is free of THC but still provides the potential entourage effect some say is lacking in CBD isolate. Unlike CBD isolate, however, typically broad-spectrum CBD will have the earthy, sometimes pungent, taste and smell associated with plant-based oil extracts.
Full Spectrum CBD
Full-spectrum CBD, as the name implies, contains the full contingent of hemp oil compounds, including THC (although in small, legally acceptable amounts). Just like broad-spectrum CBD mentioned above, there are theories that the entourage effect provides synergistic benefits but, additionally, that the small amounts of THC heighten even more these entourage effect benefits.
Keep in mind that full-spectrum CBD does contains THC although in amounts of less than 0.3%, which is the federal legal limit allowed in hemp and CBD products. Although THC in such a low quantity is expected to have limited effects, it is possible that depending on your dosage and how your body handles the inclusion of THC, it has the potential for typical THC effects as well as showing up in drug screening tests.
Effects and Uses of Full Spectrum CBD
Because of the additional components that make up full-spectrum CBD, many believe the entourage effect that they produce is greater than broad-spectrum CBD. However, this potential benefit comes with the risk of THC usage, which many CBD users choose to avoid.
As with the other CBD types, you can find full-spectrum CBD in the form of oils and tinctures, gel pills, CBD gummies and edibles, and in topical usage products. It is an excellent choice for CBD users who want the potential for the full entourage effect and who do not mind the use of the small amounts of THC.
Serenity Mountain Foods CBD
At Serenity Mountain Foods, in response to our CBD customers’ preferences, we do not use THC in any of our CBD products. This means that you can have complete confidence that all our products have 0% THC. We use CBD isolate in products where taste and smell are important for the enjoyment of the product like our CBD hot cocoa mixes and broad-spectrum CBD in others like our CBD gummies. We use CBD isolate because it is odorless and tasteless, and we use broad-spectrum CBD for the extra cannabinoids it contains, but none of our products contain any amount of THC and they are lab tested to ensure 0% THC (as well as to ensure that the stated amount of CBD is included in the product).
No matter which of the three types of CBD you’re interested in trying, there are various benefits to all of them. If you want a confirmed THC-free product that you can trust, we have enjoyable products to support or supplement your CBD wellness program.
Links
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cbd-isolate
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/broad-spectrum-cbd
https://www.healthline.com/health/full-spectrum-cbd
