The majority of people who use CBD purchase bottles of CBD oil. It can be used in several different ways, and it takes effect quickly when a few drops are placed under the tongue.
Many others, though, are drawn to CBD gummies. Not only are they easier to take, but they can be carried in a pocket, purse, or backpack, and they taste much better than CBD oil.
Unfortunately, there’s a price to pay for convenience and flavor.
The reason sublingual (under the tongue) administration of CBD oil works so quickly is that it’s absorbed by the body’s tissues and moved right into the bloodstream. By contrast, gummies must first be broken down in the digestive system; only then will their CBD be available for the body’s use.
How long does that process take? It depends on many factors, including the user’s biology and weight, but it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours before a CBD gummy kicks in.
Is it worth the wait?
What’s In a CBD Gummy?
The active ingredient in a CBD gummy, of course, is cannabidiol (the full name for CBD). It’s other ingredients, though, that prevent the cannabidiol from taking effect right away. Let’s dissect a gummy to explain.
Cannabidiol
More than 100 botanical compounds known as cannabinoids are found in cannabis and hemp plants. Two are most important, because of the apparent health and wellness benefits they deliver. CBD is one, and the other is THC.
THC and CBD are very similar chemically, but the slight difference between them is crucial. Their structural difference explains the reasons why THC can interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) to make users high, but cannabidiol doesn’t deliver intoxicating effects.
CBD gummies contain cannabidiol sourced from hemp plants, because hemp is rich in CBD but only contains very small amounts of THC that aren’t enough to trigger psychoactive effects. (Gummies produced with cannabinoids taken from the cannabis plant are THC edibles and illegal to consume in Britain.)
The apparent benefits that CBD gummies provide have made them quite popular now that CBD products can be sold in the UK; we’ll list them shortly.
Gummies have been around since the early 1900s, but their popularity soared about 40 years ago. Sold for decades as fruity treats, they’ve more recently been used as a tasty “delivery device” for vitamins and supplements. They’re now commonly used to deliver doses of THC and CBD. The primary ingredient of gummy candies is edible gelatin, a protein made from the collagen of animals. However, vegan-safe gummies are also available; they’re made from ingredients like pectin or agar instead of gelatin. The gelatin (or alternatives) gives gummies the chewy texture we’re all familiar with. Sugar, flavorings, and colorings are usually added to CBD gummies to make them more appealing and flavorful, and some manufacturers add other extra health and wellness ingredients. The gummies are usually coated with oil or natural wax for protection. Users buy CBD gummies because of the cannabidiol they contain — without realizing that all of those other ingredients determine how long it will take for the CBD to kick in. Cannabidiol delivers its effects by interacting with the receptors in the body’s endocannabinoid system. The path it must take to reach those receptors, though, depends on the way the CBD is consumed. As we’ve mentioned, dropping CBD oil under the tongue is a fast track to effectiveness. The cannabidiol is absorbed by the sublingual tissues and quickly enters the bloodstream, where it can quickly be moved to the liver to be metabolized and then carried to the ECS receptors. A similar fast track is vaping, as the CBD is almost immediately absorbed by tissues in the lungs. However, the cannabinoid’s effectiveness is delayed when other consumption methods are used. The trip that CBD gummies must take is a good example. Once a gummy enters the body, it travels from the mouth into the gastrointestinal tract, where it undergoes the digestive process. Enzymes must break down the candy before the cannabidiol it contains can be freed and absorbed into the walls of the small intestine. Only then can the CBD enter the bloodstream to be metabolized by the liver and sent throughout the body. How long does that take? The entire process can require half an hour for some people but may take as long as two hours for others. That’s because other factors come into play. The phrase “your mileage may vary” originated in car commercials, but has become a common way to avoid making simple, declarative statements or predictions. When discussing how long it takes for CBD gummies to kick in, though, the cliché is very true. The speed with which cannabidiol takes effect depends on both the gummy’s properties and the user’s body. Understandably, a gummy’s CBD dosage helps determine how quickly the user feels its effects. A larger dose will affect the body faster than a smaller one will. (This isn’t an argument for using high doses; the “proper” dose is usually the best one, and it’s smart to check with your doctor or another healthcare professional before deciding if and how much CBD you should take.) Many individual factors also help determine how quickly a body will digest and metabolize cannabidiol. Body weight, BMI, the user’s normal metabolic rate (some people naturally have faster metabolisms than others), their general health and health of their liver, and other genetic factors all play roles. CBD may also work faster for veteran users than it does for newbies. Actually, you can. Research has shown that cannabidiol is absorbed more quickly — and is more effective — when consumed with a meal or on a full stomach. One study reported that it’s best to have a high-fat meal when using CBD; the cannabidiol is apparently absorbed 2.5 to 5 times faster after consuming fat than it is when CBD is taken on an empty stomach. Another study suggests that piperine, which is found in black pepper, can help with CBD absorption. One other factor should also be kept in mind: the type of cannabidiol contained in the gummy. First, a little background. When CBD is extracted from hemp, it brings with it other plant compounds like terpenes and cannabinoids, including THC. The extracted cannabidiol is called full-spectrum CBD; it’s the most effective form of cannabidiol because all of the compounds work together to boost the performance of CBD in a so-called “entourage effect.” The small amount of THC in full-spectrum CBD, as we’ve mentioned earlier, won’t make users high. However, some people don’t want to consume any THC because their bodies don’t handle it well, or because they don’t want to risk a positive drug test for cannabis.CBD producers offer them two alternatives. Broad-spectrum CBD is full-spectrum cannabidiol with almost all of the THC removed, although traces may still remain. CBD isolate has had all of the additional plant compounds removed, making it pure CBD. These options allow users to decide how much THC they’ll be consuming, although they’re slightly less effective because of a smaller (or no) entourage effect. Choosing full-spectrum CBD gummies may not help the cannabidiol they contain work faster, but it could seem that way — because full-spectrum CBD will deliver more of the cannabinoid’s apparent benefits. What are those reported benefits? Let’s find out. Even though CBD gummies may be slow-acting, they’re a delicious and convenient way to realize the apparent benefits of cannabidiol. The only medical use of CBD that’s been approved by authorities is for the treatment of a few rare forms of childhood epilepsy (with the prescription cannabidiol medication Epidiolex). A growing body of research, though, indicates that CBD may help with a wide variety of conditions and diseases: Those apparent benefits haven’t yet been proven to the satisfaction of medical experts and regulatory agencies, but they’re among the major reasons that CBD gummies and other types of CBD products have become so popular now that they’ve been legalised. There’s no “right” dosage of CBD, and there are many reasons why. It is possible, though, to come up with some ballpark numbers for CBD dosages. Remember that the amount of cannabidiol in the gummies you purchase must be considered before deciding on how many would be appropriate to try. The UK’s Food Standards Agency recommends taking no more than 10mg of CBD per day, and that’s also the most commonly suggested starting dose (5mg taken twice daily). The lowest amounts of cannabidiol shown to be effective in various studies, however, are 25mg for poor sleep, 30mg for pain, and 300mg for anxiety. That wide disparity makes it an even better idea to check with your doctor or another medical professional before deciding whether to try CBD gummies and how many you should take.
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