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Posted in Essential Oil Basics by Rocky Mountain Oils

CBD 101, Part 4

What is Broad-Spectrum CBD?

The CBD market is rapidly expanding, and the more you look into the various products that are available, the more you may notice that there are several products listed as CBD isolate, full-spectrum CBD, or broad-spectrum CBD. These terms help separate different CBD products, but what exactly is the difference between them? In this part of our CBD series, we hope to make it a little easier to understand what broad-spectrum CBD is and how you can benefit from it.

What is Broad-Spectrum CBD?

Before we can understand what broad-spectrum CBD is, we need to first discuss the two main types of CBD products: isolate and full-spectrum.

CBD isolate is a product that contains nothing but 99.9% pure CBD. During the extraction process, manufacturers who make CBD isolate simply remove everything from the plant extract except for the CBD cannabinoid. This means that there are no other cannabinoid strains (including THC), terpenes, oils, waxes, and chlorophyll in the end product.

Once the extraction process is complete, you are left with a fine white powder, which is the form that CBD takes once extracted. You can add this powder to just about anything, including tinctures, oils, and edibles to help you experience the benefits of CBD. However, because CBD isolate is only CBD, you won't get any additional benefits that come from the other cannabinoids and compounds that are in the cannabis plant.

On the other end, full-spectrum CBD contains everything that is naturally found in the cannabis plant. Full-spectrum CBD products are full of natural terpenes, flavonoids, fatty acids, and cannabinoids, including THC. All of the various compounds in full-spectrum CBD products have their own therapeutic properties, which, when they work together, allow you to experience what is called the entourage effect.

The entourage effect refers to when you get the benefits of all compounds working together instead of just a few working on their own, like what you'd get with CBD isolate. Although full-spectrum CBD contains THC, the amount of THC is naturally .3% or less, which is the legal and safe amount to ingest without experiencing the psychoactive effects of THC.

Broad-spectrum CBD is essentially the same as full-spectrum CBD, but without THC. This means that broad-spectrum CBD contains all of the naturally occurring flavonoids, terpenes, cannabinoids, fatty acids, and all other beneficial components within the cannabis plant, but has had the specific THC cannabinoid strain removed.

Choosing Between Isolate, Full-Spectrum, and Broad-Spectrum CBD

Each of these three types of CBD products offer their own benefits and can help address certain needs. Originally, people believed that CBD isolate would be more effective simply because it is pure CBD. However, in 2015, a study showed that full-spectrum CBD provides higher levels of relief, as well as longer-lasting relief. This can also be the case for broad-spectrum CBD because these two types of CBD are essentially the same, with the exception of their THC content.

Even though full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD may seem to be more effective, CBD isolate still has its place. CBD isolate is great for those who may not need all of the benefits of full-spectrum or broad-spectrum CBD.

In addition, CBD isolate and broad-spectrum CBD are great for those who cannot have THC in their system for legal purpose or drug tests, or for those who simply do not want to worry about ingesting THC. In you are in any of these situations, CBD isolate and broad-spectrum CBD may be for you simply because they do not contain any THC that can get into your system in the first place.

Benefits of Broad-Spectrum CBD

Because broad-spectrum CBD contains more than just CBD, you can get more benefits as the various components work together. Essentially, you get all of the benefits of full-spectrum CBD without the worry of ingesting the psychoactive cannabinoid THC. We will get more into the benefits of CBD and related products in part seven of our CBD series.

What to expect in part five: How does CBD work in the body? 

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References:

Anthony. "CBD Isolate VS Full Spectrum & Broad Spectrum CBD - What The Difference Means For You." CALM. September 15, 2018. https://calmvape.com/cbd-isolate-vs-full-spectrum-broad-spectrum-cbd-difference-means/

Cadena, Aaron. "CBD Isolate Vs. Full Spectrum CBD." CBD Origin. September 7, 2017. https://medium.com/cbd-origin/cbd-isolate-vs-full-spectrum-cbd-b78a6eab319c

"CBD Extract Guide: Full-Spectrum, Broad Spectrum, & Isolate." IntelliCBD. https://intellicbd.com/articles/full-spectrum-cbd-oil-vs-isolate/

"What is Broad Spectrum CBD?" CBD School. September 26, 2018. https://www.cbdschool.com/what-is-broad-spectrum-cbd/