should you take cbd with food?
Do you want to get the most out of your CBD tincture? If so, you’ve probably been wondering if it’s best to take it with your food or without any. You also may have found some pretty conflicting information online about the topic, so we’re here to clear things up. The answer is pretty simple, CBD can — but doesn’t have to — be taken with food. Keep on reading to figure out exactly why that is and how you can get the most out of your CBD tinctures.
how cbd gets absorbed by the body
To understand how to get the most out of your tincture, it’s important to know how CBD gets absorbed by your body. In order for CBD to take effect, it has to find its point of entry into the bloodstream. Only then is it able to communicate with your body’s cannabinoid receptors found throughout the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
If you’ve done brief research into how CBD works in the body, you’ve probably come across the buzzword, “bioavailability” and wondered what it means. Simply put, bioavailability is the degree and rate of absorption of CBD into the bloodstream.
Therefore, in order to get the most out of your CBD tincture, you need to focus on enhancing bioavailability.
This intrigued cannabis researchers who sought out to understand the most efficient way to do that. What they found is that dietary lipids (plant triglycerides) substantially increase the body’s exposure to cannabinoids. A study conducted by a group of researchers in 2016 found that the number of lipids that enter the body with cannabinoids can turn a rather small and hardly effective amount of cannabinoids into a powerful, highly effective one.
it's all about the fatty acids
You may have noticed that all of our CBD tinctures contain a base of MCT oil. We did this because cannabinoids are fat-soluble compounds, meaning they and are most effective when consumed with fat that can be easily broken down by the body. The fatty acids in MCT act as an incredible carrier oil for the CBD molecule, helping to transfer it into the bloodstream.
what is mct oil?
MCT stands for medium-chain triglycerides, and triglycerides are basically a science term for fat or “fatty acids”. They’re named after their chemical structure and defined as such. The “chain” is essentially how many carbon atoms are present. For example, long-chain triglycerides make up most of the fat in your diet and contain a chain of about 13-21 carbon atoms. Medium-chain fatty acids have about 6-12 carbon atoms.
The shorter the chain, the easier it is for your body to break down and use for energy. That is why MCT oil acts as such a good carrier for CBD to enter the bloodstream.
the best ways to enhance bioavailability
We make all of our CBD tinctures with MCT oil in order to assist your body, so you don’t have to worry about taking your CBD with high-fat foods every time you want to use it.
However, if you want to assist your body’s absorption rate even further, taking them with high-fat foods may help. In fact, a small study conducted at the University of Minnesota found that “when compared to fasting, taking CBD with food increased the amount in the body by four-times and the maximum amount recorded in the participants' blood by 14-times.”
from your bottle to your bloodstream
Recent research on cannabinoids has shown their great potential to positively benefit the human body. This research has given us invaluable information about how to best consume it in order to enhance its bioavailability in our bodies. Taking it with some source of healthy fats can do that. Whether that source comes from the MCT oil we’ve added for you or high-fat food, you’re likely to increase the number of cannabinoids that reach your bloodstream.
Everyone’s body is unique, so remember to start low and slow when you first begin using CBD. If you have any questions or are interested in learning more, take a look through our FAQ page or blog.
If you don’t find what you’re looking for, reach out to us by sending an email to hello@enjoypachamama.com. We strive to be a source of education for you and will answer you as soon as we can.