How to Find the Best Quality CBD
The seemingly overnight popularity of CBD has, unsurprisingly, led to a slew of brands and high street stores selling all kinds of CBD products. Apart from oils and tinctures, CBD now comes in sprays, edibles like gummies and capsules, as well as topicals like balms, lotions and creams. But the largely unregulated nature of the UK’s CBD market means that brands are free to market their CBD products in any way they see fit, provided their products don’t exceed the legal limit for THC and aren’t sold as medicine. All this means that the average consumer will have to be careful about where they buy their CBD. To ensure you buy high-quality CBD products, consider the following pointers
Look for CBD Extracted Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
The best CBD oils go through an extraction process that uses supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2), also known as liquid carbon dioxide. This process is arguably the best way to extract CBD from raw hemp as it does not require the use of flammable solvents and harsh chemicals that can leave residues in the CBD oil. Be sure to avoid CBD extracted using propane, butane and pentane — these solvents are not only highly explosive but can leave toxic contaminants in the CBD oil.
Choose Brands That Use High-Quality Hemp
CBD comes from hemp, a hyperaccumulator crop that absorbs everything from the soil it grows in. In one study, hemp was found to extract metals like lead, cadmium and nickel from soil contaminated with sewage sludge. This means that if hemp is grown in contaminated soil, the CBD it generates may also be contaminated. A good rule of thumb is to check where a CBD manufacturer sources its hemp from. The safest CBD oil will be sourced from non-GMO farms in countries where industrial hemp is grown in fields that have been tested for toxic metals and pesticides.
Get CBD Products with Clear Labels
High-quality CBD products from reputable companies will clearly indicate the CBD content of their products in milligrams. The label should also indicate the type of CBD extract in the product: isolate, broad-spectrum or full-spectrum. The higher the CBD content in a product, the more potent it is. When it comes to CBD oils, look for products with at least 500mg of CBD per 10ml bottle. Anything lower may not be enough to produce results.
Avoid Cheap CBD
High-quality CBD isn’t cheap to produce. For instance, the process of extracting CBD using supercritical CO2 requires specialised equipment that accounts for a large percentage of the product’s manufacturing cost. A CBD product with a price that’s too good to be true is probably made from inferior raw materials and low-quality solvents. It may not even have CBD oil at all. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the most expensive CBD oil is the best. Rather, look for reasonably priced CBD with glowing reviews.
Look for CBD with Third-Party Test Results
Go for CBD companies with products that have been independently tested by third parties. This means their products have been verified for potency and purity. This information can be on the company’s website, an insert in the box, or on the product label itself. Third-party analyses of CBD products are objective and transparent, and CBD companies are usually proud to share their certificates of analysis with customers.
Be Wary of Products with Sweeping Health Benefits
Lastly, watch out for companies that make sweeping health claims about their products. While CBD is legal in the UK, it cannot be marketed as medicine, even if it’s for relatively minor problems such as migraines, body aches or insomnia. The CBD industry may not be perfect, but a growing number of companies are taking it upon themselves to self-regulate and be more transparent with their products.
At Nutrivive, we offer a range of CBD products that have been independently tested by third-party labs for potency and purity. We also get our hemp from organic, non-GMO farms to ensure the quality of our CBD.
