By: Allison Watman
What is water soluble CBD?
CBD, short for cannabidiol, is becoming tremendously popular for good reason. It has numerous health benefits including the potential for anti-anxiety and pain reducing effects, it does not have the psychoactive properties of its cousin, THC, and it is legal across most of the United States.
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Water soluble CBD is not only more bioavailable (i.e. enters the body more quickly) than regular CBD oil, it also can be added to drinks and mixed in more easily for better consumption.
What can you make with water soluble CBD?
Water soluble CBD opens up a world of possibilities in the area of CBD infused drinks, as it can be easily mixed into any concoction you can imagine.
A CBD smoothie or CBD juice for breakfast? Talk about a calming start to your day! How about a delicious CBD cocktail to help you unwind?
Yes, please! And we are only just beginning to scratch the surface on the culinary possibilities opened up by water soluble CBD.
Our top picks for water soluble CBD
Want to try your hand at mixing some CBD drinks yourself? Here are our favorite water soluble CBD products on the market right now.
CBD American Shaman Water Soluble Full Spectrum Hemp Oil
$59.99 for 30 ml, strength: 300mg per bottle
This product comes in a variety of fruity flavors, and you can choose your THC content of zero or 0.3%. CBD American Shaman boasts 100% organic, gluten -free, and Non-GMO hemp grown without heavy metals or insecticides. They have high standards of product safety and quality. And their plants are grown in the USA on sustainable small farms!
Hemp Lucid’s Full Spectrum CBD Water Soluble
$39.95 for 30 ml, strength 250mg
This product allows you to choose your strength per dose, and contains less than .3% THC. Hemp Lucid’s product uses the whole hemp plant, so your CBD will also contain hundreds of different plant-based compounds, like beneficial phytocannabinoids, terpenes, and other phytonutrients, for a full therapeutic profile.
Grown organically in the USA, Hemp USA’s products are third-party tested with an up-to-date Certificate of Analysis for every product batch sold, which gives you assurance of quality and safety.
PLANT PEOPLE Drops: Mind + Body
$69.00 for 30 ml, strength: 630 mg
This full-spectrum hemp extract is made with all organic ingredients. Lab reports are published for each product on their website, which speaks to the quality and safety of the product.
Plant People was founded by two men who both had negative experiences with traditional pharmaceuticals, which led to their passion to plant-based alternative medicine. They partner with the non-profit American Forests, and plant a tree for every product sold.
Evolution CBD Water Soluble
$59.99 for 30 ml, strength 300 mg
Evolution’s water soluble CBD comes in a variety of flavors and THC content options.
Famous in the industry for producing the world’s first water soluble CBD product, Evolution’s hemp is gluten free, non-GMO, and contains zero heavy metals or insecticides.
All of their products are third-party lab tested, and those test results are available on the product, and a certificate of analysis for each product can be viewed on their website.
Frequently asked questions
What does water soluble CBD do?
In its natural form, cannabinoids are oil based compounds that do not mix in water. Have you ever heard the phrase “Water and oil don’t mix”? When you place hemp oils in water, they float instead of dissolving.
This becomes a problem when you ingest CBD oils, because our bodies are made of 60% water and therefore have trouble absorbing the oils effectively.
This means that most of the CBD product you consume passes through you unabsorbed, which wastes both the product and your money!
Water soluble CBD is the solution to this problem. Using nanotechnology, the oil compounds of the CBD are reduced to smaller particles, so that they are small enough for the body to process efficiently through ingestion.
What are the water soluble CBD benefits?
Besides the benefits from the CBD itself, which can aide in addressing anxiety, depression, insomnia, and pain, water soluble CBD has a variety of benefits.
More for your money
Water soluble CBD is more easily absorbed and used by your body, which means it takes less product to achieve the desired effect. This means less product is wasted, which ultimately saves you money!
Fun Beverage Possibilities
Whether it’s mixed in smoothies, juices, cocktails, or simple plain water, water soluble CBD can easily upgrade any drink you can imagine. Also, it can come in a variety of flavors!
Quicker Onset
Because of its higher bioavailability (more on that, below), water soluble CBD more rapidly absorbs into the body, so it takes less time to feel its effects, compared to CBD oil.
Is water soluble CBD better than CBD oil?
Water soluble CBD has many benefits compared to CBD oil: It is more bioavailable, it lacks oily taste of the CBD oil, it has a more rapid onset, and it can be more easily mixed into drinks or foods.
However, many people enjoy the taste of the CBD oil, or prefer to take CBD sublingually (under the tongue) which allows the CBD to absorb directly into the bloodstream, instead of first passing through the digestive system.
Of course, how CBD is taken is a matter of personal preference. Everyone will react differently, so it is best to experiment with what product and dosage works best for you!
What’s the bioavailability of water soluble CBD?
Bioavailability is defined as: “the degree and rate of which a substance (such as a drug) is absorbed into a living system or is made available at the site of interaction”, or in other words, how effectively your body can process and use a substance, like CBD.
Research has shown that CBD oil which has been ingested, has a bioavailability of around 6%, which means 94% of the CBD ingested is wasted. This is because the fat-soluble molecules don’t dissolve well in our water-rich bodies.
Therefore, a higher dosage is needed for the desired outcome. CBD oil taken sublingually, has a bioavailability of around 13-19%.
Water soluble CBD oil, which is more compatible with water than in its oil form, can be up to 10x more effective than the oil, although there are limited studies to confirm this.
One study claims that water soluble CBD increases bioavailability of the oil “4%-46% depending upon each person’s metabolism”, while many water soluble CBD companies claim a bioavailability of 90% or higher.
Whatever the exact percentages are, we can be sure that water soluble CBD is significantly more bioavailable than in its pure oil form.
This high efficiency not only means that more CBD enters the system, but that it takes less product to reach desired effects, so is overall more affordable!
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Allison Watman is a writer who focuses on cannabis lifestyle and culture.