How to Choose the Right CBD: From Seed to Supplement

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is one of dozens of different compounds naturally occuring in the cannabis plant. Unlike its sister compound, THC, cannabidiol is not psychoactive, and has exploded in popularity due to its many health supportive benefits.

Cannabinoids play a role in the endocannabinoid system (ECS) which is involved in the healthy function of:

• Mood health
• Cognition
• Appetite
• Digestion
• The immune system (1)

Your body actually makes some of its own cannabinoids, but due to various life stressors, our ECS isn’t always functioning optimally.

Healthy ECS function is vital to maintaining whole-body wellness, and supplementing with CBD holds potential benefits for many of us. However, not all CBD supplements are created equally, and it’s important to become informed about what to look for when you’re planning to make CBD part of your routine.

Not All CBD is Created Equally

With the CBD industry bringing in about $5 billion in 2019, and growing more than 100% each year, so many options for CBD can create quite a bit of confusion for the consumer (2).

Is CBD right for me? Should I really be paying this much? How do I know if I’m getting what’s on the bottle?

And you’re right to be skeptical, because farming, extraction process, and other ingredients all play a big role in quality and purity.

When there’s a lot of interest and media attention around a particular supplement, there will always be companies out there interested in making a quick profit rather than connecting people with an ethical, reputable supplement.

First, it’s critical to incorporate the whole plant, as phytonutrients within plants are synergistic–meaning, they work better together. And it’s preferable to have a plant that has been grown completely organically, without the use of synthetic pesticides. Organic farming is not only better for your body, but also for the land surrounding where the plant was grown.

Lastly, bioavailability is incredibly important. This goes for food and nutrition as well as CBD. If we’re not absorbing the supplements we’re taking, we might as well be giving money away.

These are all things Sunsoil CBD has done the right way.

Sunsoil uses a lipid extraction process on organically farmed hemp to create superior products whose quality you can actually verify.

Organic Farming

Certified organic CBD oil is held to a much higher standard than non-organic products, and that’s important for you, as well as the quality of your CBD supplement.

In 2018, the Farm Bill created a designation for organically-grown hemp (3). To meet the standards of an organic crop, the soil can’t be treated with any synthetic fertilizer, pesticides, or herbicides for three years before used for growing. This also means nothing can be added to the soil to boost growth. The health of the soil must be maintained through natural tilling, and naturally-sourced fertilizers (4).

Located in Vermont, Sunsoil’s land, facilities, and primary ingredients are all certified USDA organic. Vermot soil is rich, and is one of the best places to organically farm hemp.

Non-organic grown hemp requires heavier processing to get a human-grade CBD oil, while organically grown CBD is cleaner from the very beginning. Sunsoil organic CBD oils give you the full spectrum of cannabinoids without exposing you to unwanted chemical influences.

Naturally Extracted

While many CBD companies use CO2 extraction or solvent-based extraction, Sunsoil extracts naturally using organic coconut oil (or organic MCT oil, made from fractionated coconut oil, in the case of CBD oil drops). This process, referred to as lipid infusion, allows a high-quality product with fewer, and completely natural ingredients.

Lipid infusion preserves the whole plant’s cannabinoids and other phytocompounds in their naturally-occurring ratios that are easy for the body to absorb.

As they’ve pioneered lipid infusion and scaled this process, it’s also proven to be highly efficient, which is one of the reasons Sunsoil is able to offer organic CBD oil products at a more accessible price.

Lab Tested

Most often, you’ll find a relatively short list of ingredients on the back of your CBD bottle. If you’re seeing fillers, preservatives, or other compounds you don’t recognize–it might be time to do more research.

What the back of the bottle won’t tell you, though, is whether or not the bottle contains ingredients that don’t have to be listed, such as:

• Higher-than-desired levels of THC
• Heavy metals or pesticides
• Contaminants such as bacteria or mold
• No actual CBD

This is exactly why it’s extremely important to trust and verify the brand of CBD you choose.

Organic CBD oils aren’t contaminated with glyphosate or other synthetic chemicals, but Sunsoil  has gone above and beyond to test purity along multiple points in the growing and extraction process with three independently accredited labs.

To make it even easier, each bottle has a QR code you can scan to take a look at the lab report for that batch number.

The Best Way to Use CBD

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the variety of CBD products on the market, you’re not alone! In a few minutes, you’ll understand just what to look for, and the easiest way to make CBD part of your supplement routine.

CBD supplements come in a few forms: capsules, softgels, oil, tinctures, and topical creams.

Tinctures are liquid extracts combined with flavored oils such as cinnamon or mint, vegetable glycerin, and alcohol. Tinctures frequently contain an extract, and not a full-spectrum product, which means that some of the beneficial phytocompounds have been removed.

CBD creams, balms, and salves are another way to use CBD. Extracts can be mixed with all different kinds of carrier oils–jojoba, almond, olive, shea butter, or beeswax–to create a convenient, topical CBD product. Some are full-spectrum, others are not.

Perhaps the most common CBD supplement forms–and for good reason–are capsules, softgels and CBD oil.

CBD capsules and softgels are a quick and easy way to incorporate CBD, and they’re transported easily if you’re on the go. And for those of us who have trouble with large pill sizes–Sunsoil has you in mind. Their softgels are half the size of their capsules, and still contain the same amount of CBD.

My favorite way to use CBD is by adding the oil directly to a superfood smoothie in the morning. Because of Sunsoil’s smooth texture and natural flavors, I can quickly add in a supportive boost of CBD to foods, smoothies, or my morning beverage.

The next thing I’ll be trying? A CBD chocolate mint mocha, or maybe a mango citrus CBD smoothie!

Resources

1. 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5877694/
   2. https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/07/14/us-cbd-sales-to-grow-an-average-of-107-annually-th.aspx
   3. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/congressional-testimony/hemp-production-and-2018-farm-bill-07252019
   4. https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/organic-standards