CBD is a fast-growing industry with its popularity growing every day. This substance might be derived from cannabis plants, but it has found a home in the personal health industry since its approval and legalization within the United States of America. With this growth has come a standard procedure for the intake of CBD and its corollary products. One of the most common intake methods is to place CBD oil under your tongue to absorb it into your system. This method is called sublingual administration.
However, just because we have established a method for the intake does not mean that everyone is eager to follow it to the letter. Especially if it is unclear which parts of the instructions are essential. In this case, the placement of the CBD oil under the tongue is the questioned detail. This article aims to provide some insight into why putting CBD oil under your tongue is important.
Which CBD Products Are Used This Way?
The first question that should be asked regards the type of CBD used in a manner that requires the drops to be placed below the tongue. The answer is relatively simple. Standard CBD oil or CBD tinctures are the most commonly used products to use the CBD’s health benefits. These liquid CBD supplements are prevalent because they can be used modularly. CBD oil can be used in cooking, and tinctures can be mixed with beverages to improve the flavor without negating the benefits.
As a result of this modularity, CBD oil and tinctures have risen in popularity among enthusiasts. Being able to introduce their daily CBD as part of their meals or morning coffee is an invaluable boon. However, it is also possible to introduce it by using the raw material rather than mixing them with food or drink.
However, when taken in their raw form, the instructions state to hold a drop or two under your tongue and allow it to absorb. With the knowledge that tinctures and oils can be repurposed into beverages and meals, it might seem odd that there are restrictions of any kind on the intake method. However, it might surprise you to know a scientific reason for the instructions.
Why Put the Drops Under Your Tongue?
The reasoning behind placing the CBD drops under your tongue is entirely based on the human anatomy rather than any opinion. The human mouth is an interesting place, and the tongue is an equally interesting part. The most important part of the tongue when it comes to CBD absorption is something called the sublingual membrane. Sublingual translates from Latin to “under the tongue.”
The sublingual membrane is a sort of highway entrance for substances as it allows access to the bloodstream beneath the tongue. They do so by diffusing through the membrane and tissue to get into the bloodstream.
You might have noticed that, just under the tongue, there are a few veins. These veins connect to the sublingual and submental arteries that carry blood flow back to the external carotid artery. This interconnectivity from the bottom of the tongue to the rest of our vascular system makes it an ideal entry point for many compounds and substances for health purposes. For example, a common supplement with sublingual administration is melatonin.
When a chemical comes into contact with the sublingual membrane, it gets absorbed into the connective tissue’s capillaries before being diffused. Once the diffusion process is complete, the substance is circulated through the rest of the body via the main arteries. This distinction makes sublingual administration of CBD more effective than simply consuming a meal cooked with CBD oil. The reason is that food and anything ingested goes through the liver before it reaches the rest of your body.
The body takes time to process what you ingest and, as a result, delays the effects of CBD as digestion and other physiological processes before you feel its effects. Sublingual administration has a notably quicker dispersal rate since it goes straight through the bloodstream with little interference. This administration type also minimizes the number of hazards that might degrade the CBD as it goes through your system. This speed can work wonders to ensure that the CBD maintains its full effect rather than a diminished one.
Everything from enzymes in the saliva to the gastric acid that processes digestion can wreak havoc on raw CBD oil. This breakdown can stunt the beneficial effects or even render them non-existent entirely. However, this “first pass” is not necessarily a death sentence for the supplements or drugs you take orally. But taking the risk seems like a poor choice when sublingual administration does not carry the same issues.
So, in short, the answer to your question is “yes.” It does matter whether you put CBD drops under your tongue or not. Simply because it completely changes how your body absorbs the substance and how quickly it gets through your system. That said, you can ingest the oil or tinctures to reap the effects—the only significant difference in your body’s method to process and distribute it. So, the difference experienced is minimal, and there is nothing actually requiring you to use one or the other for any health reasons.
However, you might not be thrilled about the idea of restricting yourself to this particular medium. Fortunately, there are some alternatives if that is the case.
Alternatives to CBD Drops
While CBD drops are ideally used by placing them under your tongue, it is not the sole intake method for CBD that sees mainstream use. For example, we mentioned earlier that the consumption of CBD that has been cooked into meals is a viable option. In addition, the use of edibles is a practice that has seen a great deal of use in modern times. However, when it comes to maximizing your CBD intake, the option remains in the form of recipes you can cook yourself or by getting ahold of pre-made edible gummies.
The reality is that the ingestion of CBD edibles is a little slower but can be easier to stomach if you are not fond of the taste of tinctures or raw CBD oil. Since edibles are subject to the same digestion timeframe as ingesting CBD oil or drops would be, they take a little longer to kick in. However, they share one of the essential benefits of sublingual administration. For all the time spent waiting for it to take effect, you have an even longer wait for it to wear off. Ingestion of sublingually administrated substances lasts the longest because they go through the body’s refreshing process.
So, if you are averse to using CBD drops and oil as a supplement but you want to stick to ingested products, you will still be able to enjoy the long-lasting effects with either edibles or the drops. However, if you are looking for another intake method entirely, there is an alternative.
Vaping devices are common among smokers looking to avert the associated health issues. The CBD industry has not ignored this and has begun manufacturing CBD liquid and cartridges. These vape devices provide an additional medium for CBD intake with their advantages and disadvantages compared to the ingestible or sublingual options. Most notably, it takes effect far quicker but also wears off just as fast. Regardless, it remains a viable alternative if sublingual administration is not ideal for your needs.
What to Keep an Eye Out For
Whether you aim to ingest, administer sublingually, or inhale your CBD, several factors go into the production of mainstream products that are important to you as a consumer. First, you will hear that some people believe using CBD will result in you winding up intoxicated like the stereotypical “stoner” type seen in television and films. However, this is simply untrue. The psychoactive compound in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol, is a separate substance from CBD and is not the active ingredient in CBD products.
While it is impossible to filter the THC out completely, some standards ensure that the concentration will not result in intoxication. These standards are also public knowledge as licensed CBD retailers are legally required to provide analysis certifications that detail the concentration of each compound in the product being sold. Therefore, before making a purchase, you can visit the website to find the COA and assess the contents before committing.
The COA will show the concentration of the CBD types, THC, and any toxins or supplementary ingredients. The toxins should be completely absent from the product for obvious reasons, and the COA will show as much. It is important to ensure that the vendor you are going through is reputable, so any website that fails to provide a COA should be avoided in favor of those that do. A select few even offer COAs by batch number to assure you of the entire stock rather than a single unit.
Having this information could help you avoid illicit or low-grade products that could be detrimental to your overall health. Considering the history of cannabis plants, this is a factor that needs to be considered.
The Details of Consumption
Now, you might be looking to us to provide you with some form of guidance about which intake method is the “holy grail” to maximize the benefits of CBD. However, it is not as cut and dry as that, unfortunately. The reality is that there is no “right way” for CBD intake, and the method employed should be based solely on your specific needs and preferences.
Yes, some intake methods take effect much sooner than others. Likewise, some intake methods wear off faster than others. However, the only correct way is to introduce it in a way that is conducive to your lifestyle and health needs. Therefore, the only real question about how to go about your CBD intake revolves around the dosage you should be committing to daily.
The amount of CBD ordinarily relates to the same range of physical traits that would affect the intake of any other supplement or substance. Your body weight, the reason behind the intake, and body chemistry will all play a role in how much CBD you need to ingest regularly. The product you purchase will have a specific concentration of CBD that will also determine how much of your supply you need to use daily.
Ultimately, the dosage and intake method for CBD will vary on a person-to-person basis and can be very difficult to measure universally. However, being aware of these factors can improve your CBD experience in the long run.
X-perience CBD
CBD intake is not always an exact science, but factors can be applied to anyone and everyone who aims to take it. This is especially true when determining how to effectively use CBD oil and tinctures to make sure their effects take hold. While sublingual administration is a more effective method for introducing them to your system, it does not make a significant enough difference to warrant making it the exclusive intake method. CBD is meant to be administered using the methods you prefer.
After you have narrowed down the way you want to introduce CBD to your system, there is only one real question to ask. Where do you want your CBD? For that, we at Neuro XPF would like to invite you to peruse our website for our range of CBD products. We offer everything from oil tinctures to edible gummies to vape fluid. Our products come with COAs attached as proof of their safety and CBD concentrations. So, check us out and x-perience the best CBD has to offer.
Do you have any questions or concerns about how to best take CBD for your needs? If so, please feel free to drop us a line! You can reach us through various means, which you can find here! Choosing a form of CBD to take can be a little overwhelming for everyone at first, and we would be more than happy to guide you through the process and assist you however we can!