CBD products are all the rage right now. People are keen to try the products for what ails them and there are new products appearing to meet the current demand daily. You can find CBD oils, tinctures, balms, CBD creams, shampoos, soaps, massage oils, premade foods, and more. With all the many products that are out there, it’s easy to lose track of what is in these products. Most people have barely gotten good at reading food labels in our country, and the labels on CBD products are really no different. If you don’t know anything about how CBD is made, some of the information is meaningless, so a quick course in what terms mean and how to judge whether the product you are getting is a safe is needed.

Label Basics

Two things that will always be on the label of your CBD: the net weight of the product and the milligrams of CBD in the bottle or container. Aside from this information, you’ll need to a do a bit of sleuthing to know the other information that is needed.

Typically, on the front of the label is where you will see something that possibly say “Pure CBD” or “Full-Spectrum CBD” or “Whole Flower” or “Hemp Oil or “CBD oil” and many other terminologies. If you have not done some research, you will have no idea where your oil is coming from and which part of the plant is used, and even why that matters.

The source CBD is important. That tells you where your product came from. Was it grown in the USA? Did it come from China? Products grown within the USA are subject to inspection by the US Department of Agriculture and soil testing to make sure that there is no lead or other toxic things in the soil where the plants are grown. Contaminants are quickly drawn-up into the plants as they are growing because hemp plants work to clean the soil they are in.

This is great on one hand because if the plants are consumed but used in ways that won’t harm you or the environment, they can help the world because they are biodegradable products and hemp is a renewable resource. We can reduce greenhouse gases by using more hemp products. Hemp can make paper products, building products and more. Industrial hemp is where CBD oil is derived from, unlike marijuana which is the marijuana sativa plants.

Where Did It Come From?

If there is no source listed on the bottle, go to the company website. Most brands will readily list on their site where they source CBD from. If it is a product from outside of the USA, be advised that it may be contaminated and not something that you want to risk. The potential for getting lead and other toxins in your CBD is far greater. CBD manufacturers also must test their CBD to ensure that it has less than .03% THC so that it is legal and doesn’t cause any psychoactive responses in users. Once you are clear that your CBD came from the USA and you are certain it has had third party testing done, also listed on websites of reputable companies, you will be on the way to ensuring that your products are safe. Now you need to decide the type of products.

• Full-Spectrum CBD oil – This term means that the entire plant was used to gather CBD oil from. This gives a better blend of CBD with higher concentrations, rather then just gathering from leaves or stems. CBD potency may differ from one part of the plant to another. Full-spectrum CBD ensures you are getting the best blend with reduced waste of the plant matter. All the terpenes and flavonoids are present fully in this CBD. Terpenes and flavonoids are what give the product its distinct smell and taste.
• Whole Flower CBD – this term is used less widely but is basically the same as full-spectrum CBD oil.

• CBD Isolate – This product has isolated the CBD and removed the terpenes and flavonoids to give you a very pure product. CBD Isolate has been separated at the molecular level.
• Hemp Oil – This is not the same as CBD oil. Also referred to as hemp seed oil, hemp oil is extracted from the seeds of the hemp plant. The concentration of CBD in the seeds is less than in the plant itself. Hemp oil will not be as strong as CBD oil. Hemp oil works very well for some people but be advised that it will not be as strong.

An understanding of the above terms will help you navigate the confusing waters of the CBD products on the market today. CBD oil labels will most likely list the type of CBD on the front of the label as part of the product name.

Breaking Down Dosages and Understanding What You Are Using

It takes a little bit of math knowledge to understand how much CBD you are using, as far as the actual dose. When you buy CBD oil, you’ll generally purchase a bottle that will tell you how many doses are in the bottle. You might need to sleuth for this information. In some cases, you may have to do some math to break it down yourself.

Example: You’ve purchased a bottle of CBD oil. There are 600 mg of CBD in the bottle and the bottle weighs one ounce. A dropper of CBD from this bottle is 1/30^th of the bottle. That means that you divide 600 mg by 30 and that tells you that each dropper of CBD oil that you take is 20 mg. Now you know what your dosage was. If you prepare food with CBD, simply divide the total amount of mg you added to the dish by how many servings you’ve prepared. This will help you when you make your own edibles or candies.

As you can see, a little math is required but it isn’t hard to divide by the number of portions in the bottle. The problem is that sometimes you cannot clearly tell how many droppers of product are in the bottle. Customer service at that company's website, such as here on Vita Leaf, should be able to tell you with a quick chat message, email, or a phone call. There’s also the good old-fashioned method of counting out the droppers one at a time until you empty the bottle to see how much is in there. Calling is probably easier. The website will likely contain this information to be found with a little work.

So now you know how to find where the source of CBD comes from. You understand the lingo of the business so that you know exactly what part of the plant is in your bottle and why that is important. You’ve learned how to determine what your dose is each time so that you can track how much you are taking. Why would you want to do this?

If you are taking care of a chronic condition, like fibromyalgia for example, and you start off taking 20 mg once per day and you are still in pain during a flare, you can take another 20 mg and keep track. Using CBD is sincerely up to your own discretion. You get to judge how much you need. If you keep track, then you’ll always be able to know that during a flare-up of symptoms, you need to take 60 mg per day instead of your normal 20 mg maintenance dose. It’s incredibly useful to know what you are taking and how much. Besides, it’s just smart to keep track of what goes in your body.

If you take too much CBD, you can find that the symptoms are uncomfortable but not harmful. Diarrhea is common if you take too much or increase your dose too quickly. Taper slowly and this shouldn’t be an issue for you. Headaches and stomach pains are also symptoms of taking too much too quickly. This is also another especially important reason to keep track of what you are putting in your body, so you’ll know what you need to decrease to in the event of a side-effect symptom. If you decrease your dose and gradually taper back up to what you need, you should be able to do so without issue.

Why the CBD Craze?

The reason that it is so important to understand labels is that the CBD industry is booming like an explosion into the marketplace. There is extraordinarily little regulation on this industry. What little regulations exist are the labels and the testing to make sure that .03% or less THC is in the CBD. Our Department of Agriculture picks up a lot of the slack and ensures us that our products come from safe soil. This helps immensely and to some extent it is great if the government doesn’t step in and over-regulate as they tend to do. Right now, CBD is a wide-open field of competitors, all hoping to sell you their products. The competition is real, and it gets a little crazy sometimes. The bottom line is that these things are popular because they really work though.

Science is taking CBD and cannabis products very seriously. There is a lot of focus on research. The things that are being learned are extremely exciting. Parents have turned to CBD to help their children with ADHD, seizures and so forth. Medicine couldn’t help these kids, but cannabis products have. Adults who have suffered with attention deficit but can’t smoke marijuana are able to take CBD oil without worrying that they will lose their job. Medical marijuana is just not an option for many people because jobs still enforce drug testing. THC in marijuana is a psychoactive ingredient that makes it difficult to impossible to use and still be able to function at 100% at a job. Driving shouldn’t be done when using products with THC. CBD, on the other hand, has no such effects.

CBD is legal and has been for at least two years. All fifty states allow the sale of CBD products. A few small jurisdictions around the country are maintaining regulations that make it illegal in their counties or municipalities. You do need to make sure that it is legal in your city. Most people will find that it is perfectly legal. If you are lucky, you’ll have a little shop in town that will carry CBD oil, hemp oil, tinctures and other products. For the most part, you’ll find the best selections available online.

Everything from shampoos to candy, if you are looking for the perfect product for yourself or your child, or even for your dog, you’ll find it online. Now that you’re armed with some basic knowledge, you should feel secure in making your first purchase. Don’t be afraid to ask questions from customer service at any company you find online. You will find that most companies are very approachable and they welcome questions. Any company who avoids answering your questions and doesn’t have third party testing for you to look at, should be avoided.

Essentially the demand for CBD products has dramatically increased as people like yourself learn more about the benefits. The industry has exploded to meet this demand. More products have been introduced to help the person who is a novice, or not wanting to take something that tastes like marijuana (because it does), to find an enjoyable way to get relief from CBD.

People who use CBD products include but are not limited to:

• Fibromyalgia sufferers
• Crohn’s disease patients
• Cancer patients
• ADHD adults and children
• Epilepsy and seizures
• Diabetics
• Victims of neuropathy pain
• Arthritis sufferers
• Irritable Bowel sufferers
• Multiple Sclerosis patients
• Those diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease
• Bipolar disorder patients
• Gastrointestinal sufferers
• Leukemia patients
• Migraine sufferers
• Those trying to lose weight
• Psoriasis patients

If you have any of these issues, or know someone who does, CBD oil has been shown to help with all these as well as to help people break the cycle of addiction. CBD is having a great impact on patients attempting to quit opioids, cigarettes, cocaine, and other types of addictions by helping to break the signals to the brain that trigger cravings. This is life-changing, and more research needs to be done in this field but so far, the results are very promising.

Why Not Try It?

The only real reason that people had for not trying CBD products was thinking that it was the same as marijuana and probably illegal where they lived. Now you know that it is almost as common as buying aspirin at the local pharmacy. It’s a natural product that is very safe, won’t cause addictions, improves your mood no matter what the underlying reason for your use is, and it won’t cause you to overdose. There are minor side-effects that can happen, and we’ve discussed these and how to handle them. Compared to stomach bleeding that can be caused by acetaminophen, or liver damage from ibuprofen, a little upset stomach that goes away is not too big of an issue, right?

It is there, your body uses it effectively because research has also shown us that we have cannabinoids in our bodies that we produce ourselves – yes, that’s correct. We produce cannabinoids in our own endocannabinoid system. When we add cannabinoids to our system, we’re just boosting that system into overdrive to help us control pain, or seizures, or migraines, etc. If you are a vegan or a vegetarian, CBD products are perfect for you because they are strictly plant-based.

Data suggests that we’ve only scraped the tip of the iceberg in ways in which CBD can be used to effectively change people’s lives for the better. If you suffer from any condition or pain at all, the way in which CBD works in the neural network makes it an odds-on favorite for helping you too. We learn new uses for the products each day and science can barely keep up right now. Research is flowing in from all over the world and many countries have legalized CBD products. If you’re going out of the country, please be warned. You must check before you go to an airport with products because it could potentially land you in trouble. Some countries still treat CBD as a drug.

Simply using CBD as a supplement to enhance your mood and help lower your stress each day can have a dramatic effect on your overall health because you are simply happier and calmer. There are also great omega fatty acids in CBD oil which we have already learned help add vital nutrients to the body that help fight the free-radicals that cause cancer and other chronic illness. With next to nothing in the ‘reasons not to use CBD’ there really isn’t a great reason not to try it and see how it makes you feel. Odds are that you’ll be singing the praises of CBD products and cannabis products, just like the rest of the planet is right now.