If you want to get the most out of your CBD, this blog post is for you. Understanding how and why CBD works the way it does allows you to make informed decisions about what products will work best for you.
This blog post discusses the entourage effect CBD creates when you take it, and how it works to provide users with the most effective health and wellness benefits.
What Is The Entourage Effect?
The term entourage effect is when all the natural compounds in the cannabis plant work together to make CBD more effective. The hemp plant has over 100 cannabinoids. Cannabinoids like CBN for sleep and CBG for stress, each interact with the body's endocannabinoid system.
Terpenes, found in hemp, give it its smell and have benefits like pain relief and stress reduction. Common terpenes include limonene, terpinolene, myrcene, alpha-pinene, and beta-caryophyllene.
Flavonoids, another hemp compound, protect the plant and have antioxidant properties. When cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids are taken together, they enhance each other's benefits, creating the entourage effect.
How Does The Entourage Effect Work?
Now that we understand what the entourage effect is, it would be helpful to understand how it works to provide such effective benefits.
Research on this theory began with Dr. Ben-Shabat in 1998. In his paper, An Entourage Effect: inactive endogenous fatty acid glycerol esters enhance 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol cannabinoid activity. Ben-Shabat tests the activity of several different fatty acids, noting that the fatty acids “alone show no significant activity.” However, together had the potential to increase the biological activity of other fatty acids.
This phenomenon was coined the “entourage effect” and is the same principle that we talk about when discussing the entourage effect CBD and other cannabinoids create.
In 2011, the entourage effect was further studied by Dr. Ethan Russo. In his paper, Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects. Russo expands the boundaries of the CBD entourage effect beyond cannabinoids. He focuses on how terpenes may play an additional role if THC is present.
His study revealed different activities in medicine that work well together might make cannabis extracts more useful for treating different conditions.
The CBD entourage effect works with the human endocannabinoid system. When you use a CBD product with key cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids it makes the effects stronger. This synergy maximizes the therapeutic effects of each compound.
How To Maximize The Entourage Effect:
Maximizing the entourage effect of cannabis products create comes down to what natural compounds are present in your CBD product. In this case, we are talking about Broad Spectrum, Full Spectrum, and CBD Isolate.
Suppose you want to maximize the benefits of the entourage effect. In that case, you want the CBD product that contains a full cannabinoid profile and other natural compounds associated with the hemp plant.
A product like this would be called Full Spectrum. Full Spectrum CBD products contain key cannabinoids from the hemp plant, including THC and CBD.
Full Spectrum CBD oil contains additional natural compounds from the hemp plant, including terpenes, flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals.
These compounds work together to maximize the benefits of the entourage effect. The entourage effect may still occur with a Broad Spectrum CBD product, but the effects may not be as enhanced.
Broad Spectrum CBD products do not contain THC, and this key cannabinoid is an essential player in the entourage effect. Without THC, the benefits of the entourage effect will still take place but may not be as strong as they could with THC.
With CBD Isolate products, you should not expect the entourage effect to occur. CBD Isolate products do not contain additional key cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, vitamins, or minerals. Isolate products only contain the cannabinoid that has been isolated, providing focused, therapeutic results.
Sum It Up!
So, what is the entourage effect in hemp? The entourage effect takes place when the cannabinoids present in the CBD oil work synergistically with the human endocannabinoid system to maximize the benefits each cannabinoid offers.
Products like Full-Spectrum CBD or Whole Spectrum CBD oil will have a greater entourage effect due to the amount of cannabinoids present. The entourage effect will still take place with Broad-Spectrum CBD products, but the effects may be lesser when compared to Full-Spectrum.
Get more out of your CBD, with CBD products that contain more cannabinoids than just CBD. Make sure to check third-party lab tests for products you are interested in to see if they have more cannabinoids and not just CBD.
Why Buy From Zatural?
At Zatural, our customers come first. Our mission is to help increase the standard of health through natural means. And we offer CBD products with large amounts of cannabinoids to offer a high-quality CBD experience.
All of our products are natural, organically grown, and handcrafted. We offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee that allows you to return your product for a full refund if you are not satisfied.
For educational purposes only
*FDA DISCLAIMER -These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.