Bioavailability

Our bodies are not designed to fully absorb 100% of everything we intake, and taking cannabinoids like CBD is no exception to this. Bioavailability refers to the extent to which a substance is absorbed and takes effect in the body and is typically measured in a range of percentages of how much CBD is actually absorbed into our system. The absorption rates may vary for everyone and are especially dependent on the method of consumption. As research progresses we are continually learning which methods offer the highest rates of absorption. Among some of the highest bioavailability CBD products include transdermal CBD patches which may offer around 80-90% or more absorption rates, and water soluble formulations that may offer around 60-80% or more whether it is a CBD oil taken sublingually or ingested by mixing it in with foods/drinks. By taking a product with higher rates of bioavailability then you can essentially take less CBD and get more bang for your buck.

As an example let’s compare taking the same dose of CBD at 10 mg using an oil based tincture and a water soluble tincture. The bioavailability of an oil based tincture taken sublingually is suggested to be around 40-60% or 10-20% when ingested, while a water soluble CBD tincture is around 60-80% or more taken either way. This would mean that the dose you actually receive with the oil based tincture may yield around 4 to 6 mg of CBD when taken sublingually or 1 to 2 mg of CBD when ingested. Meanwhile the water soluble tincture taken sublingually or ingested may yield around 6 to 8 mg or more.