Section 1: What exactly is CBD?

You may have come across articles about CBD, and the chances are that no two describe it in exactly the same way. Is it a cannabinoid? Is it a cannabidiol? In fact, both are true. So, if you’re confused, Hempstro can explain it in simple terms.

CBD is a compound derived from the cannabis plant. Cannabis is the origin of more than a hundred compounds, which were consequently named Cannabinoids. The cannabinoid that has caught the most attention of many is Cannabidiol or CBD for short. It’s since been discovered that cannabinoids occur naturally in many other biological systems — including in our own bodies.

Where Does CBD Come From?

Cannabis? Isn’t that an illegal drug? Actually, that only refers to some uses of some varieties of cannabis. Cannabis is actually a family of plants, roughly divided into Cannabis sativa (the tall narrow leaves varieties) and Cannabis indica (the bushy broad varieties), although each comprises many different types.

For practical, rather than scientific, use, cannabis plants can be divided into:

• Hemp –grown for industrial uses, as a source for products such as biofuel, rope, fabric, canvas, paper, oil, food and CBD
• Marijuana –grown for producing a recreational drug that contains high levels of THC.

One of the things that distinguishes hemp and marijuana is which of two cannabinoids predominates. Marijuana has high quantities of THC, which is the main active ingredient in the drug. Hemp, on the other hand, contains only traces of THC at most, but abundant CBD.

Research has clearly shown that CBD has no psychoactive qualities and won’t get you high. All Hempstro’s products are made from hemp varieties of cannabis and don’t contain THC.

CBD and Your Body

It may surprise you to learn that CBD is very similar to certain chemicals your body produces naturally. Known as endocannabinoids, they form the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a network of receptors and chemicals that play a crucial part in maintaining your body’s healthy functioning.

The ECS has receptors in your major organs, your immune system and your nervous systems, maintaining your body in homeostasis. This means the ability of an organism or environment to maintain a state of internal balance and physical wellbeing

CBD interacts with your ECS and can support it, as it’s so similar and natural. This makes it completely safe to introduce into the body.
Due to current legislation, Hempstro makes no medical claims for CBD. However, you may want to check out various highly reputable sources on this subject and carry out your own research.

Section 2: How to take CBD?

So now you know the basics about what CBD is — but how do you take it? The method you use can have a big effect on the interaction between the CBD and your own ECS, so we’ll talk about that first, before looking at the various ways you can take CBD.

Bioavailability

Bioavailability is key to how substances are absorbed into the body, and it’s the reason for the different ways of accessing anything from life-saving medicines to vitamin supplements. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of the chemical compound the body actually uses.

The crucial factor is how quickly the compound gets into the bloodstream, which is why hospitals tend to use IV drips for the most urgent drugs. The bioavailability can be influenced by factors such as age, weight and metabolism, but the way you ingest the substance is the most important.

The higher the bioavailability (absorption), the more efficiently the cannabinoids have been delivered to your system.

As well as choosing the right CBD products it is almost as important choosing the right method to consume CBD.

CBD Oil Drop

CBD Oral oils are one of the most popular and common methods of consuming CBD. The best way to take CBD oil is sublingually (placing the drops under the tongue). This allows the CBD to soak straight through into your blood vessels, rather than having to go through the digestive system, increasing the bioavailability. We recommend holding the CBD oil under the tongue between 60 – 90 seconds, the longer the better

The effect will begin in about thirty minutes and continue for around six hours. One advantage of this is that you don’t have to top up on a regular basis. Your recommended daily dosage can be split into two doses, one taken in the morning and the other in the evening.

When comparing oral CBD oils you may want to consider the carrier oil. Our CBD Oil Drops actually contain various carrier oils, while the choice won’t affect the effectiveness of the CBD, it may make a difference to your experience of ingesting the CBD drops. The MCT oil (coconut) or flavoured Oils helps mask the taste of the CBD rich hemp extract for those who don’t like its earthy tones, whilst the hemp seed oil in our drops work great with CBD to provide a full-bodied hemp experience.

CBD POD^®, CBD VAPE & E LIQUIDS

While most people associate vaping with e-cigarettes, it can also be used for other substances, including CBD. Vaping CBD is a highly efficient method as turning the CBD into vapour you increase the distribution of molecules, consequently making it more easily absorbed. Since you’re also inhaling it into your lungs where there are a vast number of blood vessels, the CBD has an easy and quick route to your circulatory system.

Here at Hempstro, we understand how difficult and confusing it can be to choose and buy the right CBD Vape starter kit or E-liquid from so many products on the market. After months of development, our CBD POD® is easy to use, features no buttons and has a simple pod installation system that allows instant airflow. Unlike other CBD vape kits, the CBD POD® requires no refills or changing coils, our pods come in different varieties of strains to satisfy everyone’s taste buds and requirements.
The pre-filled Pods are currently available in three different varieties of strains:

SLEEP – OG KUSH
RELAX – GELATO
HAPPY – LEMON HAZE

Inspired by Cannabis strains, each strain has unique aromas, flavours and terpene profile. Mixed with our PCR extract and MCT (coconut) Vape oil it truly creates the “ENTOURAGE EFFECT” each POD contains 500mg CBD plus other phytocannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. No VG or PG.
The CBD POD® has been designed for both experienced and beginners

Whether you are an experienced CBD vaper or just starting off you’re CBD vaping journey, the CBD POD^® is the perfect device for you. If you have never smoked or vaped before but considering vaping CBD due to its higher bioavailability and efficiency then look no further. The CBD POD^® vape starter kit does not require any complicated setup, filling or changing coils, simply insert our pre-filled Pod cartridges into the device and inhale.

Vaping CBD produces a very high bioavailability, which means that the effect will begin in about five minutes, but will probably only last four hours. This makes it suitable if you want to divide your daily dosage into several smaller doses and take them throughout the day.

Our CBD Vape E-liquids can be used with most vape devices but we highly recommend using a device with a ceramic coil. We recommend not to mix a CBD vape oil with nicotine due to the way nicotine and CBD act as catalysts for one another.

CBD Edibles, CBD Capsules / Pills & CBD Beverages

In the last few years, CBD has been infused in all kind of food and drink products, such as CBD Chocolate, CBD Sweets, CBD Gummies, CBD Honey, CBD Mints, CBD Coffee, CBD Energy Drinks, CBD Alcohol beverages and the list goes on.

So how effective and safe are these products. Such products have to pass through the digestive system which research has shown that it dramatically reduces its bioavailability.

However, there are reasons why capsules and edibles are so popular mainly because they are easier to dose. CBD Capsules and CBD gumdrops are also more convenient to carry and take in public without drawing attention. Not to mention that it’s the tastiest method.

Our capsules are made with the same high CBD hemp extract as our oils unlike many capsules in the current market which only contain hemp seed oil which has no CBD. Our CBD Gumdrops are also infused with our whole CBD rich hemp extract and not simply sprayed on or sprinkled with CBD isolate.

Most CBD beverage currently on the market either contains nano CBD or isolate which is not compliant within the EU and has very small traces of CBD.
If you enjoy beverages you should definitely look into Hemp tea. The hemp in our tea bags is organically grown in the USA. Ready to be combined with hot water to make a relaxing, hemp brew, as our Hemp Flower tea is 100% THC free and with no intoxicating effect, it’s suitable for all ages.

Our hemp flower tea also contains CBD however in very small amounts; hemp tea actually contains far more of the compound’s acidic precursor, CBDA (Cannabidiolic acid). That’s because if you took some freshly harvested hemp flowers, you’d find very little CBD, and instead an abundance of CBDA. In fact, CBD only comes into being when CBDA has been exposed to heat or ageing also known as decarboxylation. Obviously brewing the Hemp tea in hot water involves a certain amount of heat, but it isn’t enough to convert CBDA into CBD. However, there will be trace amounts of CBD present because of the time passed since the hemp was harvested and dried. So we recommend adding some sort of fats (such as dairy, coconut oil or nut-based milk) into the tea for better bioavailability.

Edibles & beverages forms offer low bioavailability since they have to work their way through your digestive system. Depending on your metabolism rate, the CBD may take more than an hour to have an effect and will perhaps last for around six hours.

CBD Balm and Topicals

The reason that CBD topical products such as CBD Balms are becoming so popular is that they are easy to use, fast-acting, and they allow you to directly address specific areas of the body.

Although topicals are a slow method in comparison to ingestion, CBD absorbs very easily into the skin and allows for steady and continuous absorption for a longer period of time. The bioavailability is greatly reduced since the compounds must first make their way through the epidermal layer. That means the amount of CBD that actually reaches your circulatory system is very low. However, if you’re looking for a localised external release then the CBD will still reach the endocannabinoid receptors in the skin offering a relaxing, slow-release.

CBD applied topically will start to work in about an hour, lasting for about five hours. The hemp can, of course, be blended with other ingredients to give a wide-ranging effect.

Section 3: What Dosage Should I Take?

The last, and perhaps most crucial, thing to decide before buying your CBD product is what strength you need. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to give precise advice about this.

The reason is that, due to legal restrictions in the UK, we don’t make any medical claims for our products. This means, of course, we can’t give a recommended dosage for any specific reason for taking it. However, we’ll give some general guidelines.

How to Find the Right Dosage

If you’re taking CBD for the first time, the best approach is usually to start off low and find a dosage that works for you and your endocannabinoid system. Most people start off with 10- 20mg a day for at least thirty days. This will acclimatise you to CBD and will be safe under normal circumstances

To help you dose correctly we always recommend working out the strength of CBD per 1ml. We’ll use our Whole Plant CBD oil 500mg 30ml as an example. To work out the amount of CBD per 1ml simply take the strength of the oil, in this case, 500mg and divide by the size of the bottle which is 30ml. (500 ÷ 30 = 16.66mg per 1ml). The dropper/pipette on our bottle is 1ml to ensure correct dosage every time, you can choose to split the dosage if you wish with half dropper in the morning and half in the evening or whole dropper when you choose to.

Each of our oils comes with a suggested dosage on the packaging. We recommend you start off with this dose, but it’s worth noting there will be no potential for harm even at much higher dosages. You can slowly adjust your dosage beyond our recommendations – everyone has a different optimal CBD point. However, we do recommend you do not exceed 200mg of CBD a day.

Your ideal dosage will depend on a number of factors, such as your age, weight and metabolism. Once you’ve been using 10-20mg for thirty days, you can begin adjusting your dosage to suit your needs, always taking note of both positive and negative effects to find your ideal dosage.

How to Use Multiple CBD Products

Some of our users also find that using multiple low dose products simultaneously best serves their needs. It’s perfectly safe to use our Oral Drops and Muscle Balm at the same time for example, or indeed any combination of CBD oils, so long as you keep within our suggested dose. Finding the right method is part and parcel of your journey.

You may find using multiple CBD products simultaneously are more effective and better suited to you need. Rather than increasing the strength of a single product, you may prefer to increase the number of low-dosage products you use. For example, you may use our Whole plant CBD oil in the morning and/or night and during the day you may want to use our CBD POD® to deliver CBD rapidly to your ECS (Endocannabinoid system) when required.

This is fine — as long as you remember that your overall dosage is a combination of all the CBD products you use. Once you’ve started finding your personal dosage, you can experiment with multiple products.

How to Stay Safe

The good news is that, although there will be an optimal dosage for you, A report which can be you can read here, suggests that there is no danger in going over it. In the words of the World Health Organisation:

“The evidence from well-controlled human experimental research indicates that CBD is not associated with abuse potential.”

This means that, while we supply recommended dosages for our products, research suggests you would be safe going above this if you find your optimal dosage is higher.

We highly recommend buying CBD products from only reputable source with third-party lab results available for their products. That’s why we at Hempstro send all of our product batches to a third-party independent lab in order to ensure they meet the quality we expect. All the certificate for our products can be found here.

Hempstro is also a member of the CTA (Cannabis Trades Association). CTA ensures all its members are compliant and follow codes of best practice.

CTA actively works with every Trading Standards branch in the UK, the MHRA, the FSA and the Home Office and of course UK law enforcement and are seen as the “go to” recognised resource by each of these organisations where legal cannabis products are involved. They are proud to be recognised by the MHRA and included in all documentation relating to cannabis products.

The CTA is working with the industry to ensure that common sense prevails, and sellers provide products that “say what they are and are what they say”, no more crazy percentage based measurements that take a maths degree to work out, clear concise and above all legal labelling, and lab reports.

When using CBD we highly recommend you always read the label and do not exceed suggested use and Keep out of reach of children.

CBD should not be used as a substitute for a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, do not take if pregnant or lactating.
Consult a medical professional if concerned with potential interactions with existing medications or if you are thinking of utilising CBD to treat an existing condition

For some consumers CBD can cause some side-effects such as:

• Dry Mouth
• Drowsiness and fatigue
• Changes in Appetite
• Changes in Mood
• Nausea

We recommend reducing your dosage if you experience any of the above symptoms.