The cannabis plant has given us many gifts, and CBD is one of them. Although CBD isn’t a magic fix, it can have great benefits for your health and wellbeing. A lot of people use CBD to ease their stress levels, get better sleep, or boost their immune system. It supports your body naturally, and works best when taken daily, much like a vitamin!
However, many struggle to keep up this habit when it means starting your day with a mouthful of oil.
Thankfully, there are many different ways to take CBD. And while CBD oil is by far the most common, it’s not necessarily the most enjoyable. To make things easier for you, we’ve compiled a list of the five best, and tastiest, ways to take CBD every day! But first:
Why should you take CBD daily?
CBD, or cannabidiol, is the non-intoxicating component in cannabis and it interacts with our endocannabinoid system (ECS).
The ECS is a complex cell-signalling network made up of cannabinoids, receptors, and enzymes. Endocannabinoids (the body’s own cannabinoids) carry information from one place to another by binding to cannabinoid receptors located throughout the body. Once they’ve fulfilled their role, enzymes break them back down until they’re needed again.
By having receptors all throughout the body, the ECS helps regulate several vital body functions, such as sleep, pain management, immune function, appetite, hormones, etc. It helps us adjust to changes both in and outside of the body.
Most of the time, this process runs smoothly. However, a poor diet, lack of exercise, or too much stress can all take a toll on our ECS and cause these areas to fall out of balance.
Fortunately, this is where CBD can help!
By temporarily blocking enzymes, CBD indirectly increases the number of endocannabinoids in the body, allowing easier and faster communication within the ECS. This helps the body adapt to changes quickly, which is key to staying healthy.
You can think of CBD as a daily vitamin. It works best when used consistently, and most people report feeling better after taking CBD for at least 4 to 6 weeks. When taken regularly, CBD helps your ECS run at its optimum and maintain vital body functions.
The 5 best ways to take CBD daily
1. CBD Oil Tinctures
The most popular way to take CBD is in the form of CBD oil, which is really just CBD mixed with a carrier oil. It’s quick, easy, and straightforward. You can put a few drops of CBD oil under your tongue and hold it there for about a minute.
Since the area is rich in capillaries, CBD will quickly be absorbed and travel directly into your bloodstream, where it can take effect. While this method of taking CBD isn’t the most pleasant because of the taste and mouthfeel, it’s one of the fastest and most effective. You can expect to notice its effects within 10-15 minutes, lasting for 2 to 6 hours.
2. CBD-infused Food & Drinks
If you want to have a more enjoyable CBD experience, there’s a huge market for CBD-infused edibles. You can find anything from CBD drinks, gummies, mints, or even capsules. Since they all have to pass through digestion first, it can take up to 2 hours for the effects to kick in, lasting for 6 to 8 hours, depending on the type of product.
The best thing about CBD-infused edibles is that it’s easy to take and incorporate into your daily routine. It’s why we’ve created a selection of CBD-infused coffee— a drink everybody loves!
You can turn your daily CBD into a ritual you’ll truly enjoy and look forward to, and for most people, that’s their morning coffee. The effects of coffee and CBD also complement each other well.
While coffee is energising and uplifting, CBD is calming and grounding. Studies suggest that CBD may even help counter some of the unwanted effects of coffee, like jitters and nervousness.
Check out our range of CBD Coffee, which you can pair perfectly with a bar of Radek’s CBD chocolate.
3. Cooking with CBD
If you’ve ever attempted to make edibles, you’ll know that cooking with cannabis isn’t as easy as it sounds. While you don’t have to worry about “activating” CBD before using it, you’ll have to be careful when using high temperatures.
Adding CBD to your own food or drinks is probably the most flexible and convenient way of taking CBD, and you can easily fit it into your existing routine. Simply add a few drops of CBD oil to your fully-prepared drink or a meal, and mix it well.
Keep in mind, it’s best to avoid using too high temperatures with CBD as it can lose its effectiveness. If you really want to bake with CBD, stick with recipes that bake at 180°C or less. Check out “Our Favourite, Healthy CBD Edibles” recipes!
If you’re adding CBD oil to your meals, it won’t be as effective as putting it under your tongue. When you digest CBD, it goes through the so-called “first-pass effect”. During the first-pass effect, CBD is broken down by the liver and digestive tract, and only a fraction of it gets absorbed into your bloodstream. To avoid this, you can use water-soluble CBD, which contains smaller CBD particles but still has the same potency, making it easier for your body to absorb.
Our CBD Coffee Drops are fully water-soluble and designed to hold their effectiveness when added to your drink. The drops are 5x as potent as regular CBD oil, so a little goes a long way.
4. Smoking/Vaping CBD
For those who enjoy smoking flower, or are looking for quick relief, smoking/vaping is another popular way to take CBD. By inhaling CBD, it gets directly absorbed through your lungs and can have almost immediate effects. This is the fastest acting consumption method, which can be great if you have an upcoming stressful event or need some help falling asleep. However, the effects only last for 30 minutes to an hour and peak after 15 minutes of inhaling the CBD.
5. CBD Topicals
Topical CBD products, such as creams and balms, are more suited for pain, injuries, or skincare needs than overall wellness. That’s because topical CBD works slightly differently from other types of CBD products. They target cannabinoid receptors in local skin cells instead of travelling throughout the whole body. This makes topical CBD really effective for targeted relief as you can apply it where you need it most. You should notice the effects of topical CBD within 15 to 20 minutes after application, lasting for up to 6 hours.
CBD is great, there’s no doubt about it. But its taste and oily mouthfeel isn’t so great, which is why we’ve found better ways to include CBD in your daily routine.
If you love coffee and are looking for a more enjoyable way to take CBD every day, have a look in our Coffeeshop! We have a wide variety of CBD-infused coffee or water-soluble CBD Coffee Drops to use at home or on the go, and some CBD treats to pair with it!
