Full Spectrum CBD vs. Broad Spectrum CBD: What is the Difference?
Many of our customers are first time CBD users and have plenty of questions. It only makes sense, here is a relatively new product that promises to be a “breakthrough” natural therapy for common ailments we’ve all been to the doctor for. But when any first time CBD buyer wants to start, there is a looming question: Full Spectrum CBD vs Broad Spectrum CBD; what should I choose?
CBD is certainly proving its street credibility daily with millions of users around the world. And while that’s great news, many people who want to start CBD don’t really know how to.
What is full spectrum CBD oil?
Will this make me high?
Should I have listened more in Chemistry class?
These are all common thoughts that cross the CBD customers’ mind – if you’re reading this article, you’re likely asking yourself the same questions too.
The bad news is that CBD companies, and especially ones selling the highest-quality CBD oil, will offer a range of CBD oils, edibles and topicals or sprays in efforts to provide a solution to every possible need.
The good news is that by understanding a few key terms you’ll quickly find the right CBD oil for you.
Below we explore the key differences between full spectrum cbd and broad spectrum CBD oils to help you breeze through the terminology.
The Main Takeaways for Full Spectrum and Broad Spectrum CBD
The key difference is that Full Spectrum CBD contains THC and Broad Spectrum does not. This is important to know first because it can influence what you actually want to buy.
Click here for more about THC.
Spectrum | CBD | THC | CBC | CBG | Terpenes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full Spectrum | ✅ | ✅ (0.2%) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Broad Spectrum | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
*A note to the reader
The table above refers to CBD oils that are made using extracts from the cannabis plant. Not all CBD companies use extracts for their products. Some will use CBD powders and add in different components like terpenes to mimic a natural extract.
At Pure Organic CBD, all of our products are naturally extracted from the plants we grow in Switzerland. Every product starts out as a full spectrum extract, with the THC only being removed in the case of the final product being Broad Spectrum.
What is Full Spectrum CBD?
Full-spectrum CBD oil has nothing to do with light, frequencies or electromagnetism.
It’s a shorthand way of referring to the more than 120 cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant.
Cannabinoids are the compounds that have beneficial effects on the body’s central and peripheral nervous system, and are behind the recent rise of CBD oils in the natural health and wellbeing market.
The term CBD is in fact the name of one of these cannabinoids, which happened to be the first compound discovered in the 1960s by Israeli researcher Raphael Mechoulam.
Another of the 120+ cannabinoids has gained a bad reputation over the last few centuries: THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol.
What is THC?
THC is the cannabinoid that gets you ‘high’, giving you glassy eyes, euphoria, and with mild hallucinogenic effects.
To pass legal requirements in the European Union, for example, farmers in certain EU countries may only cultivate plants in the cannabis sativa plant that contain less than 0.2% THC compounds in their flowers.
(This is way below other strains of cannabis, such as in the cannabis indica plant, whose flowers can consist of up to 40% THC compounds.)
The extraction process for making full-spectrum CBD oils does not distinguish between cannabinoids, and so THC compounds remain present in the final product.
What to consider before buying a Full Spectrum CBD product
The main issue to consider with full-spectrum CBD oils is for professionals who need to take a drugs test.
A short-term study found that a single exposure to vaporized cannabis flowers with low levels of THC saw two of six participants fail a drugs test up to eight hours after administration.
Though no studies have been done on taking full-spectrum CBD oils long-term and how this affects drugs test, you may not want to run this risk.
If you’re not required to take a drugs test, and you’re not travelling through a country where THC is strictly controlled, then there’s no reason why you should avoid full-spectrum CBD.
In fact, THC in low levels has been proven to have anti-seizure, antioxidant, anti-anxiety, pain relief and anti-inflammatory effects.
In the UK, the US and the EU, the only medically regulated medicine made from cannabis contains THC and is used to treat severe cases of epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. You can read about that here.
What is Broad Spectrum CBD?
Broad-spectrum CBD oil most importantly means a product that has no traces of THC. The route to have no THC in the final product can take many forms; let me explain.
CBD is just one compound of the plant. In the case of buying CBD oil, a customer would want to make sure there is CBD in the product. But THC is optional. Now, one route to have a zero THC product would be to use isolated CBD, but CBD isolate has been shown to be less effective than a product naturally extracted from a plant.
Quality broad spectrum products always start out as full spectrum and have the THC removed in an extra step. This way you retain all of the plant’s powerful ingredients with out the THC.
A great way to visualise this is in the case of water.
When we buy water, there are usually 2 choices; distilled and spring. Distilled water is pure and contains zero contaminates. And as pure as distilled water may be, spring water does a better job hydrating a person.
CBD isolate is the distilled water and a naturally extracted broad spectrum product is like spring water. It has natural minerals that help the body absorb the water and put it to use. The same goes for Broad Spectrum. Because it contains everything from the plant except THC, it is far more effective than isolates.
The Growth of the Isolate Based Broad Spectrum Through out the USA and UK
The price of natural CBD extracts remains fairly expensive, but the price of CBD isolate is very cheap. Large CBD companies in the USA and UK have found ways to produce products cheaply using isolates that claim to be effective in helping people.
They are labeling it as Broad Spectrum CBD. Our company does not believe in bashing others in our industry but we do think it is important for customers to know what is going on.
If you want the best CBD experience, be sure to look for products that are not made from isolates. We are talking about your health and wellness so a bit of investigating can save you a lot of time.
For reference, all of our products at Pure Organic CBD are from natural extracts of plants grown on the same family farm in Switzerland. You will not find a better product range that truly unifies quality and organic cultivation.
Who is Broad Spectrum CBD Good For?
This makes it the CBD oil of choice for many athletes, police officers, pilots, healthcare professionals, government staff, construction workers, transport operators, hospitality staff, and workers in other industries that may require a drugs test during hiring or throughout a contract period.
Some countries, like Singapore where even CBD is still illegal, may also require a drugs test for residency purposes or for attending schools.
Because the extraction process requires additional processes to completely remove THC, broad-spectrum CBD tends to be more expensive.
Certain CBD companies selling low-quality CBD may take advantage of this and use the term broad-spectrum to cover up inferior extraction processes that have even fewer cannabinoids than normal.
And it’s not just cannabinoids that can suffer, terpenes are the compounds that provide flavour and smell in plants. Terpenes are also excellent at providing additional health promoting benefits. Inferior products will have very little natural terpenes left over after extraction. Many times a company will try to add them back in.
Furthermore, studies on the ‘entourage effect’ suggest that cannabinoids present in CBD oils will work together to mutually enhance their pain-relieving, anti-anxiety or sleep-enhancing effects, meaning it’s extra important to purchase a high-quality broad-spectrum CBD oil.
If you need broad-spectrum CBD oil for work-related or personal reasons, you should make sure you’re buying from a company whose extraction processes maintain as many cannabinoids – and therefore quality – in their CBD oils.
Conclusion of Full Spectrum CBD vs Broad Spectrum CBD
By default, we always recommend Full Spectrum CBD oils. They contain the most natural extract from the plant and we believe firmly in whole-plant wellness.
Broad Spectrum CBD does serve a purpose though. It is an effective product as long as it comes from a natural extract. And as long THC is the only thing removed.
If you choose to go the Broad Spectrum CBD / zero THC route, be sure to ask for lab reports. This is the only verifiable way to make sure there truly is zero THC in the product.
Pure Organic CBD produces a broad-spectrum CBD oil unlike any other in the industry due its sensitive extraction that removes THC while maintaining a high-quality end product.
The profile of Pure Organic CBD oils are all backed up lab reports filed with the Swiss governing body.
Our oils have an optimised terpene profile providing you an authentic CBD oil with maximum benefits to your health and wellbeing, while also being registered organic to reduce the unwanted presence of contaminants and heavy metals.
To conclude in our full spectrum cbd vs broad spectrum cbd article, always go with full spectrum cbd unless you are drug tested for work.
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