One of the most important steps the hemp industry has made was the mastery of water soluble cannabinoids like CBD. As you may know, cannabinoids are usually bonded with fats and oils. Try taking a classic ‘canna-butter’ or tincture with coconut oil and mixing it into your coffee, it won’t!
Here’s the Complete Guide to Water Soluble CBD & Nano-emulsions. Everything you need to know about emulsifying CBD, the benefits, and where to buy.
Ready to start trying CBD and other hemp derived cannabinoids now? Head to shop.kush.com to check out a variety of compliant hemp products ready to ship to your door, or register at kush.com for a wholesale account if your working with a business.
Or check out ’10 Ways You Can Use Water Soluble CBD’
All products are federally legal and only contain ‘hemp derived cannabinoids’, but states can differ, make sure to look into your local laws & regulations!
CBD Nanoemulsion
Water soluble CBD is created using a process called nanoemulsion. Nanoemulsion, or nanoemulsification, involves the use of ultrasonic waves that shatter CBD molecules into dozens of tiny CBD “nanoparticles” that are a fraction of their original size.
Since CBD nanoparticles are so much smaller than regular CBD molecules, they can travel through mucous membranes in the mouth and esophagus–thresholds that the CBD molecules in oil are too large to pass through. By traveling through these cellular membranes, CBD nanoparticles take a shortcut into the bloodstream, bypassing the internal organs where the CBD molecules in oil go to waste. As a result, nearly all of the CBD in an initial dosage reaches the bloodstream to produce active effects.
Emulsifying CBD
CBD nanoemulsion also involves the use of an emulsifier, an intermediary substance that forces two typically incompatible substances (such as oil and water) to mix. CBD is hydrophobic, meaning that it does not dissolve in water, and lipophilic, meaning that it dissolves in fat. After reducing the size of CBD molecules, Vana Labs places its CBD nanoparticles into a fatty emulsifier, where it dissolves in fat before reaching the bloodstream–this makes it possible for CBD and the water in the bloodstream to mix.
How is Water Soluble CBD Made?
Water-soluble CBD is typically created through the process of nanoemulsification, which involves the use of ultrasonic waves to put pressure on CBD particles from hemp.
This pressure causes individual particles to explode into dozens of miniature CBD nanoparticles, drastically reducing the size of CBD particles. The resulting nanoparticles are so small that they are measured in nanometers (one nanometer equals one-billionth of a meter).
These CBD nanoparticles are then mixed with an emulsifier, a fatty base in which CBD can dissolve prior to entering the body. An emulsifier is an intermediary substance that forces two otherwise incompatible substances–such as oil and water–to mix.
CBD is lipophilic, meaning that it dissolves in fat rather than water. For this reason, a fatty emulsifier is used, which makes the CBD nanoparticles compatible with the water in the bloodstream, or the water in your beverage.
The resulting CBD has the ability to mix with water, which is why water-soluble CBD can dissolve into the bloodstream so much faster and more efficiently than CBD oil. This is also why water-soluble CBD can, as its name suggests, dissolve in water and other beverages (whereas CBD oil cannot).
Benefits of Water-Soluble CBD
Typically, water-soluble CBD is dosed using a dropper, but it can also be encapsulated into pills, capsules, and softgels. These types of products offer a lot in terms of convenience and ease of use. Benefits of water-soluble CBD include:
- Water-soluble CBD has increased bioavailability
- Water-soluble products allow for consistent dosing
- Increased convenience for the user
- Fast-acting effects
- Longer shelf life
When compared to a CBD oil, water-soluble CBD gives consumers more power to choose just how they want to utilize their CBD.
As we all know, water and oil don’t mix. This is true not only of how CBD oil behaves in beverages, but also of how it behaves in the bloodstream, which is itself largely water-based. The underlying problem with non-water-soluble CBD isn’t limited to whether or not a CBD will dissolve in a beverage. It actually relates to whether or not CBD can be utilized by the body.
To produce effects, CBD must dissolve in the bloodstream, which comprises a significant amount of water. As a result, when you ingest non-water soluble CBD, it behaves much like oil does when dropped into a cup of water: droplets of CBD oil coagulate and isolate themselves from the surrounding liquid, refusing to mix and dissolve. Since water accounts for about 60% of the body’s composition, it resists mixing with, dissolving, and absorbing oil. This means that most oil-based CBD tinctures are impossible for the body to utilize properly, which is why CBD oil produces inferior effects.
Yet the advantages of water-soluble CBD versus typical CBD oil go far beyond whether these products can be mixed into a beverage. Water-soluble CBD has numerous benefits beyond this convenient form of consumption. In fact, whether or not your CBD is water-soluble actually determines whether or not it can be efficiently utilized by the human body, which determines whether or not the CBD you consume will actually produce any effects.
Water soluble CBD is created using nanotechnology, a method that involves the use of ultrasonic waves to shrink CBD particles down to a microscopically small size. Whereas the CBD particles in non-water soluble CBD oil are much larger, tiny CBD nanoparticles are so small that they dissolve rapidly into the bloodstream.
As a result, water soluble CBD has several key advantages over CBD oil tinctures. These include fast-acting effects; a longer shelf-life; superior bioavailability; higher potency; and versatility, as water soluble can be dissolved in a beverage and consumed on the go.
Highly Bioavailable
Higher bioavailability refers to the amount of nutrients in a product that are absorbed. In regards to CBD, if a CBD product has high bioavailability this means that it has a high amount/concentration of CBD that can be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Bioavailability is one of the most important variables in determining the effectiveness of CBD products. But what is bioavailability, and why should it factor into your decision when buying CBD tinctures?
The term “bioavailability” refers to the proportion of a substance, in this case CBD, that, once consumed, enters the bloodstream to produce active effects. Contrary to what some may believe, when you consume a dosage of a typical CBD tincture, less than a tenth of the dosage you initially take produces active effects in the body. This is because typical tinctures have low bioavailability.
When low-bioavailability CBD oil is ingested, it must process through the liver and digestive system before entering the bloodstream to produce active effects. In this process, overwhelming amounts of CBD are left behind; by the time your dosage of CBD oil makes it through your system and into the bloodstream, overwhelming amounts of CBD have been left behind and discarded by the body, producing no active effect. The tiny amount of CBD oil that does enter your bloodstream to produce active effects may be as little as one-tenth (or less) of your original dosage.
Bioavailability is essential to actually experiencing the effects of the CBD product that you consume. More essential, in fact, than the actual amount of CBD that you ingest in the first place. If you ingest one-hundred milligrams of CBD in a potent tincture with low bioavailability, you still receive the active effects and benefits of only a fraction of that dose, effects that can be achieved and surpassed with an exponentially smaller dose of a higher-bioavailability product. In short, the amount of CBD that you consume essentially doesn’t matter; bioavailability is the determining factor in whether or not you will actually feel the effects, and receive the benefits, of your dosage.
Different forms of CBD yield different levels of bioavailability. And CBD oil, which happens to the the most popular form of CBD, typically has the lowest bioavailability of all. The majority of CBD tinctures on the market have a bioavailability of just 13-19% when consumed sublingually.
In other words, no matter how much CBD oil you ingest, 81-87% of your dosage goes to waste because it takes so long to be processed by the body and circulate through the bloodstream.
Rather than entering the bloodstream to reach the endocannabinoid system, low-bioavailability CBD is simply left behind in the body before it can produce any effects–as a result, an overwhelming proportion of the CBD that you consume simply goes to waste.
Consistent Dosing
Each dropper, pill, capsule, or softgel includes a specific amount of CBD. The benefit of this is that you gain control over the precise dosage of CBD you’re ingesting.. No guessing games or remembering how many milligrams are in a pipette or a vape tank. It’s the same, consistent dose every time without hassle.
Ultimately, bioavailability is the most important factor in determining whether or not a CBD product will produce the effects and benefits you seek. In this respect, the amount of CBD tincture that you consume doesn’t necessarily matter. Even if you were to take a larger dose of CBD in an attempt to achieve more significant effects, nearly 90% of that dose will be left behind.
As a result, low-bioavailability tinctures aren’t cost effective because so much CBD goes to waste with each dosage. Many consumers will move to higher dosages in an attempt to achieve the benefits they desire. This causes consumers to go through each bottle of CBD faster, while with with each dosage a massive amount of the CBD goes to waste.
High bioavailability products like water-soluble CBD, on the other hand, can produce more potent benefits in much smaller dosages. When consumers use water-soluble products, they will be pleasantly surprised to find that just a fraction of their typical dose will yield more benefits than exponentially larger doses of typical, low-bioavailability tinctures.
Water-soluble CBD makes for a more potent, cost-effective product; because only small doses are required to achieve optimal benefits and can be measured accurately.
Increased Convenience
CBD oil tinctures cannot be mixed with water-based beverages, as oil and water don’t mix. Water soluble CBD, on the other hand, dissolves into beverages such as smoothies, cocktails, beer and wine, coffee–and virtually any other beverage that you can imagine. This makes CBD more enjoyable to consume, while giving food and beverage establishments the opportunity to upsell each beverage by infusing it with CBD. This also satisfies retail customers, who will enjoy consuming their CBD in a convenient, neutral-tasting form, and who can take their CBD-infused beverages on-the-go.
Or, taking CBD by pill or capsule, much like any other pharmaceutical drug, is certainly convenient and inconspicuous. You can take it with a gulp of liquid and down goes the soon-to-be CBD benefits, metabolizing in your intestines.
That means that traveling with CBD is now much easier and efficient. Board a plane, take a capsule at a work meeting, or enjoy a dose of CBD at the park discreetly with little to no attention.
Patients suffering from anxiety, difficulty sleeping, or looking to reduce stress may find that water-soluble CBD is an easier way to get accurate doses of their medicine without the pressure of outside eyes.
Fast Acting Effects
Given that CBD resists mixing with the water in the bloodstream, behaving as oil would in water, it takes much longer for the body to absorb the active ingredient (CBD), and as a result, the effects of CBD tinctures take hours to kick in. Water soluble CBD, on the other hand, is formulated to dissolve rapidly into the bloodstream, and as a result, the Vana Labs CBD takes effect in under ten minutes after ingestion.
Longer Shelf Life
Through years of research and development the innovative techniques necessary to create Water Soluble CBD with a shelf-life of up to two years, which is over twice as long as the shelf life of typical CBD oils. This lifespace is also far superior to the shelf-life of most CBD products on the market today.
Where can you find Water Soluble CBD?
Today it’s easier than ever to find compliant hemp products near you. There’s hundreds of brands, but only one shop.kush.com. Compare products and brands on the growing direct to consumer site.
With a business? Register on kush.com to buy and sell on the largest cannabis / hemp online marketplace.
All products are federally legal and only contain ‘hemp derived cannabinoids’, but states can differ, make sure to look into your local laws & regulations!
About the Author
VANA LABS
info@vanalabs.com
(615)471-1416
We are VANA LABS. We are a collaboration of outside the box thinkers. We are innovative scientists, creative entrepreneurs, compliance-oriented engineers and marketing gurus. Our team is focused on providing a unique brand of product enhancement, having partnered with university researchers to create a cutting-edge and versatile CBD product.
Tyana Daley
