CBD isolate seems to be everywhere these days – sold alone as crystals, added into everything from food and beverages to dog food and topical treatments. For those of you looking to use CBD as a true health supplement and for relief of ailments, it is very important to understand the difference between a CBD isolate and whole flower CBD.
Whole Flower CBD vs. CBD Isolate
Merchants who sell CBD isolate like to talk about the “purity” of the product, using that term because most isolates are 99% CBD. What they fail to understand is that in terms of medicinal value, a patient/customer SHOULD NOT LOOK for 99% CBD! They should look for a CBD product that includes other phytocannabinoids – naturally occurring plant compounds that support many of our body’s biological processes.
“Pure” is NOT necessarily better in terms of medicinal value.
Be sure to understand what a CBD product means when touting the word “pure.” One usually thinks as pure meaning free from impurities and additives, but in the case of CBD isolate, it means that the other “good stuff” from the plant has been removed!
In order to end up with a 99% CBD crystal or product, several layers of refinement are required. These processes remove the terpenes, flavonoids and other compounds that assist CBD in working with your body to relieve ailments. Think of this in terms of processed vs. whole foods. Most of us now understand that a fruit or vegetable in its whole, natural form provides more health benefits and nutrients than refined, processed fruit and vegetable products.
Israeli Study Finds Whole Flower CBD Superior to CBD Isolate
Israel has known this for more than 3 years. A 2015 study by Israeli researchers showed that whole flower CBD-rich cannabis “is superior over [isolated] CBD for the treatment of inflammatory conditions.” The study was undertaken after realizing that past research into the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD revealed a bell-shaped dose-response curve (see image above). This means that isolated CBD stopped having any therapeutic effect beyond a certain amount.
Whole Flower CBD Continues Efficacy Increase
They wondered whether a whole plant CBD-rich extract would respond any differently. They discovered that unlike the bell-shaped dose-response curve of CBD isolate, the anti-inflammatory, anti-pain response of whole plant CBD increased with dose, making whole plant CBD ideal for clinical use.
Whole Flower Fluid is NOT “CBD Oil”
Here at the CBD expert, we learned first-hand the difference between a whole flower CBD product and what, at the time, was being called “whole plant CBD.” The vast majority of our re-orders, when we started in 2014, was for the Whole Flower CBD products, NOT the products made from industrial hemp stalks that did not contain the other molecules necessary for the entourage effect.
CBD Whole Flower fluid is a water soluble liquid. IT IS NOT AN OIL. It is a misnomer when people start shopping around for “CBD Oil.” It refers to a refined CBD product, usually through CO2 extraction, that is usually mixed into a base such as coconut or hemp oil.
Whole Flower Fluid is the entire, raw flower of the plant that is liquified. This is why it can be dissolved into water, used as a topical, taken directly under the tongue, or mixed with a liquid such as juice for those that do not like the taste.
August 2018 – Update based on social media comments: Thanks for all of your comments! We are an independent reseller of products and started out nearly 5 years ago with many products made from many forms of CBD. Through the years with patient feedback and re-orders, we determined that Whole Flower (full spectrum seems to be the current term being used) has been effective for anyone that ever came to us for help. It has always made the customer feel better, much if not most of the time relieving the main ailment. Even when they had tried many other brands and forms of CBD with no results. That’s why the title of the article is Why Whole Flower CBD Is PREFERRED Over CBD Isolate. Now, my friends who like to dab and smoke like to take some CBD isolate crystal and vaporize it for a relaxing feeling. So there is a use for isolate and we would ever want to keep anyone from their preferred from of CBD and way to use it. That’s why the article clearly states this information is for those looking specifically for MEDICINAL benefits of CBD.
What is Happening With CBD Regulations in California
The CBD Expert started in San Diego, California and has since moved to Spain, where most of the CBD products are derived from flowers, NOT from the stalks of industrial hemp. We happened to be visiting the USA in the summer of 2018, when the California Department of Public Health announced new prohibitions on products containing CBD.
To be honest, we are not as frustrated about this prohibition as one may think. Although it does not bode well for the proliferation and acceptance of CBD products in the state and around the country, it does stop the nonsense that we saw taking place before we moved. We had numerous people contacting us looking for the cheapest form of CBD that they could add to everything from candy, dog treats, beverages, nuts and other food items so that they could jump on the CBD bandwagon and make a profit. We explained to these people that they were not doing customers/patients any favors in terms of CBD medicinal value.
Just adding some CBD isolate crystals to a product and charging more for it and touting it as healthy is not OK with us. They were not planning to test the product to make sure the CBD remained intact after baking or preparing. They did not care about the entourage effect or other compounds in cannabis that work with CBD to provide health benefits and relief from ailments. They were just shopping around for the cheapest CBD isolate and we told them we cannot help them.
So…..the CDPH’s new laws banning these products may in fact protect consumers as they claim they are doing.