CBD gummies are one of (if not the) most popular products on the hemp market. Although there are so many CBD products to choose from, CBD gummies remain king, garnering a cult-like following from many adults around the country. Now, a seemingly endless number of brands produce worthwhile CBD gummies. But how do they differ from other CBD products? Should you choose CBD gummies? Or should you go with another high-quality CBD product?
If it all sounds a little overwhelming, we’re here to help! We’ll explain how CBD gummies work, how they differ from other products, and how to know if they’re right for you, then we’ll introduce you to two of our favorites!
What Is CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a member of the cannabinoid family. These are chemical compounds native to cannabis and hemp plants. You may know others like CBG, CBC, and CBN—though CBD is one of the most abundant. The other most abundant cannabinoid is THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid.
When you think of cannabis’s iconic “high” sensation, you’re imagining the effects of THC. When you think of cannabis’s therapeutic, wellness-boosting benefits, you’re imagining CBD and other non-intoxicating cannabinoids. These effects occur when cannabinoids engage with a lesser-known system in your body—one researchers didn’t discover until the mid-1990s.
Meet your endocannabinoid system (ECS).
The Endocannabinoid System
Your ECS exists as an extensive network of receptors uniquely equipped to recognize and engage with cannabinoids. This system spans all across the body, working day and night to maintain homeostasis. It plays a vital role in physiological functions like sleep, mood, appetite, and energy.
When you supplement CBD, the cannabinoids bolster the system’s performance, promoting many wellness-boosting benefits.
What Are CBD Gummies?
CBD gummies introduce cannabidiol-rich oil into your body through your digestive system. These popular CBD health supplements come in a wide range of flavors and can often boast several additional cannabinoids like CBG for energy or CBN for ultimate relaxation. Many companies infuse their CBD gummies with other healthful ingredients to help with things like sleep support, wakefulness, and digestion.
When you take a CBD gummy, or any other CBD edible, the cannabinoids pass through your digestive tract before reaching your bloodstream. Here, they then go on to engage your ECS receptors.
This process takes some time. So, you won’t feel CBD’s calming effects for a couple of hours, but once you do, the effects will last longer than other CBD products. Many adults prefer edible CBD health supplements like gummies because of their sustained effects.
Other Types of CBD Products
But other CBD products also come with their own list of benefits—ones that CBD gummies can’t quite capture.
CBD Vape Pens
CBD vape pens are disposable e-cigarettes with flavored CBD vape juice. They contain a lithium battery that heats the cannabidiol-rich vape juice into an inhalable vapor. When you take a puff off a CBD vape pen, the cannabinoids filter through your lungs and directly into your bloodstream, where they then travel to reach your ECS receptors.
This process is quick, much quicker than edibles like gummies. So, you feel the effects from a CBD vape faster—but the effects don’t last as long. So, you’ll need to keep puffing your pen to maintain your desired effects.
CBD Cigarettes
Another product that introduces CBD through your lungs is CBD cigarettes. These tobacco- and nicotine-free cigarettes contain organic hemp rich in CBD. Like CBD vape pens, CBD cigarettes offer almost immediate effects that evaporate after a few minutes. Different brands add various flavors to their cigarettes, like fruity, sweet, and menthol.
These brands also use different types of cannabinoids to infuse their hemp flowers. CBD cigarettes are perfect for those who want a robust and smoky experience when enjoying their daily dose of CBD.
CBD Topicals
CBD topicals are unlike any other type of CBD product. These products go directly on your skin, where the cannabinoids absorb through the dermal layer and into the underlying tissue. The cannabinoids in topicals bypass the bloodstream and affect only the targeted area(s). These products are ideal for minor aches and pains and localizing CBD’s calming effects.
We carry many different types of CBD topicals. You can choose from creams, balms, lotions, bath bombs, and many more. Companies like to formulate their topicals to fit easily in a gym bag or purse, perfect for maintaining your CBD chill throughout the day.
CBD Tinctures
CBD tinctures sit comfortably on the Mt. Rushmore of CBD products. In fact, some of the early ancient CBD products were tinctures. These products combine refined CBD oil and a host of other healthful ingredients to introduce cannabinoids into your body sublingually.
This is when you place the oil under your tongue and let the cells in your mouth absorb the cannabinoids, ushering them into your bloodstream. Holding oil under your tongue may feel strange the first time, but this method leads to a quicker onset of effects.
CBD Capsules
CBD capsules are little, premeasured soft gel tablets that contain an effective dose of CBD. These capsules travel through your digestive system and absorb into your bloodstream through your liver––much like CBD gummies. Many adults prefer capsules because they avoid the hempy taste that sometimes comes with other CBD products.
How CBD Gummies Differ from Other CBD Products
With all the different kinds of CBD products defined, what makes CBD gummies so unique? Three main factors differentiate gummies from the field: their formulas, bioavailability, and timeline for effects.
Additional Natural Ingredients
CBD is an organic molecule that can easily pair with other healthful ingredients. CBD brands capitalize on CBD’s stability by incorporating ingredients like apple cider vinegar, melatonin, turmeric, adaptogenic mushrooms, and many others into their gummies. Elements like these offer additional benefits that complement CBD’s natural effects on the body.
Other CBD products offer only the remarkable benefits of CBD, which is just what many CBD users are looking for. But if you want to enjoy additional healthful effects, then you might want to consider CBD gummies that come packed with complementary ingredients.
Bioavailability
Like other edible CBD health supplements, CBD gummies have a lower bioavailability than other products. Bioavailability is the amount of a substance that absorbs into your body. With products like vapes and tinctures, the cannabinoids don’t absorb through your digestive system. Instead, they filter directly into your bloodstream.
But with CBD gummies, the cannabinoids must absorb through your digestive system before reaching your bloodstream. This is a perilous journey where many cannabinoids don’t reach the finish line. So, fewer cannabinoids find their way into your bloodstream and engage with your ECS receptors, leading to a weaker CBD experience.
Timeline of Effects
CBD gummies take a couple of hours to produce calming effects. This is much longer than other products like vapes or tinctures. But, while the onset of effects isn’t rapid, effects from gummies last much longer than vapes or tinctures. CBD gummies let you enjoy the wellness-boosting benefits of CBD for around 6-8 hours—a benefit many see as the deciding factor when choosing between gummies and other CBD products.
How to Find The Best CBD Gummies
You might not know where to start if you’re considering adding CBD gummies to your daily routine. How do you find the right CBD gummies for you? We always recommend that beginners start by finding the right CBD brand.
Thanks to a resurgence of interest in the hemp market, we can now shop a wide variety of CBD products from a wide variety of CBD brands. But not all these brands command the same attention––or respect. Some of these brands are vying for a place in the market, rushing their manufacturing processes to crank out trending products. This often leads to CBD products not being sent through third-party testing.
When researching CBD companies, check for their Certificate of Analysis (COA). This third-party lab report details the chemicals found inside the tested product. It will show if any harmful chemicals or additives survived the cultivation process and still exist inside the finished product. It will also tell you the exact ingredients inside that product.
If a company doesn’t have its COAs readily available, this is a major red flag.
Notable CBD Gummies
So, if you’re looking for some of the best CBD gummies on the market, here are two that many of our customers have come to love. CBDfx, JustCBD, and MoonWLKR are three notable brands that routinely debut tested and reliable products. Check out their collection of CBD goodies to find your next go-to product!
Mixed Berry CBD Gummies – CBDfx
Looking for that classic wellness-boosting CBD supplement? CBDfx Original Mixed Berry CBD Gummies provide all the necessary, natural ingredients for enjoying CBD’s multifaceted benefits without any extraneous fluff, like other popular health supplements. CBDfx uses natural agave and flavorings to give these tasty red chews a pop of delicious berry flavors. Each serving of these Original Mixed Berry Gummies comes with 50mg of broad spectrum CBD, offering you an effective dose of CBD throughout your day!
Peach Rings CBD Gummies – JustCBD
JustCBD is known for their delicious, inventive approach to CBD gummies, like their Peach Rings CBD Gummies. Unlike the other gummies mentioned here, these peach rings carry CBD isolate, which is 99% CBD. So, you can experience all the benefits of CBD—and only CBD.
CBD + CBN Sleep Gummies – MoonWLKR
If you’d like to feel the effects of CBN (the ultimate relaxation cannabinoid) alongside CBD, you need to add MoonWLKR’s CBD + CBN Sleep Gummies to your list. These gummies take relaxation to the next level. They’re delicious and pretty potent. One dose is just enough to help you unwind right before bed.
Choosing The Right CBD Product for You
So, if CBD gummies aren’t right for you, which CBD products are?
It all comes down to your preferences and the CBD experience you’re interested in. We recommend new users try a product that piques their interest and see if it meets their wellness needs. Finding the right product and dosage for you might take a little trial and error, but it’s smooth sailing ahead once you do!
Shop our full collection of CBD gummies to find the one that best fits your wellness needs!
