I know that maybe I sound like a broken record when I keep telling you to know as much as you can about the CBD products you buy. But, I will continue to remind you that not all CBD is created equal.
Third-party testing for CBD
A recent CBS News article emphasized the CBD inequality recently. In partnership with Mile High Labs in Colorado, they tested nine CBD oil samples that they had purchased from all over the United States. Fortunately none of the samples they tested contained heavy metals, pesticides or major toxins. Good news there. But, they did find that the amount of CBD claimed in several of the products were either much higher or much lower than what the product labels stated.
It’s for this reason that I continue to harp on know what is in your CBD. Let’s take the overachieving CBD oils that, in one instance, had CBD levels 200% over what it claimed. Now that can be a problem. If you think you are getting a recommended amount and instead get far more, you could experience side effects. Too much of anything can cause trouble and CBD is no exception. If you don’t know what’s in your CBD and take too much, there can be repercussions. Not life-threatening; not pleasant either.
So what does third-party lab testing mean? A third-party lab is an objective company that has no ties to the CBD company and tests for these:
· Potency. We’ve just discussed that if you don’t know how much CBD is actually in your product, how can you dose accurately?
· Residual solvents. You wouldn’t drink solvents, so you don’t want them in your CBD oil. C02 extraction pulls out the important stuff from the hemp plant—essential cannabinoids, terpene oils and waxes—giving you pure, clean quality oil, free of solvents.
· Residual pesticides. Look for hemp that was grown as organically as possible without using harmful herbicides, pesticides or growth enhancers. This test can reveal how pure the CBD is.
· Heavy metals analysis. Again, look for organically grown. Hemp likes to absorb whatever is in the soil. Grown organically and not treated with pesticides, hemp can be pretty clean. But, here again, C02 extraction methods can remove any heavy metals that may have sneaked in through the back door.
FDA stepping in to regulate CBD
In late October, according to an article in Forbes, the United States Department of Agriculture published, “its interim final rules for domestic hemp production in the Federal Register, including rules regarding CBD, a product of hemp.” Finally, the regulation process has begun. Now let’s not get all giddy. Yes, this is good forward movement. But, it still is the government, which rarely moves quickly and also involves a lot of hoops. In the end, however, regulating CBD would give consumers a better idea of what is really in the CBD they purchase.
This could be a great step for the CBD industry. It could help propel the supplement forward in food and beverages. Regulation could also assure safety for consumers and security for producers. Of course, we haven’t arrived at the definitive point when all CBD will be created equal. But, it’s a step in the right direction.