CBD tinctures provide immediate, targeted relief with fast absorption rates. Plus, they’re easy to use and can easily fit into any wellness routine.
Select tinctures with clearly labeled ingredients and droppers marked every 0.25 milliliter for accurate dosing. MNT also prefers products which undergo third-party testing for contaminants and provide their Certificate of Analysis with their results.
Benefits
CBD tinctures offer many of the same therapeutic advantages of CBD oils, including relieving anxiety, improving sleep and alleviating pain. Tinctures may be taken sublingually or mixed into food or drinks such as smoothies and mojitos for easy consumption. There are even oil-based options that can be applied directly onto skin for enhanced effects.
Tinctures typically employ alcohol (ethanol) as their solvent of choice, as it dissolves both water- and fat-soluble components to extract cannabinoid compounds from various cannabinoids. Furthermore, alcohol acts as an excellent preservative and extends shelf life of any tincture product.
Tieraona Low Dog, MD, an expert on herbal medicine and women’s health; Kevin Hill, MD, director of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Division of Addiction Psychiatry; and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School agree that CBD tinctures provide an easy and straightforward method of intaking CBD, typically having lower THC contents than its oils counterparts which could potentially produce psychoactive effects like altered time perception and euphoria.
Ingredients
CBD tinctures contain alcohol or carbon dioxide-extracted CBD suspended in an olive, coconut or hemp seed oil carrier oil for sublingual administration. They can be taken on their own or added to food or recipes and typically administered sublingually by placing a few drops under the tongue.
These products come in a range of concentrations, from 50 mg to 500 mg of full spectrum CBD per milliliter. Some brands such as Lazarus Naturals employ an ethanol extraction process and do not add flavors or additional fillers in their high potency tinctures.
Tinctures can be an effective method for taking CBD, but they lack the convenience offered by CBD oils. This is because tinctures contain alcohol-based products with limited shelf life compared to oils which can be mixed into food or drinks for easy ingestion.
MNT prefers CBD tinctures with organic, full-spectrum hemp extracts that have been third-party tested for contaminants. We look for products with this certification and an online analysis report as being ideal.
Dosage
Tinctures are highly concentrated, meaning only a small dose is necessary to feel their effects and they often work more quickly than CBD edibles, according to Dr. Ploesser. However, many find tinctures too bitter in taste; those looking for easier ways may prefer taking CBD oil products instead.
CBD tinctures provide an easy, straightforward method for stimulating your ECS to help ease pain and anxiety. Made of hemp extracts mixed with an oil carrier agent such as olive or sesame oil, MCT oil (derived from coconuts), or glycerin.
MCT oil provides essential fatty acids that assist your body with the absorption of CBD compounds, so tincture form of CBD should be taken directly under your tongue or added to beverages or food as desired. Tinctures tend to be stronger than CBD oils so it may be wiser to start off slowly when taking an MCT tincture dose.
Side effects
Tinctures can quickly be absorbed under the tongue for quick effect. This method may also be ideal for those who don’t care for the taste or flavor of other CBD products such as oils or capsules.
As tinctures are alcohol-based products, they can be combined with many ingredients for additional benefits or desired effects. Many manufacturers add herbal extracts, melatonin, vitamins or supplements to their tinctures as an aid to sleep or mood enhancement.
CBD has also been shown to help balance cortisol levels – an anti-stress and anxiety hormone produced in your body that aids your body’s ability to cope with stress and anxiety – helping those with chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and PTSD cope more easily with stress and anxiety. A 2018 study saw 11 patients with PTSD receive CBD alongside their regular psychiatric care and found their PTSD symptoms decrease significantly – possibly because CBD interferes with production of pro-inflammatory chemicals within their brain.
