CBD edibles are easily one of the hottest trends of the last few years, and biting into a CBD chocolate bar is an optimal choice. Making the jump from relative obscurity to being stocked on supermarket shelves all across the country, CBD has taken the world by storm.
What was once a niche plant compound known to few can now be found in a vast array of products. From shampoos to bath bombs, face creams to teabags, and of course, CBD chocolates.
How Much CBD Chocolate Should I Eat? Your Guide to CBD Edibles
Edibles chocolate containing CBD are everywhere, and CBD chocolate is emerging as one of the favourite ways to consume this hot new product.
CBD has many potential health benefits, but the lack of government regulation around this hemp-derived plant compound is leaving many people scratching their heads.
Without direct recommendations from doctors and medical bodies, many people are self-prescribing CBD. And with a massive selection of products out there, it can be hard to be sure you are buying from a reputable brand.
Intro to Dosages
On top of this, each product contains a different amount of CBD, and the active ingredients enter your body in different ways depending on what method you choose. For example, applying a CBD lotion to your skin is very different from vaping CBD or eating it in a chocolate bar.Before you indulge in your first CBD chocolate bar, it’s essential that you know some of the basic facts about CBD to ensure you are using it safely and responsibly and getting the most from its health benefits. So let’s find out exactly how much CBD chocolate you should eat.
What Exactly Is CBD?
CBD is short for “cannabidiol”. Cannabidiol is a naturally occurring compound that is found in many places, including in the human body. The CBD you find in your tasty bar of infused chocolate is typically extracted from the hemp plant, a variety of the cannabis plant that has no psychoactive effects.CBD = Cannabinoid
Cannabidiol is a member of the family of natural compounds called cannabinoids. Within the human body, a network called the endocannabinoid system runs throughout the central nervous system, including the brain.Research into this system is ongoing, but it is believed to play a large role in many areas, including fertility, appetite, pain-sensation, mood, nervous system activity, decision-making, and memory.
When CBD enters your system, it interacts with the endocannabinoid system, and this interaction is thought to produce the positive health benefits associated with CBD products.
Does CBD Get You High?
CBD is derived from the Hemp plant, a variety of cannabis. Rest assured, CBD chocolate will not get you high. CBD products are made explicitly from Hemp because it has very low levels of THC. The THC cannabinoid is the psychoactive ingredient that causes the high associated with marijuana.Hemp, on the other hand, contains only around 0.5% THC. This is not enough to cause an effect. What’s more, many CBD products have the THC completely stripped out during the manufacturing process.
CBD with the THC completely removed is known as CBD isolate, so be sure to look out for these words on the packaging of any products you buy.
CBD Chocolate vs. Other CBD products
Consuming CBD in foods, especially chocolate, has many advantages over other methods of administering CBD. Compared to using skin creams or CBD shower products, the chief advantage is that eating chocolate delivers CBD into your bloodstream more effectively.When applying CBD to the skin topically, the product is absorbed through skin cells and enters the bloodstream. In this process, not all of the product is absorbed, and much of the active ingredient will remain on the surface of the skin and not enter the bloodstream at all.
The jury is still out on exactly how much CBD enters your body in this way, but the general consensus is that it is less effective than ingesting CBD.
CBD Chocolate vs. other CBD Edibles
Another advantage comes from the unique, melt-in-your-mouth properties of chocolate. For example, if you eat a muffin infused with CBD, the muffin has to make its way into the stomach and digestive organs, where it is broken down by the body, and then enters the bloodstream.On the other hand, chocolate melts in your mouth sublingually, so the breakdown is happening almost immediately.
This way, the CBD can enter the bloodstream quicker and even begins to instantly penetrate into the body via blood vessels in the mouth and on the tongue. It’s no coincidence that dropping CBD oil under the tongue is one of the most popular and effective ways of ingesting CBD.
Knowing Your Dosage
As we mentioned earlier, one of the most asked questions when it comes to CBD is around the proper dosage. All CBD products come in different strengths, and the dosage amount depends entirely on the individual. Buy from a legitimate site like https://kingcropdelivery.com/tag/chocolate-edibles/ to get numerous options on CBD products and their dosage.The various ways of administering CBD can increase uncertainty even further. The amount of CBD in your body after using a shampoo with 10mg containing 10% CBD will differ vastly from the amount in your body from eating a bar of 10mg CBD chocolate.
Because none of the products is regulated by any government or medical body, consumers currently have a hard time knowing which products to choose.
While research on CBD has been going on for many years, it is only since the relaxation of laws around medical cannabis that CBD has really begun to take off.
Medical research takes years to find conclusive results, and we are very much in a no-man’s land when it comes to precise dosage recommendations. There are no hard and fast rules.
Things to Consider Before You Indulge
If you are thinking of purchasing CBD chocolate, there are a few vital factors you should consider when figuring out the correct dosage.- Bodyweight
- The concentration of CBD per bar/portion
- What condition you are treating
- Other medications that you are taking
Dispensary staff are usually highly knowledgeable and are probably the most experienced people out there at recommending CBD dosages.
The best tip is to start small. Just 20mg a day is an excellent point to begin your cannabis chocolate journey. From here, you can observe the effect, see if the problem you were treating is affected, and adjust accordingly. After a week, you can up the dosage by 5mg if you feel it is necessary.
CBD Concentration Per Bar
One crucial factor is to check the labelling and be clear about how much CBD is in the bar. It’s critical that you distinguish between how much CBD is in the whole bar and how much CBD is in each square or portion.A bar of chocolate containing 240mg of CBD may seem very strong, but if you’re only eating one-tenth of the bar, then you’re only consuming 24mg of CBD.
If you’re anything like me and have the willpower of a damp paper towel, maybe it’s best to buy a bar that only has 20mg of CBD in total. This way, if you indulge in the whole thing, you won’t be in too much trouble.
Possible CBD side effects
The good thing about CBD is that the side effects are very mild and short-lasting. Drowsiness, nausea, dizziness, and some fluctuations in mood and appetite are the main side effects that CBD users report.If you feel any of these effects, maybe take a few days off of the chocolate, and start again with half the dosage as before.
The Health Benefits of CBD chocolate
As we’ve mentioned, CBD research is still in its infancy, but many positive attributes have been linked to this cannabinoid. Some of the benefits of CBD include:- Help to sleep
- Fighting stress
- Clearer skin
- Help with combating addictive behaviour
- Supports healthy blood pressure
- Relief from joint and muscle discomfort
- Comfort from tension
Choosing a Reliable Product
One cause for concern when buying CBD chocolate and other CBD products is reliability. Lots of new brands and manufacturers have sprung up in the last few years, therefore it's hard to discern which products you can trust.Many reports have appeared on the internet of companies not labelling their products’ strengths correctly, either accidentally or intentionally. Some brands have even been found to contain no CBD at all. Considering the price compared to a regular chocolate bar, it's hard to stomach the idea of paying a good price for a product that is not sold as advertised.
How To Protect Yourself
One sure-fire sign of knowing you’re dealing with a reliable brand is to check the packaging for lab results. Most of the top CBD chocolate producers have their products lab tested by a third party.This ensures that customers know exactly how much of the active ingredient is in their chocolates and that the product is free from harmful byproducts. Reputable companies will display these lab tests publicly on their website, so before you buy, be sure to do a spot of consumer research.
If in doubt, buying your cannabis chocolate from a dispensary is an excellent way to go. Their product selectors have a strong knowledge of the market, and the budtenders there will be more than happy to dig around for you and pull up the lab tests of the CBD chocolates that they stock.
Product Recommendations
Hopefully, you now feel ready to dip your toe in the world of CBD and start indulging in CBD chocolates! To help you on your way, we have selected a few unique products to kickstart your journey. We have picked out some of the most popular items from the luxury CBD chocolate brand, Gataka.Gataka has everything you could hope to look for as a cannabis chocolatier. They handcraft small batches of chocolates and only use ethically sourced products.
Based in Colorado, Gataka is a family-run business that is passionate about creating high-quality chocolate. For added peace of mind, every item from Gataka comes with a scannable QR code that links to lab test results from that product, so you know precisely how much CBD is in every bite.
Pumpkin Spice Chocolate: 8g - 10mg CBD
These beautifully packaged, low-dosage treats are a perfect start for people coming to CBD for the first time, or for those with low tolerance levels.Flavoured with the taste of autumn, you’ll get images of golden-brown leaves and Halloween vibes as these morsels melt away on your tongue. You could even melt them down to make your very own CBD infused pumpkin spice hot chocolate!
GATAKA Dark Chocolate: 50g - 240mg CBD
Moving up in strength is Gataka’s dark chocolate collection. A serious exercise in restraint is required to not eat the whole thing in one sitting - these bars are amongst the strongest (and tastiest) on the market.Made using 72% Ecuadorian cacao and sweetened with coconut sugar, these chocolates are an authentic taste of luxury. Dairy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free, they also come in 120mg and 60mg varieties.
Bulk Size Peanut Butter Cups - 20mg per portion
We couldn't resist featuring these chocolatey delights! These individually wrapped treats are infused with 20mg of CBD per portion, and each box contains 25 treats.Who would have thought we would see the day when you could reap such health benefits from indulging in a peanut butter cup? Seriously, you’re going to have to hide the box in an out-of-reach place.
Sweet, delicious, and good for your health
What’s not to love about CBD chocolate? Of all the ways to get CBD into your system, chocolate is easily the most appealing you will come across.There’s such a great range of high-quality cannabis chocolates out there, and you’re sure to have fun experimenting and finding a flavour, texture, and strength to suit your needs.
Shop smart, check the strength of the product you are buying, look out for lab test certificates, keep an eye on the dosages of each portion - and you’ll be well on your way. Also, just make sure you hide them away from children!
