If you looked at the label of your CBD oil, you’d notice that it’s not only CBD that it contains. CBD oils are made using carrier oils. So, which is the best CBD carrier oil? Also, what carrier oils are used in the first place?
You might not only wonder what’s the best carrier oil for CBD but also why they’re needed at all. I admit it might be a little confusing if you know nothing about CBD. We’re here to help you with that! Let’s find it all out in this article!
What should users be aware of before starting to use CBD?
Cannabidiol does not seem to have harsh side effects by itself. However, it might interact with other drugs, so it is always wise to discuss your use of CBD with your doctor. Quite a common warning is "the grapefruit effect" - as CBD interacts with grapefruit and some other citruses. What happens when you take CBD together with grapefruit? Chemicals (called furanocoumarins) in citrus interact with the CYP3A4 enzyme similarly to how CBD does. The result is a slowed metabolization of medications. Nothing deadly, but it might make your medications not as bioavailable.
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Why Is Carrier Oil Needed?
In order to understand what’s the best carrier oil, you should first understand why carrier oil is needed. Pure CBD extract comes in the shape of white powder. It isn’t as easily consumable as oil is. One more of the reasons why carrier oil is needed is that it would be extremely hard to measure the dose of CBD.
Imagine having to weigh or count the small grains of the powder to measure the dose of CBD you want to take. Not very convenient, is it? Another problem arises with the difficulty for your body to process CBD in the powder form.
If CBD wasn’t mixed with a carrier oil, your body wouldn’t do such a good job processing the CBD. CBD is infused into oil-based solutions because by that, it binds with fat molecules that your body is prone to breaking down.
One more thing the oil does is maintaining the freshness of CBD. Oils oxidize slowly, meaning that the oil will remain fresh longer. Oxidation deteriorates substances over time, and that means that it will make the CBD lose its potency. Mixing it with oil helps to prevent that.
So, CBD gets evenly measured into the oil, making it easy to dose it, and it also provides the benefit of easier processing for your body. Additionally, it helps the oil to remain fresh for longer. These three are the main reasons why CBD is mixed with a carrier oil.
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What Makes an Oil the Best Carrier Oil for CBD?
Now we must determine what are the main factors of the oils that are needed to make it suitable for being a carrier oil for CBD. There are various oils that can be used as carrier oils, but some work better than the others.
The main concern manufacturers have when choosing a carrier oil is bioavailability. Bioavailability is a subcategory of absorption. In essence, it shows how much of the consumed product ends up in your system. The higher the bioavailability is, the more suitable the carrier oil is.
Another factor, that might not be as vital as bioavailability, but still is important when determining the best carrier oil for CBD is the taste of the oil. Usually, CBD producers opt for oils with a mild taste to keep the original flavor of CBD or make it easier to infuse the CBD oil with additional flavors.
Consistency of the oil also matters. It is strived to make the oil as easily consumable as possible, so manufacturers opt for the oil, which has the right consistency for consumption. Choosing a viscous oil could lead to users’ dissatisfaction as it’s not as easy to take these oils. So usually more liquid oils are preferred.
The last element is the cost of the oil. You might be able to combine CBD with the most expensive oils in the world, but would it be worth it? Chances are that it wouldn’t offer better bioavailability nor consistency than the oils currently used. Also, nobody wants to pay more than needed.
All these points matter when choosing the best carrier oil for CBD oils. Now that we know what matters, we might as well see which oils match the criteria.
Best Carrier Oil for CBD
Now it’s time to answer your question of “what’s the best carrier oil for CBD?”. There are quite a few oils that are used to carry CBD. All of them have their own benefits and drawbacks. So, let’s take a look the determine the best carrier oil for CBD.
MCT Oil (Fractioned Coconut Oil)
MCT oil is one of the most popular choices among the major CBD manufacturers. That’s for a good reason. Coconut oil might be the best carrier oil for CBD due to its various properties that are compatible with what is needed for the CBD oil to work well.
One of the reasons why coconut oil is a suitable choice is its taste. Or actually the lack of it. Coconut oil is comparatively bland making it a great option for CBD tinctures and oils. Furthermore, the oil is rather thin, making it easy to consume.
Additionally, coconut oil also comes with health benefits that enhance the CBD oil. Coconut oil is known to be anti-viral, anti-bacterial[1], and anti-fungal. This might help the people who use CBD for anti-bacterial purposes, as it might help to amplify the effect.
However, the most important part is the bioavailability. Let’s examine the abbreviation MCT a bit further. MCT stands for medium-chain triglyceride. There are also short-chain and long-chain triglycerides, but medium-chain ones work best with CBD oil.
Medium-chained ones are the most desirable due to the fact that their shorter structure allows them to be absorbed more easily. They’re absorbed through the digestive tract. The long-chain ones have to first be broken down, causing slower absorption.
Having read this you might start wondering if medium-chain ones are desired for that reason, why don’t the CBD producers stick to the oils that have short-chain triglycerides? There’s a catch there. There are bacteria living in the gut that would consume the glycerides before it could be absorbed into the body.
All these reasons might lead us to believe that coconut oil could be the best carrier oil for CBD. Also, this type of oil is highly available, making it cheap and easy to get.
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Hemp Seed Oil
There’s quite a bit of confusion between CBD oil derived from hemp and hemp seed oil. Some people believe it to be the same thing, but actually, these two are two very different oils. The hemp seed oil contains no cannabinoids or terpenes, while CBD oil derived from hemp is an oil that comes with all the benefits CBD is said to provide.
Despite not having any cannabinoids that could provide the health benefits, the hemp seed oil is said to have plenty of properties by itself. The oil is moisturizing, anti-inflammatory[2], and a brain protector. It also has an ideal ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty tissues.
These health benefits might be tempting, but hemp seed oil is not considered to be the best carrier oil for CBD. That is due to rather low bioavailability. It can be solved by mixing this carrier oil with MCT oil, getting the best of both of these carrier oils.
Olive Oil
Another addition to the best carrier oil for CBD list is olive oil. This oil is commonly used for cooking, but it makes a great carrier oil for CBD. Just like most of the other oils mentioned in this guide, this one comes with its health benefits.
It’s rich in vitamin K, vitamin E, iron, and antioxidants. It’s also said to help with reducing inflammation. The downside is that olive oil is a little thicker than the other oils mentioned here, which might make the process of measuring the amount of oil a little harder.
Another problem that arises when it comes to density, is that olive oil is dense in compounds, leaving very little room for CBD to dissolve in. That means that you’ll likely not find CBD oils of high potency using olive oil as the carrier oil.
Also, it’s not as easily broken down. We’ve already mentioned the short, medium, and long-chained triglycerides. Olive oil is made out of the long-chained fats. That means that it might take a while for the CBD to kick in after consuming it.
Avocado Oil
Another carrier oil is the fruit’s that the world has been obsessing about for years now. That’s right, it’s avocado. Not only is it tasty and healthy to be eaten, but also oil can be made from it. It comes with quite a few benefits.
The oil is rich in vitamins. The most prominent vitamins are vitamin E, vitamin D, and vitamin A. All these vitamins are best known for being beneficial to the skin. However, its benefits are not limited to that. They include strengthening hair, preventing inflammation of skin and joints, and improving their flexibility.
Generally, the benefits of avocado oil are mainly topical. The oil is thick, making it a great oil for topicals such as creams and lotions.
However, there’s one downside to avocado oil. The criteria for choosing the best carrier oil for CBD includes many important things like bioavailability, taste, and consistency, but we shouldn’t forget about the price of the oil.
Avocado oil is rather pricy when compared to other oils in this best carrier oil for CBD list. That means that it’s not the most popular choice among the major CBD manufacturers as there are other oils that come with the benefits avocado oil provides, but don’t cost a fortune.
Which Oil Is the Best Carrier Oil for CBD
Now we should probably choose one and answer what’s the best carrier oil for CBD. As you can see, all these oils are pretty compatible with CBD in their own way. Some CBD carrier oils are the best for topicals, others have plenty of vitamins or are strong anti-inflammatory agents.
All these oils would work as carrier oils, but they all can’t be the best carrier oil for CBD. Judging by the CBD carrier oil’s qualities, the best one to use would be the MCT oil. The oil is cheap and easily available, tasteless, and thin.
However, the most important reason for choosing the MCT oil is its bioavailability. Being a medium-chain triglyceride plays a major role when it comes to the absorption of CBD. That’s extremely important for CBD oils, as being bioavailable is the main benefit an oil could have.
Many major CBD manufacturers claim that MCT oil is the best carrier oil and we might have to agree with them. However, it’s important to add that olive oil is a second popular option. Olive oil isn’t that expensive, and it also comes with its own benefits.
These two oils (especially olive oil) are the two most popular ones for making CBD at home. If you’d like to learn more about how to make CBD oil, feel free to check out our guide on it. It could be a nice DIY project if you wish to save some money and make CBD oil yourself.
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Conclusions
Some people might not even be aware of that, but CBD oil doesn't only contain CBD, it comes with a carrier oil. Knowing that people seek to learn what’s the best carrier oil for CBD. It can be a bit hard to choose as there are quite a few options for CBD carrier oils. These options include MCT oil, hemp seed oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and a few more.
All these oils come with their benefits and drawbacks. However, if we had to choose one out of all these oils, it would be the MCT oil. This oil is the most popular among CBD producers due to the high availability and other properties that it has.
Now that you know more about CBD oil and its carrier oils, you’re ready to explore the market. Finding a good quality CBD oil is no easy task. That’s why we’re here to help. Check out our guide on the best CBD oils on the market to choose the best oil for you!
Contributed By Jonas Urbonas, Founder of Sativum
Jonas Urbonas is a cannabis expert, philanthropist, sustainability enthusiast, and a founder of Sativum - a hea...
Read Full Bio...Scientific References
Contributed by Jonas Urbonas, Founder of Sativum
1. Shilling M, Matt L, Rubin E et al. 'Antimicrobial effects of virgin coconut oil and its medium-chain fatty acids on Clostridium difficile.'
2. Solee Jin, Mi-Young Lee 'The ameliorative effect of hemp seed hexane extracts on the Propionibacterium acnes-induced inflammation and lipogenesis in sebocytes'
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