There are about 100 different cannabinoids in cannabis and the recent focus has been on CBD oil which is a popular supplement for many these days.
One area where there are common misunderstandings is that when you take a high-quality CBD product like those sold at CBD One you are just taking CBD when you are actually using a complex combination of various cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids.
This will only come from using a full spectrum plant extract and It would be more accurate to call these products ‘cannabis extracts’. They are far more potent and effective than taking a Isolate based product. A full spectrum product allows you to get the most out of the synergistic effect of all the compounds in cannabis.
Cannabinoids have an influence on your endocannabinoid system (ECS) and other properties too, terpenes each bring flavour and have their own interesting effects such as calming or mood lifting and flavonoids whilst poorly understood add more complexity to the colour and taste. We are aware they have anti-inflammatory properties too and it would appear they help enhance the overall effect of cannabis.
So, if you have a nice clear CBD product (I have seen some that are as clear as water) you will have lost the power of the natural plant. Do not be fooled by clever labelling and clean-looking cannabis products, almost without exception they are inferior to a full spectrum plant extract.
This leads us to the simple statement that if you are taking a high-quality cannabis extract from CBD One you will already be taking CBG as well as all the other clever goodies contained in cannabis within legal limits.
WHAT IS CBG?
Just like CBD, CBG is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant. This means it cannot get you high or stoned, it will not show up in doping tests, and you are free to drive or operate heavy machinery when using this, or any of the products we sell at CBD One.
Interestingly, the cannabinoid that gets you high, THC, and CBD once upon a time was CBG. This is because CBG is often referred to as the ‘stem cell’ from which all other cannabinoids are made.
I like to think of CBG as the Queen Bee from which CBD and THC are born!
In the early stages of the growth of cannabis, there is a higher concentration of CBG and as the plant matures this converts to CBD and other cannabinoids.
What that means is that cannabis must be harvested early to maximise the chances of gathering plenty of CBG. The farmers have a delicate race to play out making sure they can harvest at just the right time to get the most CBG possible.
This early harvest and the fact there is never that much CBG in the first place has made CBG very expensive, however, the good news is that here at CBD One we are close to launching a full spectrum CBG product that will be affordable and effective.
If you sign up for our buyer's guide at the bottom of the page you will also be added to our newsletter to get the first news of all our latest information and new products. News is coming soon about our fabulous CBG oil.
CBG OIL VS CBD OIL: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?
Where CBD oil modifies CB1 and CB2 receptors in the ECS to affect how cannabinoids bind to them, this is not the same for CBG.
CBG interacts with the body in a different way. This means it has different effects than CBD. It is thought that CBG has a calming effect on the body, causing a relaxation of the nerves. There are technical terms for such changes, for example, inhibition of the sympathetic nervous system but rather than be blinded by complex medical terms it is easier to think of CBG as having a nice calming effect.
People often report better sleep when they have tried CBG oil and it appears to give them positive dreams which may be something worth looking into for people who get night terrors or nightmares.
CBG also appears to increase the levels of our natural, in-built cannabinoid called anandamide. This wonderful endogenous cannabinoid quite simply makes us feel good! It helps to regulate important healthy traits such as mood, sleep and appetite. It has been found that happy people often have a genetic trait that allows their anandamide to not be broken down in their body so they stay happier for longer.
The term endogenous means it is produced internally by our own body as opposed to the exogenous cannabinoids we take when we ingest a cannabis-based product.
CBD also helps anandamide work more effectively so a nice combination of CBD and CBG may be worth trying.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CBG OIL?
The overall impression we get of CBG is that it has nice calming effects and preliminary lab studies show exciting potential.
It may help relax muscles, lift mood, improve appetite, have a protective effect on our nerves and even lower intraocular eye pressure. It has to be stated that most of the research is at a very early stage and whilst they show promise there is a long way to go before we can be confident of establishing the full role of CBG.
However, because CBD and CBG appear to have a remarkably good safety profile, taking them is a very low-risk strategy.
CAN YOU TAKE CBG OIL AND CBD OIL TOGETHER?
YES! Absolutely you can and it is very important that you take them together because the entourage effect is the key to any cannabis-based supplement working effectively.
This is the wonderful synergy of all the compounds in cannabis that each have a role to play in making it potent and useful. Taking one cannabinoid on its own is missing the point of what nature is providing us in the plant.
In fact, this is no different to what pharmaceutical companies do and most people come knocking at our door because they have had enough of what the standard medical system has done to them.
If we look at how a pharmaceutical drug is made, they often take one active ingredient from a plant (yes, most modern drugs started out as a plant) and then concentrate it to become a tablet or injection or pill. This makes a very powerful drug because they have concentrated a lot of active ingredients in one small capsule.
These modern drugs can be potent but the flip side is that they then come with a whole host of side effects. You only need to read the leaflet from any medication to see that some of them come with a frighteningly long list of possible problems.
An interesting example of this is a high blood pressure drug that will lower your blood pressure but also depletes you of potassium, which can then lead to other problems.
However, the plant that this drug was derived from has potassium in it to put back that which is lost! Nature is far cleverer than humans but of course, a drug company cannot own a whole plant but can own one active ingredient. Money and profit rule over healthcare I’m afraid.
So, when we look at any cannabinoids we categorically do not want to take them in isolation. The whole point of turning to nature is to allow it to guide us rather than determining which bits we want and which bits we don’t. This is why you will see more than just CBG in our CBG blend.
In conclusion, CBG appears to be the calming partner to the dynamic CBD with mood-lifting and relaxing potential not to be ignored.
Whilst we cannot shout out claims about what our products can or cannot do they have the advantage of being safe to try and have the highest production qualities behind them so you can rest assured you are buying the best of the best with a natural mix of all the compounds found in the cannabis plant.
