You may be able to improve how well CBD is absorbed by the body and delivered to your bloodstream by using CBD with food.

Now that you know what CBD oil is, how it’s different from hemp oil, and you’ve discovered the natural benefits of regularly taking CBD oil, you’re likely curious as to whether there are ways to maximize the effectiveness of your daily CBD supplement. 

One of the ways you can improve how well CBD is absorbed by the body and delivered to your bloodstream is to schedule your supplement with your eating schedule in mind – such as taking CBD with food or without food.

You may have discovered a surprising amount of conflicting information on the internet about whether it’s best to take your CBD oil on an empty stomach or after meals. When you look at how CBD is digested, however, the answer becomes clear.

Should you use your CBD with food? In short, yes. Using CBD oil with food may improve how the body interacts with its active compounds like CBD. 

Why Taking CBD with Food is Beneficial

Taking your CBD with food can improve the supplement’s bioavailability, and eating certain types of food can improve it further. Bioavailability is the degree and rate that a substance, in this case CBD, is absorbed and delivered to the bloodstream where it can interact with the body’s native systems.

When you take any supplement orally, its active ingredients are absorbed through the digestive system. If we’re looking at specifically CBD oil, the CBD and other compounds are first broken down in the stomach before being absorbed by the small intestine and then sent through the portal vein directly to your liver. It’s at the liver that having certain foods in your system can become beneficial to the absorption rate of CBD.

At the liver, a family of enzymes called cytochrome P450 (CYP450) acts on CBD, metabolizing the compounds before they’re distributed through the circulatory system. During this process, what occurs is a phenomenon referred to as first pass metabolism, which breaks CBD into more than 100 different metabolites, many of which are not used by the body and quickly excreted. This diminishes the concentration of CBD and therefore reduces its bioavailability. In short, less CBD reaches your bloodstream due to first pass metabolism.

When you use CBD oil with certain types of foods, however, the loss of CBD concentration has limited impact because the foods help CBD to bypass the first pass metabolism process. By using CBD with food, you can help ensure a greater concentration of CBD is absorbed than when you use CBD without food.

Ideal Foods to Take CBD Oil With

The best types of foods to eat with CBD oil include medium and long chain triglycerides, which are fatty acids. These types of fatty acids serve as a strong binding agent for cannabinoids like CBD, and are directly metabolized into energy by the liver so the loss of CBD concentration through first pass metabolism is limited. This means that your body can burn those fats and put them – and the CBD and other trace cannabinoids they hold – to use right away.

Just recently researchers from the University of Nottingham backed the beneficial effects of taking CBD with fatty acids. In a recent study, they found that co-administering CBD with long chain triglycerides bypassed some first pass metabolism, allowing significantly more CBD to be absorbed. Another study by a separate team of researchers found the bioavailability of a cannabinoid product was four times higher when taken after a meal.

So what types of foods should you take with CBD oil? Medium chain fatty acids have 6 to 10 carbons, while long chain fatty acids are those with 14 or more carbons. They’re found in most fats, oils, and certain foods, including:

• Coconut oil
• Olive oil
• Soybean oil
• Sesame oil
• Fish
• Nuts
• Avocado
• Meat
• Eggs

You can even get creative and make your own DIY CBD edibles at home, ensuring you are using CBD with food. Whether it is CBD gummies, CBD smoothies, CBD pasta, and more, there is no shortage of ways to add CBD to your meals. Here are some CBD recipes to get you started.

Don’t Want to Worry About Food?

There are other options for improving the bioavailability of CBD if you’d rather not worry about taking your supplement with the right types of food.

Medical Marijuana, Inc.’s Real Scientific Hemp Oil™ (RSHO™) Liquids combine our award winning CBD oil with medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil sourced from wholesome coconut oil and sustainably sourced palm oil. These saturated fats serve as an effective binding agent for CBD to be efficiently absorbed by the body. Available in our Green, Blue, and Gold Label varieties, each standard serving size of RSHO™ Liquid contains 31 mg, and you can decide whether to increase or decrease your intake based on what’s right for you.

You can learn even more about the benefits of RSHO™ Liquids here.

You can also increase CBD bioavailability by using different methods of consumption. Try taking your CBD oil sublingually, letting it to sit under the tongue for 60-90 seconds, before swallowing. 

This allows the CBD to absorb right through the mucous membranes of your mouth and bypass the digestive system. Vaping CBD, in which you inhale a clean, CBD filled cloud, allows the CBD compounds to be absorbed quickly and efficiently through the alveoli in your lungs.

Learn More about CBD Oil

Looking to learn more about how to best incorporate CBD oil into your health and wellness routine? Visit the Medical Marijuana, Inc. CBD Oil Education page. Want to learn more about the types of CBD oil products we carry? Check out our CBD Oil Buyer’s Guide.

Shop the Medical Marijuana, Inc. online store to get started with CBD oil supplements today.

For years, marijuana has been viewed as one of the fastest growing industries on the planet. And if Wall Street's projections for 2029-2030 prove accurate, it's likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

However, a closer examination of cannabis stocks shows that expectation and reality have been from the same of late. Although marijuana stocks blazed out of the gate during the first quarter, their performance has been downright abysmal over the past 5.5 months.

While some folks would rightly view this bifurcation as an opportunity to snag incredible deals on businesses that should outpace the market, in terms of growth, for the next decade, it might not be such a wild idea to consider that this weakness in pot stocks may persist for many quarters to come. Here are four reasons this recent weakness in marijuana stocks may become a new norm.

 

1. The black market is capitalizing on a nascent industry

Arguably the biggest obstacle to overcome is that there's no precedent to legal marijuana, which has opened the door for the historically enormous black market.

In Canada, the legal market has been contending with persistent supply shortages since the green flag waved on Oct. 17, 2018. There are multiple factors to blame for these shortages, including the growers themselves, which waited on expanding cultivation capacity until they were certain the Cannabis Act would become law, leaving them short of supply as legalization kicked off.

But a bigger issue has been Health Canada, which began the year with more than 800 cultivation, processing, or sale licenses on its desk for review. Such a large backlog has meant extensive wait times for growers. Aphria (NYSE:APHA), which projects as a top-four grower in Canada with 255,000 kilos at peak production, has been waiting for more than a year to get the go-ahead on its cultivation license application at Aphria Diamond. When operational, Aphria Diamond will account for 140,000 kilos of Aphria's 255,000 kilos of annual output.

Meanwhile, taxation is to blame for sales disappointments in select U.S. states. California, for instance, opened its doors to recreational marijuana sales in 2018, yet saw legal weed sales decline by $500 million from the previous year when only medical marijuana sales were legal. The problem is that the Golden State is taxing the daylights out of its adult-use consumers, and it's clearly resulted in a thriving black market. As long as illicit producers can drastically undercut legal-channel pricing, the industry has a serious problem.

 

2. Profits matter, and income statements aren't up to snuff

Secondly, understand that as the marijuana industry matures, Wall Street and seasoned investors will be looking for these companies to begin delivering like time-tested businesses. This is a fancy of way of suggesting that operating results actually matter now.

The problem is that, with the supply and tax problems noted above, earnings results haven't been up to par.

Mind you, there have been exceptions to the rule. A handful of U.S. multistate operators have already turned the corner to recurring profitability. Further, extraction-service providers in Canada and the U.S. look to have a business model that'll lead to rapid growth and highly predictable sales and cash flow. But when taken as a whole, the cannabis industry hasn't performed as expected.

Earlier this month, Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) wound up reporting fiscal fourth-quarter results that largely underwhelmed Wall Street. Despite a substantive increase in production, Aurora missed its own sales guidance (albeit unaudited) from five weeks prior, and came nowhere near the recurring positive adjusted EBITDA that was alluded to when the year began. More specifically, Aurora Cannabis' press release pointed to supply issues that were beyond the control of the company moving forward, which suggests that these early stage operating struggles are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

Until cannabis stocks demonstrate that they can be profitable, this industrywide weakness may persist.

 

3. History tends to repeat itself

Thirdly, don't overlook the propensity of history to repeat itself, especially when it comes to next-big-thing investments.

Over the past quarter century, there have been a number of huge growth opportunities presented to investors, including the rise of the internet, business-to-business commerce, genome decoding, 3D printing, blockchain, and even marijuana. This is just a snippet to a really long list. And while there have been plenty of businesses within these movements that've been wildly successful over the long run, the initial run-up in valuations for these next-big-thing investments was eventually met with a burst bubble.

The fact is that Wall Street and investors are, historically, always overzealous when it comes to next big growth story; and I doubt marijuana will be any different. Sales and profit estimates for cannabis stocks have been falling precipitously throughout the year, and that's a trend liable to continue with black market production stepping up with supply and tax issues problematic throughout much of North America.

 

4. Trust is a big problem

Finally, there's a clear trust problem with marijuana stocks. And when there's a trust issue, it pretty much doesn't matter how inexpensive a company or industry looks to investors – they're going to avoid it.

The aforementioned Aphria has been contending with trust concerns since early December. Nine months ago, the duo of Quintessential Capital Management and Hindenburg Research released a scathing short-side report alleging that Aphria grossly overpaid for its Latin American assets. Although an independent committee didn't find this to be the case, Aphria's longtime CEO Vic Neufeld stepped down after conflicts of interest regarding the deal were uncovered. As icing on the cake, Aphria still wound up taking a $50 million Canadian writedown on its Latin American assets in a subsequent quarter, leaving investors confused as to what to believe.

Of course, there's been no greater violation of investor trust than what CannTrust Holdings (NYSE:CTST) did back in early July. Following a review by Health Canada, CannTrust announced that it had been growing unlicensed cannabis in five rooms for a period of six months. Furthermore, it appears that certain top-level executives, including now-former CEO Peter Aceto, were aware of these blatant violations. For the time being, sales are suspended for CannTrust, and quite a bit of its inventoried marijuana is being held by Health Canada as it awaits punishment.

Everything discussed in points 1 through 3 are fixable for pot stocks, but trust takes a long time to rebuild. That makes it highly likely that marijuana stocks may struggle for multiple quarters to come.

India has banned the sale of all e-cigarettes in the country in response to the string of vaping-related deaths in the United States, according to a report from CNN.

“Unfortunately, e-cigarettes got promoted initially as a way in which people can get out of the habit of smoking cigarettes. It was to be a weaning process from using cigarettes,” said India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“The Cabinet rightly thought it is time and we immediately took a decision so that the health of our citizens, of our young, is not thrown to a risk,” she added.

US Lung Illnesses Prompt Action

Sitharaman said that the rash of lung illnesses that have been linked to vaping in the U.S. and domestic concerns about e-cigarettes led the Cabinet to act. She added that the government will soon issue an emergency ordinance banning all electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) devices. The ordinance will then be taken up by the nation’s Parliament during its next session to be enacted into law.

India’s ban on vaping products will prohibit the sale, manufacturing, importing, exporting, distribution, storage, and advertising of e-cigarettes. The ban applies to all ENDS, heat-not-burn, and e-hookah devices, according to a press release.

“These novel products come with attractive appearances and multiple flavors and their use has increased exponentially and has acquired epidemic proportions in developed countries, especially among youth and children,” the government said in the release.

Violations of Ban Carry Stiff Penalties

First-time violators of the ban on e-cigarettes in India could face up to a year in prison, a fine of 100,000 rupees (about $1,400), or both. Further violations of the ordinance could be subject to penalties of up to five years in prison and a 500,000 ($7,000) fine. Storing e-cigarette devices would subject offenders to six months in prison and a fine of 50,000 rupees ($700).

Businesses with vaping devices on hand will be required to declare their inventory and turn over all e-cigarettes and cartridges to their local police station.

US Also Taking Action on Vaping

In the United States, last week the Trump administration announced that it would ban the sale of flavored nicotine vape products. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported late last week that there have been 380 confirmed and probable cases in 36 states of lung illnesses experienced by people who vape.

The previous week the agency had announced that more than 450 cases of pulmonary disease could be associated with vaping, but that number also included reports of possible cases. Symptoms of the mysterious illness include severe shortness of breath, vomiting, fever, and fatigue. Other symptoms include coughing, chest pain, diarrhea, and signs of infection, such as fever, without a known cause.

New Frontier Data, the global authority in data, analytics and business intelligence for the cannabis industry, in partnership with Global Cannabinoids, a leading producer, manufacturer and distributor of American-Grown Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids in the U.S., releases The U.S. Cannabis Report 2019 Industry Outlook. The report examines U.S. cannabis industry forecasts and trends, including industry revenue projections, illicit market sizing, cannabis consumer behavior, and potential interaction with the opioids market in the U.S.

Key findings include:

• Total legal sales of cannabis in current legal states are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% over the next six years, to reach nearly $30 billion by 2025
• Annual sales of medical cannabis are projected to grow at a 17% CAGR through 2025, to an estimated $13.1 billion by 2025; adult-use sales are projected to grow at a 16% CAGR, to $16.6 billion
• An estimated 38.4 million U.S. adults consume cannabis at least once annually, from either a legal or illicit source
• 36% of cannabis consumers report using cannabis daily, and 59% use cannabis at least once a week
• People between the ages of 25 and 44 comprise 45% of cannabis consumers

“We tend to be cautious, if not conservative in our projections, adhering to very rigorous data sourcing and data modeling protocols, so it is significant that we raised our 2025 forecast in U.S. legal sales to $30 billion. Foreign investment into the U.S. cannabis industry remains strong and domestic consumption continues to rise, especially as new states legalize. That said, it is critical for stakeholders to understand how regulatory uncertainty, lack of accepted standards, and international market pressures may have a material and lasting economic impact in the currently flourishing U.S. cannabis market,” said New Frontier Data Founder and CEO Giadha Aguirre de Carcer. “Whether an operator, researcher, or investor, I would encourage those interested in expanding their understanding of the domestic cannabis market, to also look at New Frontier Data’s Canadian and Global reports, as market dynamics, trends and driving forces are beginning to cross borders.”

Visit https://newfrontierdata.com/UScannabis2019 to download the report.

About New Frontier Data:

New Frontier Data is an independent, technology-driven analytics company specializing in the cannabis industry. It offers vetted data, actionable business intelligence and risk management solutions for investors, operators, researchers and policymakers. New Frontier Data’s reports and data have been cited in over 80 countries around the world to inform industry leaders. Founded in 2014, New Frontier Data is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with additional offices in Denver, CO, and London, U.K.

New Frontier Data does not take a position on the merits of cannabis legalization. Rather, its mission and mandate are to inform cannabis-related policy and business decisions through rigorous, issue-neutral and comprehensive analysis of the legal cannabis industry worldwide. For more information about New Frontier Data, please visit: https://www.NewFrontierData.com.