If you haven’t been living under a rock, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard a lot about CBD in the last few years. A lot of people seem to tote it as some sort of wonder drug that can help with pretty much anything. While many people do claim that, and CBD can actually help you with a good number of things, scientific studies don’t seem to believe that CBD is any sort of a miracle cure at this point in time. If you’re curious about trying CBD, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard about broad-spectrum CBD, but what exactly is that?

There is a lot to know about all of the cannabinoids, CBD especially, so we won’t have the time to get into particularly deep detail. Today we only aim to help you be a little more well informed so you can decide if CBD is right for you or not. The amount of information available about CBD is staggering, ranging from entries in medical journals to Buzzfeed type articles on the subject, so if our article doesn’t quench your thirst for knowledge, rest assured knowing that there are plenty of resources available for you elsewhere that will certainly leave you feeling satisfied with the information you’ve learned.

What is a Cannabinoid?

When you’ve heard people talking about CBD, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard the term “cannabinoids” tossed around quite a bit. It’s a big word that can make things more than a little confusing if you don’t understand what people are talking about, so let’s go ahead and break down the term so you can have a better understanding of this entire topic from the ground up. It’s important to us to make sure that everyone reading is on the same page so that no one leaves this article feeling more confused than when they started.

Cannabinoids are, in essence, chemical compounds that are found within the cannabis place. The three most commonly known are tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, cannabidiol, or CBD, and cannabigerol, or CBG. These chemicals interact with your endocannabinoid system and bind to your cannabinoid receptors to create the kinds of effects that they have. The exact biological reactions that happen are incredibly complicated and there’s no real good way to break down the process into layman’s terms, but just know that you have two cannabinoid receptors, and any cannabinoids that are ingested bind to them.

The reactions that someone has to cannabinoids entering their endocannabinoid system can vary from person to person. It depends a lot on your physiological make-up. These receptors actually influence many parts of your body, ranging all the way from your brain to your kidneys. Different cannabinoids are believed to have similar but different effects on the human body. Many of them are believed to have a calming effect as well as an anti-inflammatory effect, but the only cannabinoid that is known to have a psychoactive effect is THC.

That, in part, is what makes CBD so popular. It allows the user to receive all of the therapeutic effects of cannabis without any of the psychoactive effects that THC provides. This is important for two big reasons. The first reason is that THC is federally a Schedule I drug in the United States, which means that it’s illegal on a federal level. Some states do have legal THC use for adults, but many states still have this specific cannabinoid as a criminal offense to possess. CBD, on the other hand, is legal in all 50 states with the laws surrounding it varying a bit from state to state.

The second reason why it’s so important is that many people simply feel uncomfortable with the high that is provided by THC. In the past, that meant that those people simply couldn’t enjoy any of the therapeutic effects of cannabis because they couldn’t handle the associated high. CBD makes it easy to enjoy the benefits of cannabis without risking getting into legal trouble or being stuck with an uncomfortable high for hours. That’s a win-win for anyone that enjoys the calming and comforting effects that don’t want to get high off of the experience.

What is Broad-Spectrum CBD?

We’ve already covered a bit of what CBD is, a non-psychoactive chemical compound that is extracted from the cannabis plant, but what is broad-spectrum CBD? This is a little more complicated than just explaining what CBD is because there are a lot more pieces to explain, so buckle up. We’re gonna do our best to make sure that you fully understand this concept by the end of this section, but there may be some things we need to skip over for the sake of brevity.

You can get CBD in all sorts of different forms. Powder, gummies, tinctures, and in some states you can even get it in plant form. Most of these just contain CBD unless the product specifies that it is a broad-spectrum product. People can find a lot of benefits from using normal CBD products that only contain CBD and nothing else, so there’s definitely nothing wrong with not using a broad-spectrum product, especially when you’re first getting into using CBD

So what exactly makes broad-spectrum different? Well, it contains more than just CBD. What exactly is in the product depends on which product you’re talking about, but it can contain other cannabinoids such as CBG or CBC and a whole array of terpenes. We’ll explain terpenes more in just a moment, but the biggest reason why this is important is that the broad-spectrum CBD products provide more support than regular CBD products. They have more compounds in them that are meant to help with all sorts of ailments, meaning that it makes for a much more well-rounded product.

Now, what are terpenes? Whether you realize it or not, you’ve probably ingested thousands if not millions of terpenes in your lifetime. They’re a naturally occurring chemical that appears in… well, everything. Oranges, wood, pepper, flowers, even some animals contain terpenes. For the plants or animal that contains the terpene, it provides a beneficial scent as well as a color. Limonene, for example, appears in certain citrus fruits and provides that rich citrusy smell that they have. When people ingest it they typically notice that it has an anti-inflammatory effect as well as a calming effect.

There are millions of terpenes, most of which aren’t utilized in CBD products. The ones that are used in CBD products are selected to work synergistically with the CBD to provide a greater effect. For example, if you get a broad-spectrum CBD tincture for relaxation, there’s a very high chance that it will contain linalool. This terpene is naturally found in lavender, which is known for its relaxing effects and is used in many sleepy time teas. Other CBD products that are broad-spectrum that aim to help with other problems would use other terpenes to help with the issues.

Finding the Right Fit for You

Adventuring into the world of CBD can feel overwhelming at times. There’s a lot to learn and to know, and knowing what works best for you ensures that you can enjoy the most of the therapeutic benefits that CBD has to offer. There are a lot of places that you can find high-quality CBD products that have all of the cannabinoids and terpenes that are specifically designed to help you with your problems. It will certainly be exciting to see where CBD goes in the future.