The hemp industry is one of the most exciting and fastest growing in the natural health sector. With laws around the world relaxing on the plant and its commercial uses, we’ve seen some incredible new hemp products come to market.

The most popular of them all is cannabidiol oil, or more commonly known as CBD oil. With so many new and different CBD oil products available, the choice of which one to go with can be difficult and confusing. With terms like Whole Plant Extract, Full Spectrum, Broad Spectrum and Isolate, things can be confusing. Here are the breakdowns and differences between Full Spectrum CBD Oil and CBD Oil Isolate, to help make your decisions easier.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-intoxicating molecule that has become commercially popular due to its medical applications and accessibility. Since CBD does NOT give the consumer the famous high that psychoactive cannabis (Marijuana) is known for, it is more readily available for sale online and in shops. Derived from hemp, the name given to Cannabis plants with less than 0.3% THC which are often grown for CBD oil.

What Is Full Spectrum CBD Oil?

The cannabis plant contains hundreds of different phytochemicals including cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds. Full Spectrum CBD or hemp oil generally refers to products that not only contain CBD but contain the other plant molecules as well. This version of CBD oil is minimally refined, leaving most of the cannabinoids and terpenes intact and in the oil. Full Spectrum, sometimes also called “whole plant,” means the full plant extract is included. While there is still more research to be done, there are indications that show cannabinoids and terpenes work together to influencing a synergistic effect is called the “entourage effect.”

What Is CBD Isolate?

Cannabidiol alone has been the subject of a lot of research, as it stands out from the rest with the widest therapeutic value. CBD Isolate products are generally labeled as being 99 percent or more pure CBD depending on the form they come in. As the name suggests, these products have been isolated down to just the CBD molecule. They have no other active ingredients and just aim to deliver therapeutic doses. CBD Isolate is a white powder mixed with a carrier oil to become tinctures, or placed in capsules, edible products, topical salves, and so on.

What is broad spectrum CBD?

Broad Spectrum products represent a middle ground between Full Spectrum and CBD Isolate. A true broad spectrum product is high in CBD, contains absolutely 0% THC, but retains some of the other cannabinoids, terpenes, and similar potentially beneficial compounds offered by Full Spectrum oil. Hemp undergoes various extraction processes, often CO2 based, to create Full Spectrum hemp extract. This extract can be further refined into just CBD isolate, or into Broad Spectrum. In some cases, commercial Broad Spectrum products are also created by taking CBD Isolate and mixing in small amounts of Full Spectrum to add the terpenes and additional cannabinoids back. We always recommend looking at third-party lab results if you want to understand what’s actually in your supplements. Visit brand websites and talk to their customer service representatives to learn more about how their products get made. If they aren’t transparent about their supplements, other brands might be better choices.

Comparing CBD Isolate vs Full Spectrum CBD

CBD and the other cannabinoids have therapeutic benefits to humans thanks to our endocannabinoid system, a series of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) throughout the entire body. These receptors react to the cannabinoids our bodies produce which are molecularly very similar to the cannabinoids from cannabis and hemp.

Full Spectrum CBD products have the advantage of containing many different cannabinoids and terpenes and the potential for a wider health reach. Recent studies indicate that Full Spectrum CBD is superior to Isolate CBD in the effective treatment of inflammatory conditions. Terpenes have shown incredible potential for human health and should not be disregarded either.

CBD Isolates allow users to easily get large amounts of CBD and know how much they’re getting. Isolates can sometimes be more expensive than Full Spectrum CBD as they undergo more extensive refinement and require more plant matter in order to get high levels of isolated cannabidiol. With the growing amount of evidence behind CBD it should definitely not be overlooked as a potential for so many conditions such as anxiety, pain, inflammation, diabetes, depression and more.

Get To Know Different CBD Products

It’s hard to know which one is best for you without trying them both and see how you react. Different ailments might react differently a Full Spectrum CBD than to a CBD Isolate. We recommend doing your research, trying a variety of products and assessing how you feel. If you’re finding your condition is not reacting significantly to a Full Spectrum oil then trying an Isolate may be the way to go or vice versa. It’s still very early in the days of cannabis research but there is a strong case for the therapeutic benefit of less refined Full Spectrum hemp extract with more of the plant compounds intact.