Research that has taken place in the last decade has shown that consuming the cannabinoid CBD (cannabidiol) could potentially have a wide range of health benefits, from relieving pain and inflammation to reducing the symptoms of anxiety and reducing insomnia. Health benefits such as these show why CBD products have surged in popularity in recent years. Whether you use CBD on occasion or it’s part of your daily routine, you may be interested in how long it is present in your system. Consuming CBD in any way, whether it is vaping it, taking CBD oil or even CBD gummies will leave traces of it in your system for at least a few days after use. A 2020 study found that after a single dose of CBD formulation, patients had CBD detectable in their urine for up to five days after the dose.
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So, what are the factors that affect how long CBD stays in your system?
Studies that have taken place over the last decade have shown that the following factors can determine how long CBD stays in your system
How much you eat and what you eat
What kind of foods you choose to eat and the amount you choose to eat both play a huge factor in how long CBD stays in your system. One example of this is if you consume foods that have high levels of fat then CBD is likely to be present in your system for longer, this is due to CBD molecules binding to fat molecules and cells. Someone who is fasting or someone who has consumed a low-fat meal will have CBD present in their system for a much shorter time. If you consume high-fat foods such as fast food, cheese, nuts, and avocados you can expect CBD to be present in your system for a lot longer than if you had eaten small amounts of low-fat foods such as fruit and veg. A 2019 study showed that consuming CBD with fatty foods helps the body absorb a lot more of the CBD molecules which may help provide the desired effect.
Frequency of use of CBD
This is another highly influential factor in how long CBD will stay in your system. If you use CBD regularly it is likely to build up within the fat cells in your body as it is highly soluble within fat, which can cause it to stay in your system for longer periods of time. CBD can build up over long periods of time within our fatty tissue, if users are using heavy doses, it is likely to stay in the system for prolonged periods of time.
How much CBD you use
How much CBD you use is an obvious factor, if you take a large dose of CBD it stays in your system for longer than if you were to take a small dose. A 2018 study found that when taking doses of CBD that were 1.35 milligrams or less that CBD was only present for 6 hours, whereas high doses were present for up to a week.
The Type of administration you use
The way you consume CBD is a hugely important factor in how long CBD stays in your system. A 2018 study showed that inhaling CBD through smoking or vaping caused CBD to enter the bloodstream quickly causing you to feel the effects of CBD quickly, it also caused CBD to leave the body quickly, so it is not present in the body sooner than other methods of administration. The same study showed that CBD oil can stay present in the body for a much longer period, up to 5 days. The reason CBD oil takes longer to leave the body is that it must go through the gastrointestinal tract which takes much more time than going through the lungs when inhaling CBD. Regardless of the way you administer CBD it is important to remember that frequency of use plays much more of a factor, this is because CBD molecules as well as other cannabinoids such as CBG and THC are fat soluble, which means that the molecules can accumulate In fatty tissue within the body, especially with frequent use and high doses which can cause CBD to be slowly released from this tissue back into the bloodstream where the body processes its and gets rid of it through waste. What this means is that frequent users of CBD through any administration method are likely to have CBD detectable in their bodies for much longer periods than one off or sporadic users. It is also important to remember that more research is being done every year so information could change or be updated. It is also important remember that the length of time that CBD stays in the system is very specific to each person so do not rely on this information specifically to you.
Medication that is processed in the liver and liver disease
Medical conditions such liver disease or diseases that affect this liver function can have an impact on how long CBD stays in an individual’s system, this is because CBD is metabolized by the liver. This is also true for people you take medication that is metabolized by the liver, as this may alter the way that CBD is metabolised within the liver. Some medications are broken down by enzymes within the liver which can increase and sometimes decrease the activity of these enzymes, when this happens medications can medications can be metabolized at a slower or faster rate than normal. Unfortunately, this can cause unwanted reactions between medications metabolized within the liver and CBD with is also metabolized within the liver. It is important to consult a healthcare professional on whether it is safe for you to use CBD products depending on if you have specific diseases or certain medications.
How Long do the effects of CBD Oil last?
How long CBD oil is present in your system is very dependent on the factors that were discussed above. In a recent study, healthy patients were given a purified CBD formulation, the results showed that the average elimination half-life in patients was 15.5 hours. The same research showed that CBD has five half-lives which suggests that CBD stays in the system for around 3.5 days. It is likely that CBD is detectable in the system for a few days after the consumption of CBD oil.
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