Everyone already knows CBD as well as THC, but do you know anything about the potential benefits of CBG? CBG is often ignored in the cannabinoid conversation for its more famous counterparts, but this chemical can play a very effective role in both your physical and mental health.
Although it is not known all over the world like CBD and THC are, CBG is actually quite a prominent character in the cannabis plant, and while some of its benefits overlap with the benefits you might get from THC or CBD, it also has its own special features that may be useful to you.
Just like CBD, CBG does not have psychoactive effects (intoxicating effects), meaning you can carry out your life as normal while taking it with absolutely no hindrance. Also, similarly to CBD, CBG has virtually no side effects and it is considered very safe to use.
This is why within the cannabis lover community, CBG is gaining some traction and popularity. So, if you are considering purchasing it and incorporating it into your daily life, here is a comprehensive guide to what CBG is, what its similarities and differences are to CBD, and how to go about making it a regular part of your life.
CBG vs CBD: What Are The Similarities And The Differences?
Although their name does not seem too different, CBD and CBG are actually quite different kinds of cannabinoids, meaning that their chemical structures are in no way similar at all. Because of this, they have different effects on your body, albeit those effects can often overlap and they both work in the endocannabinoid system but bind to different cannabinoid receptors
Both CBD and CBG are found in the hemp and marijuana plants, although they are extracted in slightly different ways. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is found in the marijuana plant. Here is another fun fact for you - both THC, CBD, and even other kinds of cannabinoids such as CBC start off as CBG, which stands for cannabigerol.
Actually, they start off as CBGA (also known as cannabigerolic acid) and then evolve into tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), and cannabichromenic acid (CBCA). This is due to the fact that CBG first develops when the hemp plant is growing, and it is then transformed as the plant grows to the other known chemicals.
This means that if you try to extract CBD (cannabidiol) too early and the plant is not yet formed, you will likely end up with CBG instead.
How Can We Extract CBD?
The way that CBD is extracted from the hemp plant is by soaking this plant in ethanol or another type of high-profile alcohol. This is a very efficient way of obtaining CBD, and it is also GRAS (meaning Generally Regarded as Safe). This is a classification that is done by the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration).
How Can We Extract CBG?
CBG can also be extracted from the hemp plant, just like CBD, or it can be extracted from the cannabis flower. It is extracted using ethanol or CO2. This makes an oil that is then distilled using steam. This makes sure that all of the plant matter is removed, as well as other kinds of impurities.
After being distilled, the result is an oil that resembles honey. This is when you will have the purest form of the chemical CBG. It is from this point that CBG is then infused with other chemicals to make different sets of high-quality products.
What Are The Benefits Of CBD?
There are several benefits of CBD, many of which have been confirmed by studies many times over. The first and most well-known one is likely its pain-relieving capabilities. Many people are aware of this benefit of CBD already - even more so if you suffer from chronic pain and have taken CBD in order to alleviate it. By reducing inflammation in the body,
CBD can actually help reduce your pain levels and make life more manageable for those with this issue. This, and its other benefit of helping with stomach pain, nausea, and your immune system is also why cancer patients tend to be given a prescription as it will alleviate the symptoms of cancer treatment or chemotherapy.
Another well-known benefit of taking CBD is that it can help reduce anxiety and depression for people struggling with these kinds of mental illnesses by binding to certain receptors. It can also reduce your blood pressure. Please note that this is in no way an encouragement to not see a doctor and take other kinds of medication they might prescribe, or not to seek a therapist that can help deal with what has brought you to this kind of mental state.
CBD can help you alleviate some of these symptoms, but it will not be a miracle cure (just like nothing is) and should be taken with careful consideration of all your other suggestions and options. Another benefit of CBD is that it may help with your acne. As we mentioned above, CBD is able to reduce inflammation, and that extends to your skin.
CBD may be able to help your skin from overproducing sebaceous oil, meaning that you are likely to develop less acne. Finally, CBD has also been shown to have neuroprotective properties and could be an aid in fighting diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease, as well as issues such as epilepsy.
It could also benefit heart health by keeping your heart working the way it should be and reducing your chances of cardiac issues in the future.
What Are The Benefits Of CBG?
CBG also features quite a decent amount of health benefits just like CBD does, many of them similar. For example, just like CBD, CBG also has pain-alleviating and anti-inflammatory properties, and it can also help both with symptoms of types of cancer such as colon cancer, as well as possibly preventing cancer cells from growing.
CBG is also thought to have neuroprotective properties just like CBD as well as antibacterial properties (can fight bacterial infections). There are other benefits of CBG that are specific to CBG. This chemical might also be effective in aiding eye conditions. Studies have shown that CBG may be able to help with intraocular eye pressure which in turn can be helpful to people experiencing glaucoma and other eye conditions.
CBG is also thought to be able to help prevent muscle contractions, which can help people that experience issues with their bladder and have bladder dysfunctions. It can also be helpful to people with inflammatory bowel disease.
Where Do I Buy CBG And CBD?
It is not only CBD that is available in American markets today - CBG is too. This means that you can purchase both CBD and CBG health products as long as you know where to find them. There is only a bit of a caveat - unlike hemp products, which are completely legal in the United States, CBD or CBG that is extracted from the cannabis plant is not yet legal.
This means that you should watch out for what kind of products you buy so that you are not accidentally creating legal problems for yourself. You can learn how to read the labels on your products very easily, and how to look for reputable third-party testing so you can be completely sure you are getting the best product on the market.
If you do not find a CBD shop anywhere in your area, you should still be able to find it online and have it delivered to your address fairly easily. If you are using it for recreational purposes, or using it for the purpose of lowering pain or anxiety but have not been prescribed it by your doctor, then you will likely only need a quantity of around 750 mg.
This gives you around 25 mg for daily use. If you are looking to be a long-term user, then you can probably find 3000 mg bottles that will give you around 50 to 100 mg every day.
How Do I Use CBG And CBD?
Thankfully for us, both these cannabinoids can be used in a very similar way. The most common way of taking both CBD and CBG is with tincture. This means that you will be given a bottle filled with either CBD or CBG oil that comes with a dropper. You should take this dropper and apply it sublingually (this means you put it under your tongue).
Then you should leave the oil there for around 30 seconds at least so that the oil can be fully absorbed into your bloodstream. Once it reaches your bloodstream it will start taking effect. Because these chemicals are absorbed quite quickly into your bloodstream, they also start taking effect almost instantly after those thirty seconds.
This means that if you are experiencing sudden pain or stress, CBD or CBG can be especially helpful since they only take a few seconds to take care of those symptoms. You can also take regular doses, which will provide the best results.
If you do not want to take CBD or CBG this way, then you can also add it to your food or drinks, and you can also find vaping products, patches, or topical applications that will help you get the results you need. There are many users that prefer to take CBG with a topical application since it features the best skin results which CBG is known for.
Can You Take CBG And CBD Together?
Because these two chemicals are found in the same plants, there is absolutely no harm in taking both CBD and CBG together. There is also some evidence to the fact that if you choose to take both of these cannabinoids together, then you will get an effect called the entourage effect, which makes both CBD and CBG more effective due to them interacting with each other inside your body.
What Are the Side Effects of CBG And CBD?
Although both of these compounds have been found as very safe to use, there are always certain side effects. Nothing that you put into your body will ever not have any side effects. Thankfully, those for CBD are often really mild, and really easy to manage. Here are the symptoms people might experience taking too much CBD:
- Dry mouth
- Diarrhea
- Reduced appetite
- Drowsiness
- Fatigue
CBG has even fewer side effects. Thus far, the only side effects that have been reported are dry mouth and drowsiness, both of which are always kind of expected and definitely easy to manage. If you experience an uncomfortable level of these symptoms, however, you can always adjust your dose to a more effective dosage for you.
How Long Do The Effects Of CBG Last?
How long CBG will last will unsurprisingly depend on how you choose to consume it. If you choose to vape it or take gummies, then the effects will be over your entire body, but it will last only a short period of time. If you choose to apply it topically, then the effects will last much longer, but they will also be confined to the area that you apply it to.
What Kind Of CBD Oil Has CBG?
If you do end up choosing to take both of these cannabinoids at once in order to feel the entourage effect, then you will likely want to choose a CBD oil that features CBG in it as well. This means that you will want to choose what is called a full-spectrum product. A full-spectrum CBD oil will contain things such as terpenes and cannabinoids that are extracted from the cannabis plant.
This includes not only CBG but also THC, so be careful to comply with your state’s laws regarding THC. Typically, up to 0.3 percent of THC in your CBD oil is allowed as it is only considered trace amounts. The only issue that you may run into with full-spectrum CBD products is that since they feature so many different compounds, it is often hard to control what the percentages are for each of them.
This means that with different brands or batches, you may experience different levels of effectiveness and different levels of side effects. This is why sometimes people choose to go for either broad-spectrum or isolate CBD. Both broad-spectrum and isolate CBD are forms of CBD without terpenes or other kinds of cannabinoids.
If you are going to be drug tested, or if you have some sort of allergy or another reason not to take other cannabinoids, then these are the kinds of products you should choose. However, it is important to note that with isolate CBD you will not experience the entourage effect.
Broad-spectrum CBD, however, is only made to get rid of THC and not CBG, so you might still experience the entourage effect.
Final Thoughts
At the end of this article, you might wonder which of these cannabinoids is actually the better one. The fact of the matter is, however, that both of these compounds offer quite similar effects in relieving pain, boosting your appetite, and reducing your stress.
CBD, however, is more used for issues such as insomnia or anxiety, and CBG is typically more used for skincare, eye conditions, and issues with your bladder. If you are taking either CBD or CBG for general purposes, then it is probably best for you to take advantage of the entourage effect, as it will increase the efficacy of both these compounds.
While both of these cannabinoids are great enough on their own, together, they are absolutely amazing.