You’ll find a lot of industry-specific words when you start shopping around for CBD oil. One of these is “full-spectrum” CBD oil. What does that mean, though? Is it a good thing?

What It Means

Full-spectrum CBD oil is also called whole-plant CBD oil. What that means is the entire plant is used during the extraction process, which means that you get more cannabidiols than with other options, along with a number of terpenes. There are two other options – broad-spectrum and CBD isolate.

Broad-spectrum means that the product is formulated with all the cannabidiols in the plant, except for THC. CBD isolate means that you’re only getting CBD and nothing else at all. Why does this matter, though?

The Question of THC

THC is the substance responsible for giving you a “high”. It is also screened for during drug testing. There are several reasons that you might not want it in your CBD oil, although it can also be quite therapeutic, and there are studies that show CBD combined with THC and other cannabidiols can provide additional benefits.

Does that mean full-spectrum CBD oil should be off the table for those who don’t want CBD? Not really. THC is only found in CBD sourced from marijuana plants. Full-spectrum CBD oil sourced from hemp has only 0.3 THC (too little for a high or to show on a drug screening) but contains all the other beneficial cannabidiols and terpenes in the plant. In contrast, broad-spectrum formulations only include many of the cannabidiols and terpenes. And CBD isolate contains nothing but CBD.

Is Isolate a Better Option?

If you’re on the market for CBD oil, then a CBD isolate sounds promising. However, understand that these formulations may actually be less effective than others on the market. This is because the isolation procedure removes beneficial cannabidiols, as well as terpenes that provide aromas and flavors.

When it’s all said and done, full-spectrum CBD oil offers the most potential and includes all the beneficial cannabidiols and terpenes. CBD isolate and broad-spectrum formulations do not offer the same thing.