What Happens to CBD After You Take It?

Understanding CBD Bioavailability and Absorption

If you take 25mg of CBD, does your body actually absorb all 25mg?

No.

The amount listed on a CBD label tells you how much CBD you're consuming. But only a portion of that CBD ultimately reaches your bloodstream.

Scientists call this bioavailability.

And when it comes to CBD, bioavailability can be influenced by several factors, including how you take CBD, how the product is formulated, whether you take it with food, and even what you eat with it.

Let's take a closer look.

What Is Bioavailability?

Bioavailability refers to the amount of a substance that reaches your bloodstream after you consume it.

When CBD is swallowed, it has quite a journey ahead of it.

It must first make its way through the digestive system. Once absorbed, it passes through the liver, where some of it can be metabolized before reaching the general circulation.

This is known as first-pass metabolism.

CBD is also naturally fat-soluble and doesn't dissolve readily in water. These characteristics help explain why the amount of CBD reaching your bloodstream after oral consumption can vary considerably.

That's why how you take CBD and how the product is formulated can matter.

Taking CBD With Food Can Make a Big Difference

Here's something many CBD consumers may not realize:

Taking oral CBD with food can significantly increase CBD exposure.

CBD is fat-soluble, meaning it dissolves more readily in fat than in water.

Human research has found substantially greater CBD exposure when CBD is consumed with food, particularly meals containing fat, compared with taking it while fasting.

Interestingly, research has found increased CBD exposure with lower-fat meals as well, although the effect has generally been greater with higher-fat meals.

That gives CBD consumers a useful practical takeaway:

Taking oral CBD with a meal containing some dietary fat may increase the amount of CBD that reaches your bloodstream.

That doesn't mean you need an unusually high-fat meal every time you take CBD.

Dietary fat can come from everyday foods such as eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds, yogurt and olive oil.

But food isn't the only way formulation can influence what happens to CBD after you take it.

And that's where our softgels provide an interesting example.

Why Our Softgel Formulation Is Different

CBD is fat-soluble, but our digestive system is largely a water-based environment.

Think about what happens when you try to mix oil and water.

They separate.

That's one of the challenges formulators face with CBD.

At Joy Organics, our softgels aren't simply CBD oil placed inside a capsule. We specifically include emulsifiers in the formulation to help the CBD-containing oil disperse more effectively during digestion.

When the softgel breaks down in the digestive tract, these emulsifiers help disperse the oil into smaller droplets within the water-based environment of the gastrointestinal system.

Why does that matter?

Smaller, better-dispersed droplets create more surface area and can help keep a fat-soluble compound like CBD available during the digestive process.

And there's human research supporting the broader science behind this approach.

In one controlled study, researchers compared the same 25mg amount of CBD delivered through a self-emulsifying formulation with CBD delivered in conventional MCT oil.

The self-emulsifying formulation produced a 4.4-fold higher peak CBD concentration in the bloodstream and substantially greater overall CBD exposure.

But it demonstrates an important principle:

Emulsification can make a meaningful difference in how CBD is delivered and absorbed.

That's one of the reasons we've paid so much attention to the formulation of our softgels rather than simply focusing on how many milligrams of CBD we can put inside them.

Our softgels are intentionally formulated as a complete delivery system, with particular attention given to how CBD disperses during digestion.

And there's an interesting pattern in our own customer data.

After selling more than 3.5 million Joy Organics products, our softgels have the highest reorder rate of any major product format we offer.

There are likely several reasons customers love them.

They're convenient, consistent, easy to incorporate into a daily routine, and require no measuring.

We're also convinced that the attention we've given to formulation and bioavailability is an important part of the experience our customers have with them.

We can't say emulsification alone explains why customers reorder our softgels so frequently.

But when you combine what scientific research tells us about emulsification with what we've observed from our customers over millions of products sold, we believe formulation matters.

Why We Use Carrier Oils in Our Tinctures

Our tinctures take a different approach.

Because CBD is fat-soluble, CBD tinctures are commonly formulated with oils rather than water.

At Joy Organics, our tinctures use carrier oils such as organic MCT oil or organic extra virgin olive oil, depending on the formula.

These oils provide a lipid-based environment for a compound that naturally dissolves much more readily in fat than in water.

It's important not to oversimplify the science. A carrier oil by itself doesn't guarantee a particular level of CBD absorption, and research has shown that different lipid formulations can behave differently during digestion.

But it reinforces an important principle:

The ingredients surrounding the CBD matter too.

What About Holding a Tincture in Your Mouth?

You may have heard recommendations to hold a CBD tincture in your mouth before swallowing it.

There's a scientific reason researchers are interested in this route.

The tissues inside the mouth contain blood vessels, and compounds absorbed through the oral mucosa can enter the circulation without first traveling through the digestive system and liver.

In theory, that creates an opportunity to bypass some first-pass metabolism.

However, CBD research has not yet established exactly how much CBD from a conventional oil-based tincture is absorbed through the tissues of the mouth.

So rather than making a precise absorption claim, we think the science supports a more measured conclusion:

Holding a tincture in your mouth before swallowing gives the CBD more contact with the tissues of the mouth, but more research is needed to determine how much CBD is absorbed this way.

Our Vegan Capsules Take a Different Approach

Our vegan CBD capsules use another formulation strategy.

The CBD used in these capsules is water-soluble, which is particularly interesting because CBD in its natural form does not readily dissolve in water.

Water-soluble CBD formulations are designed to address one of the fundamental challenges associated with oral CBD: helping a naturally fat-soluble compound disperse more effectively in the water-based environment of the digestive system.

This formulation illustrates something important:

There are multiple ways to approach the natural absorption challenges associated with CBD.

Our softgels use emulsifiers.

Our vegan capsules use water-soluble CBD.

And our tinctures use lipid-based carrier oils.

That's why comparing CBD products based solely on the number of milligrams on the label doesn't necessarily tell you the whole story.

What About Gummies?

Gummies present another interesting example.

Each Joy Organics gummy weighs approximately 4.5 grams and contains some fat within the gummy itself.

But the amount of fat in a gummy isn't comparable to consuming CBD with a meal containing dietary fat.

So if you're taking CBD gummies, the same practical lesson from human research applies:

Taking your gummies with food, particularly food containing some dietary fat, may increase CBD exposure compared with taking them on an empty stomach.

Again, you don't need to go out of your way to eat an unusually high-fat meal.

Normal foods containing dietary fat can create different absorption conditions than taking your CBD while fasting.

It's Not Just About the Number on the Bottle

Suppose two CBD products each provide 25mg of CBD per serving.

Are they necessarily equivalent?

Not necessarily.

Several factors may influence how much CBD ultimately reaches your bloodstream:

• How the product is formulated

• The ingredients surrounding the CBD

• The delivery system

• Whether the product is taken with food

• The amount and type of food consumed

• Individual differences in digestion and metabolism

That's why the number of milligrams is certainly important, but it doesn't necessarily tell the entire story.

Consistency Matters Too

There's another practical lesson hidden in the research.

If food can significantly influence CBD absorption, then consistency in how you take your CBD may matter too.

Imagine taking the same CBD product with breakfast one day, on an empty stomach the next day, and after dinner the following day.

The amount of CBD on the label hasn't changed.

But the conditions affecting its absorption have.

That doesn't mean there's only one correct way to take CBD.

But once you find a routine that works well for you, taking your CBD under reasonably similar conditions may help provide a more consistent experience.

The Science Continues to Evolve

There's still a great deal researchers are learning about CBD bioavailability.

Individual differences matter.

Food matters.

Formulation matters.

Delivery systems matter.

And scientists continue to investigate how each of these variables influences CBD absorption.

That's also why we're cautious about claims that a particular CBD product always provides a specific percentage of absorption.

The science isn't that precise across every formulation and every individual.

What the research does tell us is much more useful:

How CBD is formulated and how you take it can make a meaningful difference.

The Bottom Line

When choosing a CBD product, the number of milligrams per serving matters.

But it's not the entire story.

Bioavailability matters too.

CBD is a fat-soluble compound. Food, particularly dietary fat, can substantially affect CBD exposure. Carrier ingredients and delivery systems can matter. And research shows that approaches such as emulsification can meaningfully affect CBD delivery.

That's why at Joy Organics, we don't think only about how much CBD goes into a product.

We think about how the entire product is formulated.

Because ultimately, what matters isn't simply what's in the bottle.

It's the experience you have when you use it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does CBD bioavailability mean?

Bioavailability refers to the amount of CBD that reaches your bloodstream after you consume it. The amount you consume and the amount that ultimately reaches your bloodstream aren't necessarily the same.

Should I take CBD with food?

Human research has shown that consuming oral CBD with food can substantially increase CBD exposure compared with taking it while fasting. Meals containing dietary fat appear to have a particularly significant effect.

Do I need to eat a high-fat meal with my CBD?

Not necessarily. Research has found increased CBD exposure with both high-fat and lower-fat meals compared with fasting, although the effect has generally been greater with a high-fat meal.

Why does fat affect CBD absorption?

CBD is fat-soluble. Dietary fat can influence digestive processes involved in solubilizing and absorbing fat-soluble compounds such as CBD.

Why are emulsifiers used in Joy Organics softgels?

Our emulsifiers help the CBD-containing oil disperse more effectively in the water-based environment of the digestive system. Human research on self-emulsifying CBD formulations demonstrates that emulsification can significantly influence CBD absorption and exposure.

Does that mean Joy Organics softgels are 4.4 times more bioavailable?

No. The human study showing a 4.4-fold increase in peak CBD concentration tested a specific self-emulsifying formulation, not Joy Organics softgels. We reference that research because it supports the science behind emulsification, not because we claim the same result for our product.

Why do Joy Organics tinctures contain carrier oils?

CBD is naturally fat-soluble and dissolves much more readily in oils than in water. That's one reason our tinctures use lipid-based carrier ingredients such as organic MCT oil or organic extra virgin olive oil, depending on the formula.

Should I hold my CBD tincture in my mouth before swallowing?

The tissues inside the mouth can provide a pathway for compounds to enter the bloodstream without first passing through the digestive system and liver. However, research has not established how much CBD from a conventional oil-based tincture is absorbed this way. Holding a tincture in your mouth gives it more contact with these tissues, but we don't make a specific bioavailability claim based on this practice.

What makes Joy Organics vegan CBD capsules different?

Our vegan capsules use water-soluble CBD, along with organic MCT powder and β-caryophyllene from organic black pepper extract. Water-soluble formulations are designed to help address CBD's naturally poor water solubility.

If two products contain the same amount of CBD, will my body absorb the same amount?

Not necessarily. Formulation, food intake, delivery method and individual differences can all influence CBD exposure.

Learn More

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Learn why there's no single CBD serving that's right for everyone.

Why We Never Stop Improving
Learn how continuous improvement influences the way we formulate Joy Organics products.

Understanding Full Spectrum, Broad Spectrum, and CBD Isolate
Learn what to look for when comparing CBD products.