CBD Dictionary

Additives and Fillers

Ingredients often added to CBD products to hide low-quality hemp or to lower production cost (which also lowers product quality). Common additives or fillers include sweeteners, preservatives, artificial flavors, and useless filler products meant to take up volume. At best, fillers lower the potency of a CBD product. At worst, they can cause active harm to your health.

PhenoLife products have no additives or fillers. We use only natural ingredients, and in the case of our targeted formulas, we clearly state what non-hemp ingredients are included and why.

Bioavailability

The amount of a medicine or drug that is successfully absorbed into the body and creates an effect. Higher bioavailability means higher absorption rates, while lower bioavailability means lower absorption rates. Different CBD formulas and different delivery methods will have varying levels of bioavailability.

Broad-spectrum CBD

A CBD formula that contains all of the minor cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other plant materials found in the sourced hemp except for THC, which is not present in broad-spectrum CBD. Another common term of broad-spectrum CBD is “broad-spectrum hemp extract.”

Cannabinoid

A class of compounds found in cannabis. Cannabinoids have the ability to interact with the human body’s endocannabinoid system to create varying effects. CBD and THC are the most well-known cannabinoids, though there are several other cannabinoids, both naturally occurring and synthetic.

Cannabis

A species of plant that is often harvested for its psychoactive effects. There are multiple strains of cannabis, all of which have different compounds present. Hemp and marijuana are both strains of cannabis, though marijuana has high levels of THC, while hemp has high levels of CBD.

CBD

Short for cannabidiol, CBD is the major cannabinoid found in hemp. CBD is not inebriating and does not create a “high” in the user. Research suggests that CBD has several health benefits, including inflammation relief, anxiety reduction, and sleep improvements.

CBD cartridges

Sometimes called carts, are devices that hold CBD liquid that can be used in a CBD vaporizer (sometimes called an inhaler). CBD cartridges connect to a vape battery, which heats the liquid inside, creating inhalable vapor. CBD cartridges can be designed to be refilled, or designed to be thrown away once the liquid inside is exhausted.

PhenoLife CBD cartridges use a proprietary formula that is extremely thick, which means it is unable to be manually refilled. Never attempt to refill cartridges not designed to be refilled.

CBD edibles/ingestibles

“Edibles” usually refers to foodstuff that has been infused with CBD, including gummies, brownies, or candy. CBD ingestibles refers to any CBD product you can eat, which includes edibles, oils, tablets, and capsules.

CBD inhaler

Also known as a CBD vaporizer, a CBD inhaler is a device that uses a battery to heat CBD liquid to turn it into inhalable vapor. The PhenoPen is an example of a CBD inhaler.

CBD vaporizers

Also known as CBD inhalers, vaporizers are devices that use a battery to heat a CBD cartridge to create inhalable vapor.

Delivery Method

A term referring to how one takes CBD. Different delivery methods have varying levels of bioavailability. Common delivery methods for CBD include inhalers or vapes, like the PhenoPen, capsules, like PhenoGel, and transdermal patches, like the PhenoPatch.

Dosage

A term describing how much CBD is consumed at a time. CBD doses are usually measured in milligrams (with the exception of CBD inhalers) and are a good guideline to help make sure you don’t take too much CBD at once. CBD dosage is not the same as potency, since you can take the same milligram dose between two different products or delivery methods and experience different levels of potency.

FSA recommends up to a maximum of 70mg of CBD per day.

Entourage effect

the phenomena that describes cannabinoids and terpenes working together to create more potent effects in the human body than one single cannabinoid. This is a primary reason that PhenoLife uses full-spectrum hemp extract in our CBD products.

Full-spectrum CBD

A CBD formula that contains all of the minor cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other plant materials found in the sourced hemp. Another common term of full-spectrum CBD is “full-spectrum hemp extract.”

Half-life

A technical term used to describe how long a medicine or supplement stays in your body. For example, if a substance has a half life of 24 hours, then half of it will be eliminated from your body within 24 hours. It is estimated that CBD has a half life of just a few days, depending on how you take it and how fast your metabolism is. 

Hemp

A strain of cannabis cultivated for its medicinal and industrial applications. Hemp fibers can be used for clothing, paper, and a variety of other materials. Hemp flower contains high levels of CBD, which is often used to mitigate inflammatory pain, anxiety, and sleep issues. Hemp seeds are high in healthy fats and are often used as a nutritional supplement or active ingredients in lotions.

Hemp Oil

Sometimes called hemp seed oil, is an oil created from hemp seeds. Hemp oil is often used to treat skin conditions or as a nutritional supplement. While often confused for CBD oil, hemp seed oil has no CBD present, since CBD is only present in the flowers of the hemp plant, not the seeds.

Potency

A term describing how powerful a dose of CBD will feel when you take it. Certain CBD products will have varying levels of potency (even at the same milligram dose) based on their delivery method and levels of bioavailability.

Sleep hygiene

A term used to describe healthy habits to improve the quality and consistency of your sleep. For example, habits that are considered good sleep hygiene include only using your bed for sleep or sex, keeping your bedroom dark, turning off screens around an hour before you go to sleep, and avoiding caffeine for at least six hours before you plan to go to bed.

Terpenes

A class of unsaturated hydrocarbons that can be found in multiple kinds of plants. Terpenes produce distinctive smells, and are responsible for the citrus smell in lemons and the piney smells of evergreen trees. Terpenes are naturally found in cannabis, with different cannabis strains containing different terpenes, resulting in varying smells, flavors, and effects on the body.

THC

The term short for tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is the major cannabinoid found in marijuana. THC creates a powerful high in those who consume it and is responsible for the “stoned” sensation marijuana is commonly known for. THC is a controlled substance in the majority of the world, though it is becoming increasingly legal.

Transdermal patch

A patch that is placed directly on the skin which delivers medicine into the bloodstream. Transdermal CBD patches have grown in popularity due to their high levels of bioavailability.

3rd Party Lab Testing

A quality assurance process where a CBD brand sends samples to an unrelated, third-party lab to be tested for purity. The lab results show which cannabinoids are present, what the concentration of those cannabinoids are, the presence of any other naturally-occurring hemp compounds, and if there are harmful impurities present (especially heavy metals).

All reputable CBD brands offer regular 3rd party lab results to be viewed by their customers. Since the CBD industry is largely unregulated, 3rd party testing is the only way customers can know if their CBD products are being marketed honestly and are safe for use.