Bioavailability: Why it’s Important

We CBD use in similar ways to prescription drugs, either in capsule, tincture, or even topical forms. However, the bioavailability of any prescription medication or supplement is significant. The bioavailability of PlantMD supplements is significant for those who are trying to figure out how much you need.

Medical terminology or even terminology that focuses on biology is not exactly common knowledge. There is nothing wrong with not knowing every medical term, but there are a few we all should know. For example, we all know the difference between prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

We also know things like biopsy, benign, or inflammatory, but what about bioavailability? You can consider the word to be either a medical term or a biology term. However, it is essential to know what that means when you’re shopping for over-the-counter medications and supplements. 

The term can make a huge difference in which supplements you choose to buy. You can also use the term when shopping for CBD products. Some people may even say that the term is more important for CBD products than daily vitamins or supplements. 

Either way, it is time that the bioavailability of any medication, over-the-counter medication, or supplement is thrown into the spotlight.

What Is Bioavailability?

The first thing to understand is that not every supplement or prescription drug comprises only the active ingredient. Other ingredients help the active ingredients get to where they need to be in your body. However, not all of the active ingredients will be absorbed and make their way to the bloodstream.

The term bioavailability refers to the amount of the active ingredient that gets to the right destination in our bodies. You may be more familiar with the term if you have ever had to take a medication that requires weeks of regular usage before it starts to make a difference.

You can also use the term to cover the rate at which the active ingredient is absorbed into the body.

Taking Medications or Supplements

Our bodies operate in a highly complex manner. We all know that we need to eat food and drink water to stay alive. But what happens to the things we put in our bodies orally? The first step is to get to the stomach, where the medication is met with stomach acids that will break down some of the active ingredients. 

The Remaining bit will go through the entire digestive system with the liver removing some of the active ingredients, and then the gastric acids will do their jobs as well. Ultimately, a very different amount of the active ingredients will make it to the intended destination. Instead, most of the active ingredients will be removed and discarded with waste. 

Science Knows

There are plenty of things we are still learning about the human body and its many different parts. We are discovering new things almost monthly. But bioavailability is a widely known factor in medicine. In fact, doctors will consider the term when they are prescribing doses.

For example, the bioavailability of Zyrtec or cetirizine is between 88% and 96%. The human body will properly absorb 88%-96% of the active ingredients. You can search any prescription drug, over-the-counter drug, and many supplements with the word “bioavailability” to find out the percentages.

You can easily see why the term is so important, especially for prescription medications. However, you can also use it when searching for CBD products. The term may be more important for CBD than anything else besides prescription drugs.

Bioavailability and CBD Products

Many things factor into the bioavailability of CBD products. For example, eating something fatty can help your body to absorb more of the active ingredients in CBD products. Gummies, tinctures, and capsules all have an average of 4% to 20% depending on the conditions. 

These numbers are vital for you to know so that you can find your ideal dosage more easily. PlantMD CBD products use fatty oils like grapeseed oil to help with the absorption rate of the CBD in each product. You can speed up the process or improve it by adding your fatty foods to your routine before you take a CBD supplement.

However, it is essential to note that you will need to replicate those steps you take CBD to get the same results each time. It is better to use trial and error to find your ideal dosage, but you can also do some math to figure out what your actual dosage is when you take a gummy, capsule, or use tinctures.