Broad Spectrum is a term that’s widely used to describe a tincture that contains little to no THC while still retaining most of the natural compounds found in hemp. This means that a person can use a Broad Spectrum blend without having to worry about testing positive for THC, unlike a Full Spectrum blend.
However, Broad Spectrum may not be the way to go for most people.
Most companies use a process called Alcohol Extraction, which is cheap and easy. However, Alcohol Extraction can often bring along unwanted compounds, such as chlorophyll. These compounds make Broad Spectrum very bitter and often reduce its efficacy. There are over 400 identified compounds found in hemp. We don’t understand what many of these compounds do in the human body, and many can actually reduce CBD’s effectiveness.
This type of extraction may also lose a potentially useful type of compound, called terpenes. Unless the manufacturer adds in more terpenes, their blend may not have enough of a given terpene to actually do anything. This further reduces how effective this type of tincture can be.
Overall, broad spectrum tinctures aren’t the worst, but they aren’t the best either. They often can be too bitter for most people to tolerate. They also aren’t as effective as something like Selected Spectrum. It’s also rare that they last for more than 3-4 hours at a time, which means you have to take multiple doses throughout the day, which can be rough on your digestive system.
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