Have you heard that you need to pair edibles with fat for them to be effective? Fat can definitely have an effect on how you make and react to edibles. Read on to learn more about how fat helps with infusions, absorption, and bioavailability to ensure you're having the best experience possible.
Features
- Explanations for why you should pair edibles with fat
- Reason one: fat is the perfect medium for making potent infusions
- Reason two: eating edibles with dietary fat helps to increase bioavailabilty
Why You Will Love This Guide
Recently, a member of my Well With Cannabis Community asked if it was true that you need to make or consume edibles with fats, and the answer is YES, there is plenty of truth to that!
When making homemade infusions, the THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids found on the cannabis plant are most soluble in fats like oil.
And when you consume a prepared edible, eating it with a fat source in your food can help to increase your body's absorption of the cannabinoids.
These are two great reasons why we should pair cannabis with fat!
In this guide, we will explore each one of these reasons in-depth so you can better understand how to get the most out of your edible experience.
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Reason One: Fat Makes Potent Infusions
There is a reason that cannabutter remains the most popular homemade edible recipe.
When we make an oil infusion, the goal is to get the trichomes that contain the cannabinoids off of the plant material and into the oil or butter (without the unwanted extras, like chlorophyll).
The more fat present in the oil, the more effective, and thus more potent the infusion becomes.
This maximizes the efficacy of the euphoria-inducing THC and inflammation-reducing CBD.
This process is not to be confused with extraction methods that utilize solvents like high-proof alcohol to extract the trichomes from the plant material, resulting in a tincture.
Reason Two: Absorption and Bioavailability
When preparing your edibles with dietary fats like butter, vegetable oil, and whole milk, you may think the process is over, but it is really just beginning.
In the next step, consuming fat alongside your edible can help enhance the bioavailability and absorption of cannabinoids in the body.
When ingesting edibles, they pass through the digestive system and are eventually absorbed into the bloodstream. Cannabinoids then interact with the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
However, not all the ingested cannabinoids enter the bloodstream, and that's where the term "bioavailability" comes into play.
Bioavailability means the amount of ingested THC and CBD that gets absorbed into the body and transmitted to the targeted tissues and organs.
It is the proportion of the active cannabinoids absorbed into the bloodstream as compared to the dose.
For instance, if a 100 mg dose is consumed orally, and only 40 mg is absorbed in the body, then the drug's bioavailability is 40%.
As reported in the American Journal of Translational Research, when prepared using oils and fats, the THC and CBD bioavailability in the body increases 2.5- and 3-folds, respectively (1).
That makes them more therapeutic and euphorically effective - a win for you!
Final Thoughts
As we explored above, there are two good reasons to pair fat with edibles. The first is to create a potent infusion because cannabinoids are lipophilic, meaning they love fat.
The second is that consuming edibles paired with fat can increase the bioavailability and absorption in the body. This can create a better, more potent experience.
You can earn how to make your own oil infusions here, it is really quite easy, and you can even make them in an Instant Pot!
Unable to have fat for a certain reason? Have no fear! You can rely on cannabis tinctures to extract the cannabinoids for you. Learn more here.
My Edibles Made Easy Online Cooking Course will teach you how to easily make cannabis edibles and topical recipes at home. This step-by-step video course will teach you how to infuse, extract, and create edibles with many different product types - all from the comfort of your own home.
Learn more and enroll today →
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