What is the Entourage Effect?

What is the Entourage Effect?

 

The Entourage Effect is not, as you may assume, the misery caused by an awful television program about the struggles of unpleasant rich white men with boats. 

I mean, it might be, if that isn’t a thing, we’d all be surprised. But in this instance, this is not what the Entourage Effect refers to, this is, in fact, a phrase describing the effect of broad spectrum CBD, and the theory that it is more effective than CBD alone. 

For a fair while, it was believed by most that CBD isolate, which separates everything else and leaves just CBD (as the name suggests), was the ‘best’ form of CBD, but that school of thought has been falling out of popularity in favour of an opposing one in recent years. 

Before we start, just to clarify, we are not here to give an opinion one way or the other. But what we will do, is bring you information on the Entourage Effect, and what has led to it being arguably the most accepted theory in the CBD world. 

 

What is Broad Spectrum CBD? 

The Entourage Effect is attached to broad spectrum CBD (sometimes called full-spectrum, there is a slight difference between full and broad, but that’s not important for now), so before we get into the effect itself, let’s take a second to explore what broad spectrum means when it comes to CBD products. 

There are two main forms of CBD available from the most respected and trusted outlets, broad spectrum CBD, and CBD isolate. 

Broad spectrum CBD refers to CBD that is made using the whole plant. This means that everything that is extracted from the plant is used in the CBD product, including essential oils, terpenes, and other cannabinoids, such as THC. 

While trace amounts of THC can be found in CBD products, it’s important to know that registered, legal CBD products within the EU are taken from approved industrial hemp plants, which contain no more than 0.2% THC, which shouldn’t be even close to enough to cause a high. 

CBD isolate, on the other hand, sees the plant extract be processed so all other elements are removed, leaving just the CBD alone. 

 

The Isolate Advocates

There are still some who believe that CBD isolate is the better option, but until not long ago, that was the main thought process of anyone in the know when it comes to CBD. 

However, CBD isolate came with an issue, a bell-shaped issue. 

Isolate had was is known as a bell-shaped dose-response, meaning that when the dose was increased, at a certain point, the effectiveness of the isolate stopped increasing, and then started to decrease. 

This was an issue for scientists during their research, and it wasn’t until the publishing of a 2015 study that this problem saw a possible solution. 

 

The Study of The Entourage Effect

Research carried out by the Lautenberg Centre for General and Tumor Immunology at the Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem showed that full-spectrum CBD did not have the same bell-shaped dose-response as CBD isolate. 

Basically, the research suggested that the higher the dose, the more effective the full-spectrum CBD was (no bells, Quasimodo would be delighted). 

This led to a big change in thought and the increase in popularity of the theory of the Entourage Effect. 

 

The Entourage Effect

The Entourage Effect (which is one of very few things with a genuinely informative Wikipedia entry) is basically the theory that the separate elements in CBD are more effective when combined than they are alone, greater than the sum of its parts, as the old saying goes. 

Nobody can be sure as to why this is true at this point, while research has been attempted, there is no theory that can state conclusively why it is that rolling together like a green and pleasant rap crew changes, and possible increases the effects of CBD and the other cannabinoids and elements that are included within. 

Which brings us to a fairly disappointing conclusion if we’re honest, which is that we don’t know if the Entourage Effect is a thing, and if it is a thing, we are not sure why. 

There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence to suggest full spectrum CBD has a greater effect, many scientists believe in it, and the research above seems to suggest that it takes away the bell-shaped dose issue caused by CBD isolate, but at this point, nobody knows why. 

Obviously, if and when we learn, we will be sure to tell you immediately! 

Do you believe in the Entourage Effect? Feel free to get the debate going below, our favourite five comments will go into a draw to win a lifetime 10% discount on our CBD products. 

CBD Ireland? We are here!

 

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Disclaimer:

The products we sell do not have proven health benefits. While research is being carried out, these products are not, and should not, be considered to be medical products.

Any information we give in these articles is taken from scientific research, but should not be considered as a statement of fact. Links and information included in these articles do not reflect the opinion of Plant & Hemp. Any link to scientific studies is for information only, and not intended as a proof of any specific fact, or to validate any specific opinion.

We are simply bringing you the information needed to make an informed decision on what you want to use CBD for, and what you are comfortable using our products for.

CBD products should not be used as a replacement for any prescribed medication, under UK and International Law.

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