You go out of your way to eat healthy foods and consume supplements to foster well-being. Presumably, you want to get some mileage out of those things — why else bear the cost or put forth the effort?
Well, there’s actually a measure of how much effect you’re getting from those substances. It’s called bioavailability.
In this post, we’ll explain:
Get ready to absorb critical info!
Bioavailability is the degree to which a substance — like a drug, supplement, or nutrient —reaches the bloodstream after being introduced into the body (e.g., by ingesting or inhaling). Often expressed as a percentage, bioavailability indicates how much of a substance is actually absorbed into and used by your system and the rate at which it does so.
There are three types of bioavailability:(1)
You can predict a substance’s bioavailability by assessing its bioaccessibility.(2) Bioaccessibility is defined as the total amount of a substance that enters the body and that is available for potential absorption.
The greater the bioaccessibility, the greater your prospects for better bioavailability. It’s like you’re working with a bigger pool of material.
So, to illustrate, if you consume 25 mg of a substance but only 20 mg actually assimilates into your body — that substance is only 80% bioaccessible. (The remaining bit — 5 mg — is inaccessible for one reason or another.) This means that even if this substance were 100% bioavailable, you’d only be able to get 20 mg of the active substance from that original 25 mg.
Figuring out bioavailability requires doing some simple math. You can convey bioavailability as a percentage or a proportion.
For example, let's say you're taking a drug that’s 60% bioavailable. That means that 60% of the drug will actually make its way into your bloodstream and start doing its job. The remaining 40% will likely be eliminated by your body before it has time to do any good.
Bioavailability can also be expressed as a ratio of the dose taken. So, if you take a 100mg dose of a supplement, 60 mg will make it into your bloodstream (60/100), while 40 mg will not (40/100).
Bioavailability can be affected by a variety of factors.(1,3,4) This includes a number of personal attributes like your:
Lifestyle choices can also impact bioavailability. These are things like:
Last, but not least, there are plenty of physiochemical properties that can influence bioavailability, such as:
Anything that runs through the gastrointestinal system — like CBD edibles and supplement capsules — will have less bioavailability than if it went directly into the bloodstream. This is because the substance is processed and affected by the liver before circulating through your body.
Knowing a substance's level of bioavailability can give you an idea of its likely magnitude of biological activity. Bioactivity refers to how effective a substance is at doing what it's supposed to do: helping your body function properly.
This measure can help you understand how well a given drug, supplement, or nutrient is working and whether it's worth taking again. A more bioavailable substance will be faster-acting and/or yield more effect per dose than a less bioavailable substance. In fact, a low-bioavailability substance may barely make it into your system at all!
For instance, if your aim is to get 10 mg of a drug into your bloodstream, it could be better to take 20 mg of a 50% bioavailable drug than 100 mg of a 10% bioavailable drug.
To be clear, this is a call that needs to be made based on the situation at hand. But, the point is that there may be other options on the table that you should consider. Ones that could be much more likely to work effectively and safely for you.
Maria Calabrese, Founder of Green Bee Life, trying a HOLISTIK Wellness CBD & Collagen drink mix. The mix is water-soluble for greater bioavailability.
Let's narrow our focus a bit now and look at bioavailability as it relates to CBD.
When CBD is consumed, it enters your body either directly into the bloodstream or via the digestive system (and then into your bloodstream from there). The bioavailability of CBD plays a role in how quickly and to what extent your body is able to process and utilize the cannabidiol.
So, what can you expect from a CBD oil product with greater bioavailability?
While all cannabinoids interact with endocannabinoid system receptors in the body, CBD has been shown to have particularly strong interactions with CB1 receptors. This means that — the more bioavailable the CBD is (5) the more it can influence its effectiveness at providing relief from conditions like chronic pain and other desired outcomes.
CBD bioavailability can also affect whether or not you experience side effects from taking CBD oil products.(6)
It’s impossible to nail down an “average bioavailability” of CBD. So, let’s see what some of the scientific literature is reporting.
Here are some numbers to mull over for different formulations and methods of administration:(8,9,10,11)
Injected CBD has a bioavailability of almost 100%. However, intravenous CBD is only done in medical settings by qualified professionals as it can be dangerous to consume CBD intravenously. In animal studies, this method of administration sometimes caused sudden high levels of CBD in the bloodstream, which can result in dangerously low blood pressure.(12)
* To clarify, this is not saying topicals are or aren’t effective. It’s simply indicating that the CBD from topicals doesn’t leach into the bloodstream much. Which is just how topical CBD is supposed to work.
CBD is available in various formulations — gummies, tinctures, softgels, etc. — and can be taken in several ways — ingested, intranasally, topically, etc.
As we’ve shown, the bioavailability of CBD is strongly influenced by the form, concentration, and consumption method. Each preparation and administration protocol translates into different levels of bioavailability. And, therefore, the necessity to adjust the strength and dosage of the product you take as well.
It’s important to choose a delivery system that will allow for optimal absorption and avoid any resistance from the body. For example, using sublingual CBD oil drops allows for quick and easy absorption into the bloodstream.
Which leads us to the most bioavailable forms of CBD oil. Inhaled CBD is reportedly the most bioavailable. However, there are health risks associated with smoking and vaping. If you’re concerned about lung health, sublingual or intranasal varieties of CBD — like CBD tinctures — are probably going to be your go-tos. These formulations are designed to enter directly into the bloodstream.
There are other tips and tricks to making your CBD more bioavailable. You can try:(13)
Bioavailability refers to how absorbable a substance is. Absorbability impacts how quickly and fully that substance can enter your body and be effective.
Generally speaking, greater bioavailability is desirable when it comes to nutrition, plant medicine, or any other instance in which you’re trying to derive benefit from that substance.
Bioavailability is the proportion of a substance — like CBD — that’s introduced to your body that your body is able to absorb and utilize.
Start by taking high-quality full-spectrum CBD or broad-spectrum CBD that has plenty of terpenes and flavonoids in it, ideally sublingually or intranasally. Consume your CBD with food, especially those that contain healthy fats and complementary compounds like pepper and turmeric.
It depends on the formulation and method of administration. On the high end of the spectrum are inhaled and sublingual CBD; topical and ingested CBD are on the lower end.
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