CBD Isolate, MCT Oil, and Flavored Vapes vs. True Full-Spectrum CBD with Cannabis Terpenes
CBD vape cartridges can contain dozens of different ingredients. It’s hard to tell just by looking at a CBD cartridge, however, whether the ingredients it contains are safe or potentially dangerous.
The unfortunate truth is that the vast majority of CBD vape cartridges on the market contain inferior ingredients that might hurt you, but in this guide, you can learn how to identify safe, high-quality CBD vape cartridges that capture the benefits of this non-intoxicating cannabinoid to the fullest extent possible. Find out why ingredients like CBD isolate, MCT oil, and non-cannabis vape flavorings can be useless or harmful, and discover why Secret Nature true full-spectrum CBD cartridges offer the most value and provide the best effects.
Natural, cannabis-derived CBD vapes are superior
When it comes to vaping, it’s best to keep things as simple and natural as possible. The moment that you introduce artificial or otherwise sketchy ingredients into the equation, you open yourself up to countless potential problems.
Luckily, the Cannabis sativa plant naturally provides everything that should be present in a CBD vape cartridge. Regardless of what untrustworthy brands might insist, there’s absolutely no reason to add anything to a CBD vape cartridge that isn’t found in cannabis.
In addition to being useless, non-cannabis ingredients can even make CBD vape cartridges dangerous, utterly eclipsing the impressive benefits of this cannabinoid and putting vapers at risk. There’s only one reason that a CBD brand would add non-cannabis substances to its vape cartridges—maximizing profits at the expense of the consumer. CBD vape cartridges that keep things in the Cannabis sativa family perform better, and they’re considerably safer.
Common inferior ingredients used in CBD vapes
Low-quality CBD vape cartridges might contain a variety of sub-par ingredients that are included to reduce costs. While it’s true that each of these ingredients is cheaper than true full-spectrum CBD extract with live cannabis terpenes, nothing compares to the real thing. Familiarize yourself with some of the most common useless and inferior substances used in CBD vape cartridges to find out why CBD vapes that only include cannabis-derived ingredients are superior:
CBD isolate
CBD isolate is significantly cheaper to produce than full-spectrum or even broad-spectrum CBD extract. That’s because it’s reasonably easy to remove all the other substances from CBD-rich hemp extract and only leave CBD molecules behind. Not only is CBD isolate production inherently wasteful, however, but isolated CBD offers inferior performance in vape products and may be less effective.
In CBD vape cartridges, crystal-resistance is key. CBD is an inherently crystalline molecule, and when it is present in lipid solutions in high concentrations, it tends to recrystallize. When you suspend CBD in MCT oil, vegetable glycerin (VG), or propylene glycol (PG), therefore, it tends to harden, and hardened CBD crystals strongly resist vaporization.
CBD may also be less effective when it is stripped of its entourage of minor cannabinoids, terpenes, and other beneficial substances that are naturally present in non-intoxicating strains of Cannabis sativa. Scientists postulate that a phenomenon called the entourage effect could make CBD more effective when it is ingested in the form of a full-spectrum or broad-spectrum extract, and CBD isolate appears to especially lose efficacy when ingested at high doses.
While CBD isolate may be inexpensive, it has no place in vape products. Unlike some of the other undesirable ingredients you might find in CBD vape products, however, at least CBD isolate isn’t inherently toxic or otherwise harmful to vape.
MCT oil
Some CBD vape cartridge manufacturers combine CBD isolate with a substance called medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, which is derived from coconuts. While this substance may have impressive benefits when ingested orally, MCT oil can cause lipoid pneumonia when vaporized, a dangerous pulmonary condition that can sometimes be fatal.
Some lipids, like the cannabinoids and terpenes present in Cannabis sativa, absorb efficiently into the lining of your lungs. MCT oil and most other oils, however, leave oily films on the surfaces of your airways, which can host bacteria and cause severe lung inflammation and infections.
Despite the fact that MCT oil can cause lipid pneumonia, plenty of CBD cartridges still contain this dangerous substance because it’s cheaper to combine CBD isolate with MCT oil than it is to produce full-spectrum CBD extract. As an added draw, it’s also possible to advertise vape cartridges that contain CBD isolate combined with MCT oil as “THC-free” but at the cost of potentially putting lives in danger.
Natural or artificial flavorings
Many people find the taste of CBD oil to be lamentably unappealing. Regardless of how much they may appreciate the benefits that CBD provides, they can’t get past the bitter, plant-y flavor of full-spectrum or broad-spectrum CBD extract. As a result, it’s natural to add flavoring ingredients to CBD vape cartridges. Almost all flavorings used in CBD vape cartridges, however, are remarkably toxic.
Let’s start with artificial flavors. Research indicates that artificial flavoring agents, which are often derived from petroleum or wood pulp, are often harmful and toxic. A recent study indicates that artificial flavorings used specifically in vape products can increase oxidative stress and inflammation, leading to illnesses in your lungs and other locations throughout your body.
Even natural flavoring ingredients can be harmful when vaporized. Recognizing the average consumer’s increasing unwillingness to vaporize artificial flavorings, some CBD brands pack their vape cartridges with natural botanical extracts instead. While this might seem like a smart move, it’s rare for botanical ingredients to be safe to vape, and vaping the wrong essential oil or plant extract could cause pulmonary toxicity or lipoid pneumonia.
The only CBD vape cartridge flavoring ingredients that appear to be safe are natural cannabis terpenes. Including any other substance as a flavoring agent in a CBD vape cartridge, even if it’s all-natural or organic, could cause irreparable harm.
Why full-spectrum CBD vapes are superior
CBD vape cartridges that contain full-spectrum hemp extract already include everything that’s necessary for an effective and enjoyable CBD vaping experience. It’s possible to process full-spectrum CBD extract in a way that makes it crystal-resistant, preventing the recrystallization that’s such a common issue with CBD isolate vape products.
Since the CBD in full-spectrum hemp oil is already suspended in suitable lipids, there is no need to add MCT oil, PG, VG, or any other bases to full-spectrum CBD. The only potential issue with full-spectrum CBD vape oil is its taste, which can easily be rectified with cannabis-derived terpenes.
Why CBD vapes with natural cannabis terpenes are superior
As the only substances that are truly suitable for flavoring CBD vape cartridges, cannabis-derived terpenes are a must for CBD vape brands that want to mask the sometimes overpowering taste of hemp oil. Live-resin cannabis terpenes, which have been extracted cryogenically, taste and smell even better than cannabis terpenes that were extracted using other methods. With natural cannabis terpenes, it’s even possible to perfectly mimic the flavors of famous cannabis strains, which is something that inferior, dangerous vape flavoring ingredients could never hope to accomplish.
Secret Nature vapes pack all of the good and none of the bad
Secret Nature CBD vape cartridges contain true full-spectrum CBD extract that’s been boosted with live cannabis terpenes. With these two simple ingredients, our cartridges outperform every other CBD vape product on the market while remaining fully natural and organic. We have nothing to hide—our CBD is lab-tested, our cannabis terpenes taste delicious, and our organic cultivation methods and CO2 extraction deliver clean, impressive CBD vaping experiences each and every time.
