Dr Zac Turner on losing the stigma of CBD oil and how best to use it

Many Australians are turning to an unconventional way to manage their pain, with Dr Zac Turner arguing that it should lose its stigma.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week, Dr Zac Turner talks about CBD oil.

Question: Hi Dr Zac, for years I struggled trying to find a solution to my chronic pain, I’ve tried everything you can imagine from Panadol Forte all the way to ice baths.

I’ve recently been prescribed cannabidiol (CBD) oil and it has been a godsend. My pain levels have dropped dramatically and I feel I can now live a fairly normal life. I’m curious, however, if there are ways to enhance my CBD intake so that it works better? – Meg, 37, Sydney

Answer: I love your curiosity Meg! I believe CBD oil should lose its stigma, and conversations like these ones are part of the solution to doing so. Just as a reminder to all the CBD-sceptics out there, although CBD oil is derived from the sativa cannabis plants it does not necessarily contain the psychoactive ingredient THC – meaning it does not make you high.

Cannabis plants contain many different chemical substances including terpenes, CBD and THC. CBD oil is extracted without THC. When we use the term ‘marijuana’ it refers to parts of the plant or strains of the plant that whilst having lots of other substances have an increased amount of the psychoactive ingredient THC – meaning depending on the dose, it could make you high.

Most people have the misconception that our bodies use every milligram of the medicine we ingest. This is actually not the case, but there are things we can do to boost the absorption of medication.

Bioavailability is the word used to describe the absorption rate of medication, food or liquids. It’s a way to measure how much we get out of the things we eat. Many things can change bioavailability.

Many things can change bioavailability. Picture: iStock

The bioavailability of CBD varies according to a number of factors. Just as I’m sure you’ve noticed when you’ve eaten large amounts of beetroot or perhaps corn, not all is digested and absorbed. Some traces can often be seen in the ‘other bowl’ the next day.

For example, there is a difference in bioavailability if you eat it as a gummy, or absorb it under your tongue as liquid oil. The reason for this is because when you ingest CBD oil, you absorb it through your digestive tract which has acids and enzymes that degrade the oil. Whereas absorbing it through the sublingually (under your tongue) means it goes directly to your bloodstream through the bilingual artery. This means it doesn’t have to go through the highly acidic stomach which inactivates or can reduce the efficacy through damage to lots of active parts of many foods and medications.

There are definitely some ways to increase the absorption of your CBD oil, let’s go through them shall we?

License to snack with fats

If you are required to ingest your CBD oil, the trick to maintaining bioavailability is to take it with a fatty meal or snacks. When you combine CBD with high fat content, the fat helps CBD molecules stay in-tact and be absorbed better.

Try munching on some dark chocolate, nuts or cheese. You could also have it with fatty fish like Salmon, or if you’re feeling like a plain Jane you can have it with avocado on toast.

Eat some dark chocolate to maintain bioavailability.

Remember that all herbs stick together

Mother Nature is a wonderful thing, and the best part is that most of her products will often work together. There are a number of herbs or foods you can take as supplements to help with absorption. You can opt for Tumeric, Black Pepper, Chamomile tea or even hot chilli peppers.

Oil is best

As I stated earlier, the best way to take CBD Oil in regards to absorption orally is sublingual which means under the tongue. It is the most direct way for it to reach your bloodstream. Some people tend to not like this method due to the flavour of CBD oil, but you can find flavoured ones out there.

I mentioned that sublingual is often better than oral though both are no where near as readily absorbed as being inhaled through a vape. This though is a topic for another week along with a lot of other fun and increasingly popular ways to make the most of your medications.

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Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors. He was also a registered nurse and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist along with being a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering