Let’s set the scene. It’s 2022. The Corona Virus has been ravaging the world for the last two years. What started off as “two weeks and we’re back to normal” has become two years of wearing masks in public and social distancing. People are still getting sick on a daily basis, and some of them, unfortunately, don’t make it to the other side.
Because of this pandemic, many people are looking for ways to fight off the virus. All sorts of people have stepped forward to give medical advice on this subject. As you’re probably aware, a lot of that information is false. But, there’s been news going around about how a CBD tincture could potentially help one fight off COVID-19.
Is there any validity to this claim? With all of the false claims that have been spread around like brushfires in California during the summer, it’s only natural that you would meet this claim with as much skepticism as we did.
We decided that this claim was one that was worth looking into so we could find out for ourselves if this claim is true. There’s a lot of information out there and it can be hard to find the right sources, but we’ve done our best to make sure that we got only the most accurate information.
What Exactly is a Tincture?
Before we get into the validity of certain claims, let’s make sure that everyone reading this article knows what we’re talking about. We’re going to get into the claim in a moment, but we want to make sure that everyone is on the same page about this before we get into the meat of this article.
A tincture is a plant or animal extract that has been dissolved in the right kind of liquid. This liquid is typically ethanol but it can be alcohol that is 100 proof or higher as well as glycerin if you don’t want your tincture to contain alcohol.
You can make tinctures out of a variety of plants and animal byproducts. A lot of tinctures have therapeutic, medicinal, or even recreational effects for users. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a lot more interest in tinctures than in the past.
Most of the people that are looking for tinctures are looking for some sort of therapeutic effects, specifically to help with things like calming down, increasing mobility, etc. There are plenty of tinctures on the market that can do these kinds well.
What is COVID-19?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard a great deal about COVID-19 over the last couple of years. With over 22 million confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, the odds of not knowing someone who contracted the virus is virtually 0.
For the sake of being thorough, we felt that we might want to explain exactly what COVID-19 is. COVID-19 is short for coronavirus 2019, and it is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, which is short for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
This virus belongs to the SARS family of viruses and that family has been around for a while. If you’re old enough, there’s a good chance that you remember the less severe SARS outbreak of 2002. It’s the same kind of virus as that one.
This virus causes a host of symptoms including:
- Fevers
- Soreness
- Headaches
- Loss of tastes
- Loss of smell
- Difficulty breathing
- Coughing fits
There are a few other symptoms that we won’t be covering in this article, but you can find all sorts of resources on the internet that are provided by trustworthy organizations so you can learn more yourself.
Now that we’ve covered what tinctures are and what COVID-19 is, let’s move on to the next part of the article so we can find out if CBD tinctures can help fight off COVID-19 so you can decide if you need to stock up or not.
Could a Tincture Really Help Fight Off COVID-19?
As we mentioned before, there have been a lot of pretty wacky claims about how to fight COVID-19. The president of the United States in the year 2020 even suggested that people should inject bleach to clean out their system and get rid of the virus.
Now, that’s obviously a bad idea no matter how you cut it. Even if that one is blatantly terrible advice, there are a lot of more believable claims that don’t require people to do absolutely insane things in order to fight off an infection from SARS-CoV-2.
With all of this misinformation being spread around, it’s hard to know what will actually help and what will actually just be a waste of your time, money, and effort. Even if we know that there are a lot of cannabinoids that can help with a lot of things, that doesn’t mean that they can fight off covid.
So, what exactly is claimed to help with fighting off COVID-19? A lot of people might simply say “CBD” or “CBG” but it’s actually not quite that simple. You see, there is some validity to the claim that tinctures containing CBD would be able to fight off covid, but there’s more to it than that.
There are two specific cannabinoids that have been shown to help fight off COVID-19 by interrupting a critical part of the infection process:
- CBDA
- Cannabidiolic acid
- CBGA
- Cannabigerolic acid
Unlike the big three cannabinoids, CBD, CBG, and THC, these two cannabinoids aren’t used very frequently at all. In fact, the vast majority of products both from CBD companies and legal cannabis dispensaries won’t even have a single microgram of CBDA or CBGA.
You can definitely find tinctures that contain both CBDA and CBGA but it’s not going to be as easy as walking into your neighborhood smoke shop and picking up whatever tincture has a pretty label, or however you choose to pick products out at a glance.
Finding the Right Kind of Tincture
We saved the best part of the article for last, finding the right kind of tincture that has the highest amount of CBDA and CBGA. This can be a bit of a process, but it’s actually not too difficult if you know how to look for the right kinds of tinctures either online or in stores.
Your best bet is going to be with full-spectrum tinctures rather than CBD isolates. Here’s a brief rundown of the difference between the two:
- Full-spectrum tinctures contain CBD as well as an array of other cannabinoids and terpenes.
- CBD isolates are just CBD with nothing else added in.
By going with full-spectrum tinctures you open up the possibility for the manufacturer to have added the cannabinoids that you’re looking for, rather than just getting pure CBD. The other cannabinoids and terpenes can also help with relaxation, among other things.
Once you find companies that have full-spectrum tinctures, you’re going to want to find out what blend is used in their products. It’s a lot like fast-food chicken sandwiches. Of course, they’re all chicken sandwiches, but every company makes them a little different than their competitors do.
Then after you’ve found the full-spectrum tincture that has CBDA and/or CBGA, all you’ll need to do is purchase it and start taking it. Purchasing products is usually pretty easy regardless of if you’re buying online or in-store.
One detail that you have to make sure of is that the cannabinoids in the tincture have not been decarboxylated. Once the cannabinoids are heated up they no longer take up the form of an acid. What’s left is CBD or CBG without the “A”. This means that the tincture will not help to ward off COVID-19.
Taking a tincture is pretty easy. Most tinctures come in small brown vials that have eye droppers on the lid. All you’ll need to do is fill up the dropper to the level specified by the company and then squirt the liquid under your tongue.
How long you have to hold the liquid under your tongue is something that’s been debated for decades, but the generally agreed-upon time range is 15-60 seconds or longer with most people agreeing that it shouldn’t be under 45 seconds. Some people even say to keep it under your tongue for as long as possible.
Whenever you’ve hit the amount of time that works for you, you can swallow whatever is leftover or you can just spit it out. If you swallow it, it will still make it into your bloodstream so you can still get the effects of the tincture that way.
Once you’ve found a product that you like and found a way to take it that works for you, you’ve completed the process and you can make it a part of your daily routine. Whether you’re using it to try and fight off covid or you just want to get some of the effects that CBD has, you’re on the right path.
Staying Healthy in the Modern-Day
Our health is important. It’s what keeps us going and allows us to have the energy to complete normal, everyday tasks. Knowing how to properly take care of yourself can make a big difference both in your comfort and in your paycheck.
We’ve been in this pandemic for two years at this point, and if we continue to work together and have each other’s backs we’ll be able to beat this and move on to a post-covid world.