If you're looking for the best quality and safest CBD oil products, I recommend avoiding those with additionally added active ingredients. This is based on years of experience using CBD oil to help manage my chronic pain symptoms and formal training in becoming a certified Medical THC and CBD Specialist. Get the unvarnished facts and never need to waste your time or money on CBD oil products with potential health risks. 

Many CBD oil companies have started adding additional active ingredients to their CBD oil products. I'd believe that the reason for this trend doesn't have to do with it benefiting the consumer as much as has to do with adding to a CBD company's bottom line, but I digress. These additives include things like melatonin, GABA, L-Theanine, 5-HTP, Boswellia, Ginseng, Turmeric, Ginkgo, berberine, mushrooms, vitamins, and so on. The majority of these ingredients are considered to be dietary supplements by the FDA. This means they're treated as food and not subject to the oversight or quality standards of over-the-counter and prescription medications. The FDA doesn’t even review supplements for quality, safety, or effectiveness before they're put on the market! 

The ineffective regulation of supplements has resulted in a range of consequences that includes many supplements being poorly studied, the benefits unproven, and the side effects not fully identified, if at all. The FDA is clear that some supplements have the potential for serious side effects, especially if overused. Some supplements have powerful biological effects, which can interact with a medication you’re taking or a medical condition you may have. 

No matter how slick the marketing claims are, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security or safety just because an ingredient is "all-natural". For example, melatonin is added to most CBD oil products marketed for sleep. While there are associated benefits, there are also associated side effects (I’ve experienced both sides of that coin). The most commonly reported side effects of melatonin are headaches, dizziness, nausea, and drowsiness - it should only be used short term. I’ve yet to see a CBD oil company that’s disclosed a single one of these things to consumers. 

To be clear, not all supplements are bad, and I've experimented with a few myself. To find out whether a particular supplement is a good fit for your needs, there’s an easy and smarter way to experiment, that doesn’t involve using it as part of a CBD oil product. Nearly all supplements are available online or at your local health food store. Going this route puts all of the control into your hands, such as controlling the dose, and it gives you the power to research the track record of the company making the supplement, etc.

For example, I wanted to try melatonin and turmeric so I ordered them both online. This allowed me to safely learn that melatonin helps when my sleep cycle gets off track and that turmeric causes unpleasant side effects (trust me, you don’t want the details). 

I wish you all of the very best in your journey to wellness using CBD oil and hope that this post has been helpful. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to reach out because I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. Truly top-quality CBD oil products never need to rely on the crutch and distraction of additionally added active ingredients, in order to be effective. Snarky but true.