Different ways of taking CBD: Capsules vs. Softgels
Capsules, softgels — basically, they're the same thing, right? Most people consider them as different ways of taking your CBD. But if you're curious about the subtle differences between the two, and you want to learn why Medicine Box sees softgels as a means to improve upon the stale CBD softgel industry model, read on.
For starters, capsules are usually made with a powder or oil form, while softgels are made with a liquid form. This means that the active ingredients in softgels are more bioavailable than those in capsules. In other words, your body can absorb and use more of the medicine as well in a softgel than it can in a capsule. That's important when you're adding a lot more than CBD into the mix, as we are.
CBD capsules (plus MORE cannabinoids and natural ingredients) and their uses
Take Happy Belly, our premiere gut health remedy. We're using red reishi, the fabled "god of fungi" that has been used to boost digestion and treat issues like leaky gut syndrome, as well as cinnamon, which can cut back on stomach cramps, flatulence and heartburn. When designing our products, our goal is to provide you with an accessible, easy-to-use product that does what it says it will.
When you put all of those ingredients into a capsule, there's only so much your body can do with it. But in a softgel? No worries — your body can absorb more of the nutrients, and you'll be reaping the gut health benefits in no time. That's why we're using softgels to deliver our innovative plant medicine blends.
But there's another big advantage to having liquid-filled softgels: they're easier to swallow than capsules. No one likes taking pills, but swallowing a gel is (usually) a breeze. You're never going to be asked to swallow a "horse softgel" at any point in your life. Moreover, if you're finicky about tastes, you'll probably go out of your way to consume a medicine in its raw form unless you absolutely have to. That's especially important for a combination energy/immune booster like Vital Recovery.
For Vital Recovery, we pulled out all the stops: we have FOUR extracted cannabinoids (CBD, CBG, CBN and CBC), FOUR mushrooms and SIX botanicals, each of which create an entourage effect which helps power people through the day and stimulates their immune system — you have ingredients like maitake and turmeric to thank for that, among many others. However, it's definitely a lot, and when you're also throwing in licorice, which boasts a host of anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, it may not to be to everybody's taste. Softgels remove this bitterness, and helps the medicine go down in the most delightful way.
Capsules also tend to have a longer shelf life than softgels — which is good to know if you're stocking up on your cannabinoid supply. Over time, exposure to sunlight and oxygen will break down most medicines, which is why tinctures are bottled in opaque jars. Softgels aren't breakable, and they can also preserve the goodness that's in our award-winning Equanimity formulation for as long as possible.
Our Equanimity formulation is one of our top sellers, and it's not difficult to see why. With a soporific combination of CBD and CBN with soothing herbs like valerian, skullcap and catnip, it not only helps settle you down for restful sleep, but also takes the edge off of daily life when used during the day. The opaque covering on our softgels preserves this goodness and ensures that it won't spoil or degrade over time.
Finally, our specific softgels are made with a tapioca gelatin, rather than bovine or porcine, like many are. Knowing that many of you out there are vegan, or are interested in plant-based solutions, we wanted to make sure that our softgels were available to as many people as possible. Softgel technology has evolved to make your daily treatment as guilt-free as possible, and that's a difference everyone can get behind.
All told, softgels are a great way to get your daily dose, and at Medicine Box, we use them to deliver our innovative plant medicine blends. The benefits they've bestowed upon our 1CaB Healing Suite of Botanical Formulations are a perfect example of how softgels can be used to deliver a powerful combination of ingredients. But if you need any better proof that our formulations improve upon all the other CBD softgels OR capsules on the market, it’s best for you to try them yourself.