There is a significant amount of science that goes into Kill Cliff’s line of delicious and—most importantly—effective CBD beverages. But how does it work? What should you expect from a CBD drink? How do you know the ingredients are “clean” and all-natural as advertised? And why is Kill Cliff’s CBD more effective than other CBD delivery systems?
To answer those questions, we went behind the scenes, to Kill Cliff’s Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters to meet with Jerry Barker, Kill Cliff’s Vice President of Business Operations and Innovation. Here’s what he told us about CBD and what makes Kill Cliff’s CBD drinks the ideal way to get your CBD. (See Part 2 next week.)
What do you tell people when they ask, "What does CBD do?"
Jerry Baker: CBD does a plethora of things but it’s important to understand that lot of times what CBD does to you is associated with what you're feeling at the moment. CBD enhances what you're feeling—what your body needs even if you don’t realize it. If you're tired and you're falling asleep and it's been a long day, CBD will enhance that feeling. Honestly, sometimes I don't even finish an entire 12-ounce can before I fall asleep drinking it.
So CBD helps you sleep.
Jerry Baker: It helps with sleep. It also helps with controlling inflammation. A lot of studies have been shown to support that. It helps with mood. It helps with appetite control. It really just helps play a vital role supporting proper function that your organs and your body perform.
It just puts you in a better place than where you were before. It could be a small amount better; it could be a large amount better. But the key about CBD is that you've got to take it regularly; you must keep it a consistent part of your lifestyle. As with anything else, if you do anything one time, it's only going to be so beneficial. It's the cumulative effect of doing it consistently that realizes long-term gains.
Why is Kill Cliff's CBD better than the other CBD beverages on the market?
Jerry Baker: Well, first I'll start with regulation. The federal government is only taking action if somebody's making a claim that their CBD product does something which it doesn't do or is lacking proper scientific evidence—like cure cancer, for instance. Unfortunately, that leaves the opportunity for a lot of people with inferior products to get into the business—and right now, it’s like the Wild West.
What we have here at Kill Cliff is a sophisticated, vertically-integrated supply chain where we control our CBD producer—who's also one of our major partners. Our producer controls everything—the growth of the hemp plant, the refinement into extracts, and the CO2 chromatography to remove the THC to ensure the proper compounds are present and that any bad ones are not.
We use a broad-spectrum emulsion, which has the THC elements removed, but it keeps the terpenes in there. It keeps the phytonutrients that you don't get from a typical isolate. At that point, there’s a 20 percent CBD concentration. The cannabinoids are encapsulated in what's called a micelle, which is a molecule that holds oil on the inside. It bonds to water on the outside—which is the most natural way you can make an oil water-soluble. Then, as soon as you start drinking the beverage, those particles start accessing your mucus membrane and going into your bloodstream much more quickly than if you were to take a tincture under the tongue or ingest a gummy.
So the encapsulated CBD travels intact to where it needs to go?
Jerry Baker: Exactly. The CBD oil must go into your digestive system, through your very wet digestive tract which wants to dissolve everything, and into your liver where it’s converted into a water molecule. If you’re not using Kill Cliff, you are losing a substantial amount of efficacy.
We have found a very strong source for CBD that has international standards certifications, meets FDA regulations, uses the highest quality procedures, and has some of the most rigorous quality testing that any products on the market have ever seen. You are getting a great source with great quality, high “bioavailability,” which also means greater value, and enjoying a better overall impact of the CBD.
(End Part 1. To be continued.)
