Today you're getting the results of our month-long review of NuLeaf Naturals CBD Oil. We tested NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil on two subjective metrics:
- Potency, and;
- Taste.
But we also compared some objectifiable metrics like:
- The transparency of the company;
- The independent 3rd-party lab test results, and;
- Price of NuLeaf Naturals CBD Oil,
to other high-rated CBD oils that we’ve reviewed in the past.
After reading today’s review of NuLeaf Naturals oil you’ll exactly know if this is the CBD oil you should give a try, or whether there are better options for you.
NuLeaf Naturals Review Summary
Features
- CBD: 5.93%
- THC: 0.14%
- Other Cannabinoids: CBC(0.23%), CBG(0.1%)
- Terpenes: 0.1%
- Price/average dose: $1.97 per 25mg of CBD
- Full-spectrum:
- Satisfaction Guarantee:
- Potency test:
- Pesticide test:
- Heavy metal test:
- Microbiological test:
Pros and Cons
- True full-spectrum CBD oil
- Made from organic Hemp
- Pure hemp-extract: doesn't contain any additives, sweetners etc.
- No satisfaction-guarantee
- No variety in types of oils/other CBD products
Check current price at:
First Impressions
NuLeaf Naturals sends its CBD oil in discreet cardboard boxes.
Nothing on the outside gives away that the package is related to CBD oil.
When you open the package, besides the bottle of CBD oil itself, you get a flyer with some information about NuLeaf Naturals ‘the company', and how they source/produce their CBD oil.
You also get a page with dosage recommendations and a 15% discount code for your next purchase.
But looking at the fact that our discount code herbonaut always provides 20% off, you're better off using our discount code for all of your NuLeaf Naturals purchases.
Transparency and The Importance of Lab-Test Results
The transparency of a company is extremely important when it comes to CBD oil.
One of the best ways a CBD oil company can prove its transparency is by providing independent 3th-party lab-test results that show:
- Cannabinoid-profile and cannabinoid-content;
- Terpene-profile and terpene-content;
- The absence/presence of toxins like heavy metals, pesticides, and residual solvents.
But it’s also important that they’re open about the type of plants they use to produce their CBD oil, where they’re grown, and how they’re grown.
Hemp is a plant that absorbs a variety of compounds at a high rate from the soil (compared to other plants). Compounds like:
- Heavy Metals
- Radioactive Elements
- Pesticides, Herbicides, and Fungicides
And while these compounds don’t affect the health of the hemp plant itself, if you’re making oil from a hemp plant that’s full of these compounds, all these compounds will leak into the oil, and also potentially into your body.
Now, even if you have independent 3th-party lab-test results, not every lab tests for literally every possible toxin that can be present in your CBD oil.
Most CBD oil brands test for:
- Cannabinoid-content;
- Sometimes terpene-content, and;
- A select set of toxins/contaminants that differ for every CBD oil seller.
NuLeaf Naturals, for example, have publically available their test-results that show:
- Cannabinoid-profile and -content;
- Terpenoid-profile and -content;
- Absence/presence of heavy metals;
- Absence/presence of mycotoxins;
- Absence/presence of pesticides;
- Absence/presence of residual solvents.
These are test-results that are as complete as it gets. I haven't found any CBD oil producers that publically provide more complete test results.
Pro Verde, the lab-test facility they use to test their CBD oil meets ISO 17025 standards, which means this lab works based on high scientific standards and you can trust the results of these lab tests.
NuLeaf Naturals CBD Oil Lab Test Results
One way to check for the potency of a CBD oil is checking test results that show cannabinoid-profile and -content, plus terpene-profile and terpene-content.
These cannabinoid and terpene test-results can also give you an indication in the ‘full spectrumness' of a CBD oil.
At Herbonaut we always recommend a full-spectrum CBD oil over broad-spectrum and purified CBD oils (oils that only contain CBD and/or a few other beneficial compounds).
Here's why:
A full-spectrum CBD oil makes the best case for the ‘entourage effect', which refers to the effect of all the compounds in the Hemp plant influencing each other in a synergistic way, increasing each other's positive effects.
A recent study found that epilepsy patients that used a full-spectrum CBD oil to treat themselves, sometimes needed 4-times less of a dose (in terms of CBD mg) to achieve the same effects as epilepsy patients that used a purified CBD product.
A true full-spectrum CBD oil should contain a wide profile of cannabinoids and terpenes, but also should also contain these various cannabinoids and terpenes in significant concentrations.
That said, let’s scrutinize the latest (August 2019) lab test results of NuLeaf Naturals and see what they can tell us about this CBD oil.
Cannabinoid-Profile and Cannabinoid-Content
NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil contains significant concentrations of other cannabinoids than CBD.
Although there are many more cannabinoids (over 70 are known in scientific literature), the 3 most well-known and well-researched cannabinoids, other than CBD (THC, CBG, CBC), are present in significant amounts in NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil.
This means from a cannabinoid-perspective, we can qualify NuLeaf Naturals as a full-spectrum CBD oil.
Also, even though NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil is produced with the CO2-extraction method, and CO2-extraction generally isn't the most effective and efficient way to extract cannabinoids and terpenes especially…
It contains comparable concentrations and the same cannabinoid-profile as an ethanol-extracted CBD oil like Receptra Naturals for example.
NuLeaf Naturals shows that CO2 extraction can produce the same results, cannabinoid-wise, as ethanol-extraction extraction.
But for a CBD oil to be truly full-spectrum, it also needs to contain significant concentrations and a wide enough profile of terpenes.
Terpene-Profile and Terpene-Content
The two terpenes present in the highest concentrations inside NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil are:
- beta-caryophyllene, and;
- alpha-humulene.
Then there are 5 terpenes that are present but in less significant concentrations.
But what do these concentrations mean for you as the consumer?
Well, to get the most benefits from CBD oil, your oil should also contain significant concentrations of terpenes. Terpenes also play an important role in the afore-mentioned entourage effect.
We can clearly see here that NuLeaf Naturals contains significant concentrations and a relatively wide profile of terpenes.
But here's the catch:
Although NuLeaf Naturals indeed contains significant concentrations of beneficial terpenes, these concentrations are still much less than in a CBD oil that's produced with the use of cold-ethanol extraction (and not decarboxylated at high temperatures, OR in the case it is, the evaporated terpenes are re-introduced into the end-product).
This means even though NuLeaf Naturals is ‘more full spectrum' than the majority of CBD oils, it's not as full spectrum as a CBD oil that's produced from high-resin hemp flower and extracted with cold-ethanol extraction, and didn't undergo a decarboxylation process with high heat OR if it did the evaporated terpenes got re-introduced into the final product.
Toxins (Heavy Metals, Pesticides, Mycotoxins, and Residual Solvents)
Here we can clearly see that NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil is clean and doesn't contain any toxic compounds or any levels of toxic compounds that could be harmful to your health.
The Plants and Strains Used (the Source of their CBD Oil)
NuLeaf Naturals uses organically cultivated Hemp from licensed hemp farms in Colorado.
They don't specify which type of strain(s) they exactly use. This could either mean they use a variety of strains or they don't want their strain to be out in the open.
Looking at the test-results though we see that they use high-resin plants, evidenced by the high concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes. They also clearly state that their CBD oil is purely made from hemp (it's a combination of cold-pressed hemp oil and full spectrum CBD-concentrate). They don't add anything to their oil, other than what they extract from the original source plants.
Colorado is theoretically the best place for the hemp your CBD oil is made of to originate from.
Here’s why:
Colorado’s state agricultural program has a strong foundation of regulations regarding the cultivation of hemp. These regulations act as protection-layer for consumers. Among these regulations, are pesticide regulations that control pesticide-use for Hemp that is grown for human consumption. The State of Colorado also performs routine inspections and sampling of all registered Hemp growers to check their plants for THC-levels.
Extraction Methodology
Onto the extraction methodology.
NuLeaf Naturals produces its CBD oil by means of CO2 extraction. They make use of both subcritical and supercritical CO2 extraction.
In theory, CO2 extraction is ‘cleaner' and ‘greener' than other extraction methods, but less effective and efficient in extracting especially terpenes.
Supercritical CO2 extraction is more efficient and works well for extracting just CBD and some other less volatile cannabinoids. But supercritical CO2 extraction is too harsh of a method to preserve especially terpenes. Subcritical CO2 extraction works with lower temperatures and lower pressure, this means if you're using CO2 extraction, subcritical CO2 extraction is the preferred method if you want to preserve highly volatile compounds like terpenes.
As we saw earlier, of all the CO2-extracted CBD oils, NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil definitely contains the highest concentrations and widest profile of cannabinoids and terpenes. But compared to a well-manufactured, premium quality cold-ethanol extracted CBD oil, it contains lower concentrations of terpenes.
In the end, NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil is a true ‘full-plant extract' or full-spectrum CBD oil, but slightly less full-spectrum than the highest quality cold-ethanol extracted CBD oils.
Potency
Now, besides looking at the amount of CBD and other cannabinoids (in milligrams) per grams/milliliters, how we assess potency is by simply testing it ourselves for sleep, pain, and how well it decreases irritation on a bad day.
Let me explain.
Testing CBD oil for sleep and pain is relatively easy.
This is how we tested NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil for sleep:
- Take a full dropper of NuLeaf Naturals oils sublingually 15 minutes before sleep;
- Check how fast I fell asleep;
- What time I wake up the next morning;
- If and how many times I woke up between me falling asleep and me getting up in the morning, and;
- How well rested I feel the next morning.
For me, good sleep means uninterrupted sleep of 7-8 hours, and feeling well-rested the next morning. Well-rested means I don't feel tired and have a clear mind.
This is a very unscientific and subjective test, and we can’t objectively ‘proof’ that one CBD oil is more potent for sleep than the other.
But in general, when I took NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil before sleep, I slept more sound and felt well-rested the next morning. As said before, how ‘rested’ I feel is highly subjective and dependent on more factors than just taking CBD oil. But my life consists of routine and my activities and foods are mostly the same on a week-by-week basis.
I also test CBD oil potency based on how well they help it helps with inflammation after a good workout. The cartilage in my left knee gets easily irritated for example and a good CBD oil reduces the inflammation in my knee significantly. NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil reduced the inflammation in my knee decently after a Bootcamp-style workout session that consisted of over 150 squats.
How I check how well a CBD oil has the potential to decrease my tendency to get irritated on a bad is as follows:
- I know that if I have a night of bad sleep, I get irritated very easily the next day;
- I go to bed late a few nights;
- On these nights, I drink more than usual so that my sleep gets interrupted during the night for trips to the toilet;
- I wake up tired and wake up with a tendency to get irritated easily about small things;
- 3 hours after waking up, I take a full dropper of the CBD oil (sublingually) and stay aware of how my tendency to get irritated fast on these types of days develops.
NuLeaf Naturals was very effective in reducing my tendency to get irritated. Again, this is highly unscientific and subjective. But to me, this method is highly relevant and trustworthy.
Taste
Although NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil doesn't have any sweeteners, additives or taste-bettering carrier oils, it doesn't taste as bitter as you would expect from an oil that's so close to nature and the original plant.
Most CBD oils do have 1 or 2 additives to better the taste, and while these oils will taste better than NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil, Nuleaf Naturals CBD oil doesn't taste as bitter as some other full-spectrum CBD oils.
The best way to describe it as follows:
With most full-spectrum CBD oils I wash the bitterness out of my mouth after taking it, but with NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil, I don't necessarily feel the need to do it.
Price
NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil’s price is slightly higher than comparable premium CBD oils, but with our 20% off coupon code it becomes a bit cheaper than most premium CBD oils:
- NuLeaf Naturals 20% off discount code: herbonaut
Conclusion
At Herbonaut we're the biggest fans of true full-spectrum CBD oils. Most CBD oils today that get marketed as full-spectrum, in reality, are ‘broad spectrum' CBD oils. Broad-spectrum CBD oils don't contain the full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes found in Hemp plant and/or don't contain them in high amounts.
Therefore it's highly important to validate the claims done by CBD companies.
Looking at the:
- Certificates of analysis done by an independent 3th-party laboratory, and;
- Effects that NuLeaf Naturals produces with regards to sleep, inflammation and bad mood,
I feel confident to say that NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil is a true full-spectrum CBD oil.
NuLeaf Naturals itself is a professional and transparent company. They tick every box to be classified as a premium CBD oil supplier.
If you're looking for a true full-spectrum CBD oil to try, NuLeaf Naturals CBD oil is definitely the CBD oil you should check out:
- NuLeaf Naturals 20% off coupon code: herbonaut
If you want to learn more about CBD or see our reviews of other CBD oils, check out the articles below:
