Posted by Botanicals feel different depending on how you take them – their delivery. Whether it’s a powder, capsule or tablet, edible, or shot, the botanical changes absorption speed, peak intensity, duration, and subjective effects. These formats are meant to satisfy not only beginners and experienced users alike but every lifestyle.
Understanding how the format changes the botanical’s feel is key to explaining why people gravitate towards one format over another. Also, sometimes one format is preferable over another because of personal circumstances.
We’re comparing edibles and shots in general terms for any botanical you can think of. Here’s why they are so different from other formats and one another.
Absorption Process and Onset Speed
Part of what makes edibles and shots unique from other botanical formats is how they absorb in the body. Speed of absorption and digestion affect a botanical’s onset.
If we’re talking about the absorption process and onset speed, edibles – whether in the form of beverages, chocolate, or gummies – are about the same as capsules. Both edibles and shots deliver flavor, however, giving them special appeal.
Edibles have other ingredients like fats and sugars, though. Since many botanicals are also fat-soluble – we’re talking cannabis, kratom, kava, 4-hydroxy, and many others – they remain in the body’s fat and liver for a while. Their effects will last longer and give more bodily sensation than shots. They take 30-90 minutes for onset.
On the other hand, shots are concentrated liquid extracts of the botanical via solvents or a synthetic formula in combination with flow, flavoring and other agents. They are intense and onset quickly because they bypass having to break down through digestion. We’re talking instead of 30 to 60 minutes, a mere few minutes or up to 15.
The verdict: Choose edibles if you can wait for slow absorption and onset that lasts for hours, shots for when you want effects fast.
Bloodstream Concentration and Intensity
Edibles and shots have a proportion of ingredients made up of more than just whatever bioactive compounds they contain from a botanical. Their format and ingredients affect digestion and how they concentrate in the blood as well as their intensity in effects.
In the case of edibles, there’s a gradual increase of blood concentration and a slower onset with a smoother, less abrupt peak. Shots have a more sudden, sharper rise in blood concentration and a stronger come-up for a more intense experience with euphoria that wears off sooner.
The verdict: Edibles and shots have the same blood concentration but differ in how quickly they concentrate in the blood, making for less or more intense experiences and peaks.
Metabolism
The liver is important for metabolism, the breaking-down of chemical compounds (usually, alkaloids) before they enter circulation through the bloodstream. When bioactive compounds reach the liver, this is known as “first-pass” metabolism.
Edibles, especially those with high amounts of fat, have a higher absorption of fat-soluble compounds that will store in the fatty tissue and take more time to break down in the liver. Shots don’t need nearly as much time for breaking down, meaning the liver doesn’t have to do as much work, so they absorb and enter into the bloodstream faster.
The verdict: Whereas the bioactive compounds in edibles take time to digest in the bowel and undergo a fist pass through the liver, those in shots are ready to enter the bloodstream in a matter of minutes.
Food and Stomach Interactions
You’ve probably heard that botanicals are better with a little food in your stomach, but you don’t want to have a big meal. If you do, you’ll experience delayed onset and absorption and blunted peaks. That goes whether you are taking edibles or shots.
On an empty stomach, though, either one will absorb more quickly and have stronger initial sensations. Taking a shot on an empty stomach is really inadvisable because the onset and effects will likely feel overwhelming – it’s already intense enough as it is. GI upset from shots and then drinking one on an empty stomach can lead to intense nausea and even vomiting as well as panic attacks.
The verdict: The happy medium between taking edibles or shots on an empty stomach versus a full stomach from a big meal is to have a light meal or snack, or eat a meal and wait about an hour.
Concentration and Standardization
Both edibles and shots are on the higher end of the cost spectrum. However, shots have a higher bioactive compound concentration and need a smaller volume to achieve the same effects as edibles. In comparison, edibles are easier to measure, but other ingredients may soften their effects. Shots may have other ingredients to enhance or balance their effects, such as kratom and kava shots.
The verdict: Edibles are suitable for anyone. Because of their higher concentration and greater risk of accidental overdose, shots are better for occasional use and by experienced users.
Duration
You get a longer plateau with edibles than with shots because of their extended absorption. Shots often require redosing if you are intending to make use of their effects for all-day use.
The verdict: Shots onset and peak quickly, encouraging redosing – edibles do not.
Deciding Between Edibles and Shots
The choice between edibles and shots is somewhat complicated. For beginners or anyone in general, edibles are preferable. Their onset and effects are smoother and last longer, and they’re easier to measure. Experienced and occasional users can go with shots and enjoy their intensity and short duration, with or without redosing. Consider Real Botanicals for your next journey into kratom, 7-OH, 7-OH alternatives, or mushrooms.
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