Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to CBD.
CBD gummies are extremely popular because they resemble candy but may have health benefits. Keoni CBD Gummies is a popular brand that claims “no other edible matches our quality or value.”
But are Keoni CBD Gummies actually higher-quality than most CBD gummy brands? How does the price compare to similar products? And do these gummies have any unhealthy additive ingredients?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review the ingredients in Keoni CBD Gummies to give our take on whether the supplement is likely to be effective and whether it contains any unhealthy additive ingredients.
We’ll also compare the test results and cost of this product to a leading competitor and explain if we recommend Keoni CBD Gummies or if we think they’re a waste of money.
Ingredient Review
Keoni CBD Gummies provide 25 milligrams (mg) of CBD per serving. This is an effective CBD dose according to a medical review of CBD published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine Research.
The above-linked study found that CBD may be effective for anxiety relief, but more research is needed.
Like many CBD gummies, this brand also contains a number of questionable additive ingredients.
These gummies contain 2 grams (g) of added sugar, and while this is a relatively low amount, added sugar intake is associated in medical research with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer, and as we documented in our Smilz CBD Gummies reviews article, this ingredient has been shown in a series of medical case reports to cause whole-body inflammation in a small subset of individuals.
Natural flavor is a broad term that fails to describe the specific flavoring agents used, and a medical review published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal documented some toxicity concerns related to natural flavoring compounds.
Overall, while there are several ingredients in Keoni CBD Gummies that we typically recommend avoiding, we do consider this formulation to be healthier than the average CBD gummy formulation which often contains more added sugar and highly questionable additives like artificial food dye and artificial flavoring agents.
Are Keoni’s Test Results Legit?
Keoni, like most CBD brands, has test results on their product page. This is generally a good sign of a high-quality brand.
The product test results published by the brand appear to be from an independent laboratory, which is the gold standard of product research given that it reduces the risk of bias compared to an in-house lab.
Our main issue is that the lab results for the CBD gummies, at the time of updating this article, do not include heavy metal contaminant testing.
A 2022 medical review on the US CBD market concluded the following:
"Low-level contamination of edible CBD products with heavy metals and phthalates is pervasive."
While it's certainly better than nothing that Keoni's testing confirms the potency of the product and the lack of microbial contamination like mold, the lack of heavy metal contaminant testing is suboptimal in our opinion.
Is CBD Oil a Better Choice?
We typically recommend CBD oil over CBD gummies for health reasons. Because gummies are formulated to taste like candy, they contain arguably unhealthy ingredients like added sugar and flavoring agents.
There are CBD oil brands that are entirely free of any questionable additive ingredients, and CBD oil is also typically cheaper per-serving than CBD gummies.
We would recommend that health-conscious and price-conscious consumers consider CBD oil over CBD gummies.
Our Clean CBD Picks
Cornbread CBD Gummies is our top CBD gummy pick.
This is the healthiest CBD gummy formulation we've come across, because the brand uses organic flavoring and organic beetroot for color.
Cornbread CBD Oil is our top overall CBD oil pick.
It has a clean formulation of organic hemp extract and organic coconut medium-chain triglycerides, and the brand publishes lab testing on every product page.
Medterra Citrus Oil is our top flavored CBD pick, because the brand uses organic flavoring which meets a higher ingredient standard than natural flavors according to USDA flavoring guidelines.
All of the supplements recommended in this section are free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.