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 do Keoni CBD Gummies contain a research-backed CBD dose? Do they have any unhealthy ingredients? Why do we have an issue with the test results published by the brand? And are Keoni CBD Gummies better or worse than popular CBD gummy brands like Feals?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Keoni CBD Gummies to give our take on whether or not they're effectively dosed, and whether or not they're healthy.
We’ll also share our concerns about Keoni's test results, and compare Keoni CBD Gummies to other popular CBD gummy brands to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Contains effective CBD dose
- Contains some unhealthy additive ingredients
- We consider CBD oil to be healthier than CBD gummies
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Keoni CBD Gummies are shown below:
image source: https://keonicbd.com/product-category/cbd-gummies/
CBD is included at a dose of 25 milligrams (mg) per serving.
This is an effective 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.
Added sugar is included, and its 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, we consider Keoni CBD Gummies likely to be effective, but we don't currently recommend this product due to the inactive ingredients highlighted above.
Are Keoni’s Test Results Legit?
Keoni, like most CBD brands, has third-party test results on their product page.
The potency test results are shown below:
image source: https://keonicbd.com/product-category/cbd-gummies/
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.
Keoni vs. Popular CBD Gummy Brands
Here's how Keoni CBD Gummies compares to other popular CBD gummy brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
Five CBD
Contains a significant THC dose, which is clinically shown to have negative effects on sleep (and may have negative cardiovascular effects as well).
Additionally, at the time of our most recent analysis, the brand failed to publish a full ingredients label including inactive ingredients.
Keoni CBD Gummies is the winner from a health and safety perspective.
Winner: Keoni CBD Gummies
Feals Gummies
Like Keoni, this brand uses a research-backed CBD dose (although the dose is slightly less than in Keoni CBD Gummies).
The inactive ingredients in Feals Gummies are less healthy than those in Keoni CBD Gummies, and include ingredients like corn syrup and sucralose, as we documented in our Feals Gummies reviews article.
We give Keoni the advantage from a health perspective.
Winner: Keoni CBD Gummies
Apetropics One Chews
Same CBD dose, so equivalent from potential efficacy standpoint.
Significantly less healthy formulation than Keoni, including artificial colors.
Winner: Keoni 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.
Keoni CBD Gummies Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Research-backed CBD dose
- Negligible THC dose
- Healthier than competitors
- Relatively healthy for CBD gummy formulation
- Brand publishes third-party potency test results
Cons:
- Doesn't appear clinically tested
- Contains unhealthy inactive ingredients
- Third-party test results don't include contaminant data
- Less healthy than CBD oil in our opinion
