Hemp Seed and Hemp Oil Health Benefits

If you haven’t yet discovered Hemp Seeds, then you have also yet to discover the wonderful health benefits these delicious tasting little seeds, (also known as nuts) have to offer us. This article Hemp Seed and Hemp Oil Health Benefits will unearth the wonderful health giving properties of Hemp.

Hemp Seeds are a powerhouse of beneficial good oils, complete vegan plant protein and many important minerals, vitamins and amino acids.

Adding Hemp to your diet is a great choice to make and in this article I tell you why and also how to add it into your diet, including a simple recipe for making your own Hemp Milk!

Hemp has many other wonderful uses, which not only include food but everything from Hemp Plastics, Hemp Textiles and Hemp Paper. So Hemp has the ability to be an environmentally friendly replacement for many of the things we use daily in our lives.

Hemp Foods Are Legal In Most Countries Around The World, But Not In Australia & New Zealand

*Note – currently to date, in Australia & New Zealand, Hemp Seeds are still banned for human consumption,

All over the world Hemp is a staple food of the healthy conscious individual with as you now know the exception of Australia and New Zealand. Hopefully this ban will soon be lifted and Australia and New Zealand will finally catch up to to the rest of the Western World and embrace the wonderful health benefits that Hemp contains.

Although technically banned, this doesn’t mean that health conscious Aussies are sticking to this law, in-fact it is quite easy to buy Hemp Products here and yes even though it is technically illegal to consume Hemp, it is not because Hemp is actually anyway dangerous to our health, in-fact it is quite the opposite!!

No You Can Not Get High From Eating Hemp Seeds

To set the record straight, NO you can not get ‘high’, ‘stoned’ or ‘trip’ by consuming Hemp products and NO it is not addictive.

The Hemp Plant is a different variety of Cannabis Sativa to Marijuana and the levels of THC (delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical associated with the psychoactive properties of Marijuana, in the Hemp Plant is either so negligible, or not present at all!

So now you know there is no danger of becoming a drug addict from eating Hemp, I will tell you a little bit more about the health benefits of eating Hemp and using Hemp Oil.

Hemp Seeds & Hemp Oils A Near Perfect Balance Of Omega 3’s

Hemp Seeds & Hemp Oil are excellent sources of vegan friendly Essential Fatty Acids, the 1:3 ratio of Omega 3’s to Omega 6’s in Hemp is considered to be as close to the perfect balance of these two oils as you can currently find in any natural oils. This is especially important as if the balance of Omega 3’s to Omega 6’s are not optimal for our bodies then these EFA’s can have adverse health effects on our bodies. Hemp also is a great source of the Omega 6 Oil – Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA).

Hemps Seeds Are One Of The Few Plant Sources Of Complete Protein

Hemp Seeds contain a ‘Complete Protein’, meaning that they contain all of the 21 known amino acids the human body needs and this includes the 9 amino acids that adult bodies can’t manufacture naturally. Hemp Protein Powder has also shown to be better tolerated and a lot gentler on our digestive systems due to the fact that it does not contain enzyme inhibitors or phytates, like soy protein does, or fructose like pea protein does, or lactose like whey protein does, all which can lead to an upset gut and symptoms such as bloating, gas and diarrhea.

Hemp is also a good source of Fibre, Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamin E, Iron, Calcium & Potassium -read more about the nutritional benefits of Hemp Products here at Nutrition & Metabolism.com, this article has links to many interesting studies on Hemp.

Here are some links to various scientific studies done on Hemp and published on PubMed

The Cardiac and Haemostatic effects of dietary Hemp Seed states that Hemp is showing promising benefits in the area of cardiovascular health, due to the excellent content of Omega 3’s and 6
A study done on Hemp Seed Meal here, reports that Hemp Seed Meal may well be a candidate in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Cardiovascular disease
PubMed report on how Hemp Seed Oil helps with Atopic Dermatitis
A study on the Quality and Availability of Protein Levels in Hemp and another studying shows that Hemp Seed Hull Extract is a beneficial anti-oxidant with high levels of anti-oxidants compared to extracts tested from Grape-seed, Flax-seed and Soybean.

How to Introduce Hemp into your Diet

Hemp although not technically for sale (as you know) for human consumption in Australia and New Zealand is still grown and sold here in many health food stores and online stores.

We are lucky enough to have our own wonderful, ethical Australian growers and suppliers of premium grade, certified organic Hemp Seed, Hemp Oil and Hemp Protein Powders.

It is important when your purchase your Hemp products to eat that you know where it is actually farmed and grown; e.g Australia or Canada would be our choices for safety and purity, Hemp coming out of China is probably not going to be the purest option.

As Hemp contains the EFA’s Omega 3 and 6 it is not advisable to cook the oil using high heat as this will spoil the EFA’s.

When buying Hemp Oil it is important to make sure you get cold-pressed, organic oil that is stored correctly in a dark glass bottle so that the EFA’s remain stable.

Once open it should be stored in the fridge in used within a short period of time. Hemp Oil has a lovely, mild, slightly, nutty flavour and can be drizzled over salads, fruit, added to dips and smoothies and mixed through cold pasta, rice and quinoa dishes.

By far my favourite Hemp product is raw, organic, Hemp Seeds. Hemp Seeds have a great texture and delicious nutty taste, not dissimilar to pine nuts.

Hemp Seeds are very versatile, you can eat them plain or sprinkle them over your cereal, salads, sandwiches, deserts or use in raw food recipes, including blending them down to make Hemp Milk- see recipe below. To maintain the freshness of the EFA’s in the Hemp Seeds, I also like to store our Hemp Seeds in the fridge once the packet is opened.

Hemp Protein Powder is a super easy way to get a beneficial dose of complete vegan protein and your Omega 3’s and 6’s into your daily diet. Just add to a smoothie and enjoy.

Hemp Oil can be used in smoothies or drizzled over fresh salads.

HEMP MILK RECIPE

It is super easy and fast to make your own fresh Hemp Milk and a lot cheaper in the long run than buying it.

1 cup of hulled hemp seeds
4 cups of purified water – you can add more or less water depending on whether you prefer a thicker milk consistency or a skim milk consistency.

Blend till smooth. You can then drink it as is,or strain it through some cheese cloth, or a nut bag, to get an even smoother textured milk,
If you would like to sweeten your Hemp Milk a little, try using a touch of organic vanilla extract or a vanilla pod, another alternative to sweeten with a little organic maple syrup. Store in an airtight glass jar and refrigerate and use within a couple days.

*Note- I avoid using Agave & Honey , as they are very high in Fructose and many people are intolerant to Fructose – see here Fructose Malabsorption Symptoms & Treatment

Banana & Cacao HEMP SMOOTHIE RECIPE

1-2 cups of home-made Hemp Milk – or other dairy free milk.
1 – 4 Tablespoons of Hemp Protein Powder
1- 2 Organic Banana’s – use frozen pieces of organic banana – or if fresh banana, add 2 ice cubes to recipe.
1- Heaped Tablespoon of Raw Organic Cacao Powder – also super healthy read Raw Cacao Health Benefits-Healthy Chocolate

Strawberry & Blueberry HEMP SMOOTHIE RECIPE

1-2 cups of home-made Hemp Milk – or other dairy free milk.
1 – 4 Tablespoons of Hemp Protein Powder
1/2 cup of Organic Strawberries
1/2 cup of Organic Blueberries
1-Tablespoon of Organic Maple Syrup
2 ice cubes