How You May Benefit From Hemp Seed and Hemp Food Nutrition
Hemp seed is the basis to legal, non-drug hemp foods around the world. Hemp foods include ice-cream, non-dairy milk, snack bars, pasta, sauces and more. It’s nutritional content is second to none. So why is this ‘super-food’ not enjoyed at everyone’s dinner table?
Hemp is a legal cousin of ‘cannabis’ or the illegal/ medicinal form of hemp that contains the drug ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol or THC for short. Hemp seed contains none of this THC, but what it does contain is worth having. 24% protein that includes the full range of amino acids as well as a balanced source of Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs#1. EFAs include omega-3 and omega-6 which help us keep a healthy immune system and is responsible for shiny healthy looking skin, hair and nails. A reduction in the craving for junk foods is also noticeable among many regular consumers of hemp seed and hemp food products.
Hemp Oil is the crushed and pressed seed and offers the most nutritional bang for your buck. After just one to two weeks of 1-2 tablespoons per day you are likely to experience a significant affect on your skin quality. Some even say that hemp oil is a cure for cancer, though this has not yet been backed up or proven in blind studies. #6 This may be useful for breastfeeding mums as it is known that during breastfeeding the child pulls 11 grams of EFAs from the mother daily through her breast milk. This needs to be replenished from food source as it cannot be manufactured in the body.
Hemp Foods have been around for centuries, including hemp oil being mentioned in the Bible#2. So why the controversy? Since the end of the 20th Century there has been little controversy with hemp foods growing in popularity as most people seem to grow out of the ‘oh, that’s a drug and can’t be good for me’, and into the ‘would you like a hemp bar in your lunch box today?’
The situation for hemp is not the same all over the world. In Australia for example, although you can legally grow hemp (again, without the drug ingredient), Hemp Foods are not legal!#3 In North America, this is the opposite – hemp foods are purported to be worth $100million yet you cannot grow a commercial hemp crop for love nor money (at least legally). The lucky Canadians who supply much of this are enjoying the benefits of a $½billion and growing industry.
A not-for-profit organization, Vote Hemp#5 continues to lobby Government to make hemp growing legal in North America. Big business may have prevented this in the past, however if they succeed big business will be made from this in the future.
So next time you visit a health food store, or supermarket don’t forget to check the isles for some hemp foods and experience the difference today!
#1 Source: Modern Introduction To Hemp at http://www.hemp.co.uk/shop/manufacturer/hemp-books/modern-introduction-to-hemp-food-to-fibre-to-fuel-new-ebook.html
#2 Source: http://www.hemp.co.uk/hemp-blog/2010/11/29/8-hemp-facts.html
#3 Source: http://www.hempfoods.com.au
#4 Source: http://www.thehia.org/PR/2010-05-03-hia-Hemp_Food_Growth.html
#5 Source: www.votehemp.com
#6 Source: http://educate-yourself.org/cn/ricksimpsoncancercure16dec07.shtml etc.
