Food

When talking about hemp as a food it is mostly to do with the seed. The leaves and flowers can be juiced as mentioned in the use as a medicine and these preparations would undoubtedly have many nutritional benefits but so much so I will delineate these as a medicinal use. When it comes to the seed I’m meaning its use as a staple food source. Its use as a food again dates back to some of its earliest uses. Particularly in a time of famine or for impoverished peoples. These would often be in conjunction with other staples like wheat to create meal or porridge like foods.

Half the weight of a mature, harvested seed-bearing hemp plant is hempseed. It is the plant kingdoms most nutritionally complete food. Meaning it not only contains all the essential amino acids that the body cannot produce on its own (the building blocks for protein) but also the essential fatty acids needed to maintain healthy human life. No other source contains protein in a such an easily digestible form. The oil which makes up to 30 to 35% of the hempseed contains the perfect ratio of the Omega 3,6,9 EFAs, producing more then any other plant. It also contains a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Vitamin B1,2,3,6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Fibre, Zinc, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Chlorophyll, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Copper, Potassium, Carotene, Phytosterols and Phospholipids.

“There are five general methods for preparing foods from hempseed: using whole seed, milling the seed, sprouting the seed, de-hulling the seed and using the oil directly.” “Like soybean, hempseed extracts can be made into vegetable milk… From soy milk one could make tofu, frozen dessert, cheese or hundreds of other products. It can be solidified, texturized and spiced to taste like chicken, beef or pork. Hempseed can also be ground into a meal, cooked like oatmeal or cream of wheat… Hempseed can be further ground into a margarine… seeds are roasted, seasoned and eaten as a snack. Roasted and ground seeds can be baked into breads, cakes, pancakes, cookies and casseroles.”

Chris Conrad – Hemp for Health: The Medicinal and Nutritional Uses of Cannabis Sativa

It is worth considering that the number 1 killer globally is heart disease. Nearly 20 million people die from heart disease each year. This is (at least from my research) directly related, not to saturated fat, as people often assume but more likely to inflammation caused by primarily sugar (HFCS and other highly processed sugars) and highly processed polyunsaturated oils (like vegetable, corn or sunflower). Of course there are other factors to take in to consideration like lifestyle and stress but from a diet perspective these are the big guns. A switch to less processed foods in general but particularly good quality fats like hempseed oil are an extremely heart healthy choice.

Humans are not the only ones that can benefit from using this superfood. Hempseed is very common in commercial birdseed and birds will sift through all other seed to find the nutritious hempseed. Its also ground up and fed to aquarium fish and used as bait for fishing. The pressed seed cakes from oil production can also be used as animal and livestock feed. This is something that is worth noting no matter which part of the plant or what product is being made, the by products or waste often still serve other purposes.

Cosmetics

Although not food related, cosmetics are another use for hemp. This is mostly referring to the hempseed oil which as already mentioned contains the perfect ratio of the omega 3,6,9 EFA and a whole host of other vitamins and minerals which makes it ideal for skincare products, moisturisers, soap and hair products.

The gamma linoleic acid (GLA) within the oil works as an anti-inflammatory that helps soothe skin, reduce redness, and support wound healing as well as being deeply moisturising without clogging pores. Its lipid profile closely matches the natural oils in human skin. Its worth noting many skin products contain Vitamin E as an antioxidant which helps with free radical damage, is UV protective and strengthens the lipid barrier which helps skin retain moisture, hemp seed oil naturally contains Vitamin E.

Many products already exist on the market that use hemp oil as an ingredient. This includes Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap which has been a huge advocate of the use of hemp oil in its Castile soaps.

However even using the oil directly has many amazing uses. You can apply a small amount directly to dry or cracked skin. It can be used on a cotton pad as a makeup remover. It can be used to nourish the scalp and help with dandruff if applied to the scalp for 10 mins before washing. It can help strengthen nails by directly applying oil to the cuticles. It can even fight acne by massaging on the troubled area and the oil will help to draw out blackheads and dirt from the skin. Some hemp soaps also use parts of the seed shells or seed shell powder as a natural abrasive to their bars.

CBD is also a component that is appearing more and more in cosmetics to increase its anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, analgesic and antioxidant effects.

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