Among the numerous uses of hemp, one of its most popular application is as a food source. In grocery stores, you can now find hemp food products such as hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, hemp milk, hemp tea, and even hemp infusion drinks. These hemp (or cannabis) products bring together the nutritional and medical benefits, along with hemp’s unique nutty taste to a variety of different consumer products.
Hemp Seed Oil
Hemp seed oil is made by cold pressing of hemp seeds and is not suitable for frying because of its low smoke point (160 C/320 F). One of the main health benefit of hemp seed oil is that it offers a very balanced EFA (essential fatty acids) distributions in your body, unlike flaxseed oil. Hemp seed oil consists of:
- 55% linoleic acid (LA/omega-6)
- 22% alpha-linoleic acid (ALA/omega-3)
- 1%-4% gamma-linoleic acid (GLA)
- 1%-2% stearidonic acid (SDA/omega-3)
Hemp Oil
Often confused with hemp seed oil, another beneficial variation of hemp oil is hemp extract oils with phytocannabinoids. One of the most clinically studied cannabinoids is CBD (cannabidiol). which is known to have numerous benefits. Among many other things, it’s known to have the potential to treat neuroinflammation, chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), HIV/AIDS and even cancer. The higher CBD content, the more potent medicinal effect observed.
Therefore, some experts recommend not only to take hemp oil as a supplement, but also apply it directly to your skin. There are plenty of skin care products, such as balms and shampoos, infused with hemp oil that are loved by consumers for its properties. They not only are excellent moisturizers, but they also help reduce dandruff, seborrhea, and itchy scalps.
Hemp Seeds
Probably the most yummy product that is derived from cannabis is hemp heart seeds. You can easily add these to almost any salads. Hemp hearts are rich in fiber, full of complete proteins, and contains well-balanced fats. Among the health benefits of the hemp hearts, many studies support the ideas that it could promote digestion, reduce bowel syndrome, and normalize gastrointestinal tracts. It’s also shown to reduce PMS and menopause symptoms. More critically, hemp seeds have shown to be beneficial to cardiovascular health, as it may reduce blood pressure and decrease risks of a heart attack.
Hemp Milk
Hemp milk, is another popular product made from hemp seeds, often additionally flavored with vanilla or chocolates. Overall, it is a great alternative to soy, nuts milk or traditional milk as it contains no dairy. Hemp seeds are also known to not cause any allergic reactions. Majority of hemp milk’s benefits come from the hemp seeds, which provides rich omega fatty acids, calcium, iron, niacin, and zinc.
Hemp Tea
Hemp tea, which consists of dry hemp leaves or toasted hemp seeds, contains trace amount of many useful cannabinoids (like CBD) that may substantially vary depending on the plant species. However, majority of cannabinoids are not water soluble. Therefore, in order to maximize the health benefits of hemp tea, we recommend adding the dry hemp with a few spoons of oil, butter, or some alcohol. This will help cannabinoids to dissolve faster and more effectively. Hemp tea lovers claim multiple health benefits of hemp tea, such as:
- Helps with insomnia, reduce anxiety, stress and depressions
- Illuminates nausea and irritable bowel syndrome that are frequently happening to chemotherapy patients
- Reduces chronic pain, sometimes reduce allergy, reduce inflammations. This makes it popular among rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients
Hemp Infusion Drinks
Whatever cannabis products you choose to try, we hope you’ll come to love cannabis as much as we do 😉
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The more articles like this, that get posted, the better. More general information about hemp and its uses will slowly educate the masses about this versatile plant. If you’re into natural things to put in your body, this is a great start.
“Hemp seeds are known not to cause allergic reactions.” Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. Found out I’m severely allergic (thankful I did an allergy testing to be sure).