The Happy Seed – Hemp’s Healing Properties
May 2-8, 2011, is the second annual Hemp History Week, a nationwide public education campaign designed to renew strong support for hemp farming in the United States.
Even before the official founding of this country, the hemp plant (Cannabissativa L.) and its products played an important part in the growth and prosperity of the European transplants that rooted themselves here. Hemp’s beneficial uses, including making paper, ropes for shipping, cloth, as well as a variety of nutritious foods and supplements, have been clouded by the U.S. government’s constant confusion with its infamous cousin, marijuana (Cannabis indica). Hemp contains minute amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive drug preferred by medical marijuana users – in other words, you couldn’t get high on hemp if you tried.
Hemp is finally making a comeback in the United States. Walk down the aisles of your local health food store and you’ll see why the U.S. is the world’s largest importer of hemp, considering that hemp farming is prohibited on U.S. soil. Used to make hemp milk, protein supplements, nutrition bars, seed butter and cold-pressed culinary oils, hemp’snutritional benefits are well known and the good news is spreading like weeds.
The nutritional benefits of thehemp plant are derived from its hulled seeds, which are free of common allergens. Containing the full array of essential amino acids needed to provide complete protein, as well as an incredible essential fatty acid profile, these small seeds provide the raw materials to support human health.
The oil from hemp seeds is edibleand useful for a variety of culinary and healing purposes. Used to relieve symptoms of eczema, hemp oil is known for its anti-inflammatory effects becauseof its beneficial essential fatty acids.
Athletes, vegans and vegetariansare catching on to hemp’s plant-based protein benefits. Hemp seeds consist ofmostly fat, followed by protein, carbohydrates and fiber. Its stellar fattyacid profile gives hemp a leg up and over other seeds like flax. With anomega-6/omega-3 ratio of 3:1, hemp provides the right balance of essentialfatty acids that most American diets are lacking due to our over-reliance onpoor quality vegetable oils and trans fats.
Hemp provides one of the easiestplant-based protein sources for humans to digest and absorb. Four tablespoonsof whole seeds, which can be eaten raw, ground into meal, sprouted or made intobutter, contain 12 grams of protein, 20% of daily iron requirements, as well asan excellent source of zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin E. Naturallygluten-free, hemp is also cholesterol-free and very low in sodium.
For more information on HempHistory Week, go to: www.HempHistoryWeek.com.
Easy Ways toInclude Hemp in Your Diet
· Hemp butter & jelly sandwiches: Spreading justlike peanut butter, hemp is a great replacement for nut-free school lunches.
· Use hemp milk in cereal, coffee, tea or baking.
· Smoothies: Add four tablespoons hulled hemp seeds toyour morning smoothie for protein, essential oils and minerals.
· Salad dressing: Use hemp oil whisked with vinegar todrizzle on your salad or steamed vegetables.
*Because hemp oil has a low smokepoint, don’t sauté with it or otherwise heat it ? it’s safeto add to meals at the end of cooking. Also, be sure to store your hemp seedsand oils in the refrigerator to protect their sensitive fats from degrading.
Hempy Happy Oatmeal
Yield: 2 servings
Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups hemp milk
2/3 cup rolled oats
pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup hulled hemp seeds
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
Directions
Bring the hemp milk just to a boilover medium heat in a small saucepan. Whisk in oatmeal and add a pinch of saltand the cinnamon. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the oatmeal for seven minutes.Remove the oats from the heat and cover for one minute.
Add the hemp seeds, maple syrupand blackstrap molasses and mix well to combine. Serve hot.
Photo credit: apathyduck
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10 Comments
I’ve never really tried hemp, so after reading, I will give it a go. I hear it tastes very different, true?
Suzanne Williams
I had hemp milk on my granola this morning. I let my four year old daughter taste some hemp milk in a glass – but she wasn’t so impressed. She said it tasted like pasta!
I figure the more hemp we buy, the more economic incentive there will be to grow it in the United States. And the less number 2 corn we indirectly consume (by eating livestock) the more economic incentive there will be for us to find alternative crops for our farmers to grow.
Yes! I love putting hemp seeds on my oatmeal and in green smoothies. I also sneak it into smoothies and whole fruit “ice creams” I make for her. :)
A colleague was just telling me about hemp hearts she orders from Canada. She says after adding these to her steel cut oats breakfast, she feels fuller faster and longer, her digestion is waaaay efficient (who doesn’t want more of that!) and weight has melted off on it’s own (she wasn’t concerned about weight, it’s just jumped ship on its own!).
I’m getting whatever sample comes with her next shipment and will give it a go.
Hey Suzanne!
Hemp hearts or hemp seeds taste nutty/seedy, but very mild and much softer than sesame seeds.
Hi, Alex!
Thanks for the wonderful article! Is cooking the hemp milk, like in your oatmeal recipe, also problematic because of the smokepoint?
I get my hemp seeds from Canada because the ones sold in the US are not the real deal. http://www.healing-source.com/
I can’t seem to find a hemp milk with the substance carrageenan, a substance that worries me, from what I have been reading. You may want to watch out for that and make your own instead.
Is hemp as high in calories as other nuts and seeds? I want to try it, but with weight loss on my mind I’m hesitant to. The nutritional benefits seem huge though.
That oatmeal recipe sounds yummy for my tummy. Anything with molasses gets my vote. Extra iron and calcium bonus! I like to use the Hemp Protein powder in my smoothies and the seeds sprinkled in my salads always draw ooh’s and aah’s from my guests wondering what my secret ingredient is!! Yay hempseed!!
May 3, 2011