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Erbology
Hemp benefits for your health

Hemp benefits for your health

Team ErbologyErbology

Have you heard of hemp? This powerful plant has made numerous headlines in the recent years, mostly due to its CBD extract. But, there are even more hemp benefits to be discovered. Find out how it can help your immune system, skin health and more. 

April 27, 2022 4:58 pm

What is hemp?

Hemp is a green, leafy plant from the Cannabis sativa family. Famously, hemp plants are often confused with the varietal of cannabis plant used to make marijuana. However, hemp is different because it contains very low levels of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. So, you can rest assured that hemp doesn’t have any intoxicating effect!

There are seemingly endless stories about hemp’s healing power. People who have tried remedy after remedy, medicine after medicine to combat everything from eczema to PMT to gut and bowel issues rave about its positive effects. It has a pleasant, nutty flavour and many people like to incorporate it into foods such as cakes and breads.

Hemp is also useful outside the realm of health and wellbeing. It’s one of the strongest fibres in the plant world, and is used to make a huge range of products. These range from rope, oil, plastic to building materials.

Where does hemp come from?

As a cultivated crop, hemp has been around for many thousands of years. Carbon dating has traced our use of hemp back to at least 8,000 BC. In China, hemp seed oil has been used in food and medicine for at least 3,000 years.

In the sixteenth century, Henry VIII encouraged farmers to grow hemp widely in Britain to support the ships of its Navy. As the ships set sail to explore and, indeed, define, the world as we know it, everything from riggings and sails to maps and even the pages of the sailors’ Bibles were made using hemp oil and fibres.

The emphasis on hemp as a central crop for farmers continued in the New World. Colonial Americans were even able to pay their taxes with hemp.

Hemp makes a comeback

When Rudolph Diesel invented his eponymous engine in 1896, he planned to power it with hemp oil and other vegetable and seed oils. Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company, shared his vision and was also a producer of hemp fuel. 

Ford extracted important products such as methanol and creosote from hemp. Unfortunately, today we usually source these from fossil fuels. Given the current climate crisis, this seems like a major missed opportunity, especially since it was fuelled by the manipulations of Ford’s competitors. These rivals pushed for a change of laws and public opinion by blurring the very real distinction between hemp and its cousin, the marijuana plant. It’s a misconception which continues to this day.

Luckily for us, hemp has made an impressive comeback in recent years. This is largely due to increased commercial farming of hemp in Europe during the 1990s. The resurgence of hemp has also encouraged scientists to examine the data behind traditional wisdom about hemp’s healing powers. 

 

Healing hemp in the modern day

Studies at the Departments of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Kuopio in Finland found that hemp seed oil greatly increased the levels of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) in the blood. This omega-6 fatty acid is very effective at reducing inflammation, which adds credence to claims that hemp seed oil works well for eczema sufferers.

Dr. Jace Callaway of the University explained, “increased serum levels of GLA might help explain some of the numerous anecdotal reports of seemingly miraculous cures from people taking hemp seed oil, particularly those suffering from chronic health problems such as allergies, dry skin, slow wound healing and even rheumatoid arthritis.”(1)

Hemp seed oil has an unusual 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, which is exactly the ratio these two fatty acids should occupy in your overall diet. It contains about 56 grams of linoleic acid (omega-6) and 20 grams of alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) per 100 grams.

A dietary imbalance of these fatty acids could be behind many of the diseases common in Western society today. The diet of the average American features a 15:1 to 16.5:1 proportion of these fatty acids.

A healthier balance of omega-3 and omega-6 may have a beneficial effect on several types of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma.(2) Their presence in exactly the right ratio in hemp seed oil means that the human body can best absorb their nutritional value.

Hemp is a source of vitamin D

Hemp seed oil is also a rich source of vitamin D, useful for overall wellbeing and bone health. Confusingly, Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin, but a hormone which keeps calcium, magnesium, and phosphate in balance within the body.

The essential substances which, as a group, compose Vitamin D are only present in a few foods. For your body to use them, your kidney and liver need to convert them first.

A lack of Vitamin D may lead to rickets, or soft and malformed bones, which continues to ail children throughout the world. Vitamin D deficiency can also affect the elderly, causing another global health problem known as osteomalacia.

Although sunlight is a good source of Vitamin D, we need Vitamin D in our diets to prevent rickets. Vitamin D is also valuable for regulating immunity and normalising blood pressure. 

“Hemp seed oil is a rich source of vitamin D, useful for overall wellbeing and bone health."

Hemp hearts

Shelled hemp seeds are also known as hemp hearts. This seems especially appropriate considering that hemp seed oil may support a healthy heart! 

Researchers who looked at the effects of hemp seed oil when regularly administered to rats found that its ‘perfect’ ratio of fatty acids might help prevent heart attacks and cancer. Plant chemicals in hemp seed oil, including beta-sitosterol and campesterol, have also been linked with a reduction in coronaries.(3) 

When ground down, hemp hearts become hemp powder. Rich in protein, fibre and Vitamin D, hemp powder is a great addition to protein shakes. You can also use it in baking. Erbology produces both raw hemp powder and hemp seed oil. 

Fatty acids and the immune system

Today, we know much more about how our body works to ward off the endless germs, bacteria, viruses, and fungi that waft around in the world..New research tells us that the immune system relies on unsaturated fatty acids to function.(4)(5)(6)

The ideal balance of omega-3 and omega-6 might therefore explain why hemp seed oil has long been traditionally thought to help the immune system work effectively. An imbalance in the ratios of omega-3 and omega 6 in our diet is linked to a whole host of diseases and health issues.

This is especially true in the Western diet, where we tend to consume far more omega-6, and far less omega-3, than we should.

Hemp benefits for the skin and hair

Some dermatologists recommend patients eat hemp seed oil regularly to help skin glow from the inside out.

Hemp’s benefits for skin also come from its perfect ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which act to hydrate and moisturise the skin. Many users claim that hemp seed oil helps with skin complaints like eczema and dry, itchy or flaky skin.(7)(8)

Hemp oil is an excellent hair oil, too. Omega-3 fatty acids nourish hair follicles and scalp, leaving your hair looking stronger and shinier and your scalp well cared for. 

How are hemp seed oil and hemp seed powder made?

Erbology Hemp Seed Oil is cold-pressed, but what does a cold press for hemp seed look like? The surprising answer is: a worm!  A revolving worm drive gently presses out the precious oil. We call what is left over the seed cake. This retains an optimal level of vitamins and minerals and is then made into hemp seed powder.

All of this production happens in an oxygen-free setting, preventing oxidation.

The flavour of hemp

Hemp seed oil has quite a strong, distinctive nutty flavour, making it perfect for use in salad dressings and as a finishing oil on soups and pastas. A tablespoon or two of hemp oil a day will bring you all of its benefits. Some people find hemp seed quite strong in flavour and prefer to blend it with olive oil to balance it.

Erbology hemp seed oil and hemp seed powder

Erbology Cold-pressed Hemp Seed Oil is organic. This preparation method means that valuable chemical compounds native to the oil will remain wholly intact. It is extremely rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and in Vitamin D.

 

Erbology Hemp Seed Powder is also organic and cold-pressed. We keep it raw to maintain all the valuable minerals it contains, including magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.

Both Erbology hemp seed oil and hemp seed powder are vegan, gluten-free and free of any preservatives or genetic modifications.

Key hemp benefits

  • Optimum ratio of Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids
  • Rich source of Vitamin D
  • Deeply moisturises hair and skin
  • Supports heart health
  • Strengthens the immune system

Hemp recipes

Porridge topped with seeds and honey or maple syrup is a long-time winter staple dish for us; it insulates from the cold and provides fuel to brave the frosty weather.

As timeless as this dish is, sometimes we need something different to enliven the taste buds and the spirit. We love adding this oat, seed, hemp and chia powder bread to our repertoire. It brings all the comforts and benefits of porridge, but with a more condensed texture. We especially love the unusual mixture of sesame seeds, hazelnuts, and pumpkin and sunflower seeds scattered throughout the bread.

Discover more hemp recipes

Related reading

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  • References

    (1) Jourdan, Thea, “Hempseed oil does a power of good”, The Telegraph, 2001.

    (2) Simopoulos, AP, “The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids”, Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 2002.

    (3) Fernandez-Arche et al, “Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Seed Oil: Analytical and Phytochemical Characterization of the Unsaponifiable Fraction”, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2014.

    (4) Ziboh, VA et al, “Metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids by skin epidermal enzymes: generation of antiinflammatory and antiproliferative metabolites”, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2000.

    (5) Harbige, LS, “Dietary n-6 and n-3 fatty acids in immunity and autoimmune disease”, Proceedings of the Nutritional Society, 1998.

    (6) Harbige, LS, “Fatty acids, the immune response, and autoimmunity: a question of n-6 essentiality and the balance between n-6 and n-3”, Lipids, 2003.

    (7) Callaway, J et al, “Efficacy of dietary hempseed oil in patients with atopic dermatitis”, Journal of Dermatology Treatment, 2005.

    (8) Tabassum, N and Hamdani, M, “Plants used to treat skin diseases”, Pharmacognosy Review, 2014.

    (9) Rocha Filho EA et al, “Essential fatty acids for premenstrual syndrome and their effect on prolactin and total cholesterol levels: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study”, Reproductive Health, 2011.

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