If you want to look after your body the natural way a daily dose of hemp seed is the best medicine!
Hemp is an incredibly nutritious food, with a very long list of health benefits: from boosting immunity, reducing blood glucose levels, lowering cholesterol, reducing inflammation and the risk of heart disease, improving skin and hair, balancing the gut and supporting a healthy diet, just to name a few!
When it comes to the best ways to add hemp to your diet, you can drizzle hemp seed oil over a salad and add hemp seeds to your smoothie, morning oats or sprinkle over your smashed avo. The simplest way to consume hemp is by drinking hemp-infused drinks, including Hemp Oz Sparkling water and Hemp OZ Kombucha – possibly the world’s best health drink!
It’s not just health gurus who love it – everyone is going crazy for hemp! Hemp food and drinks are popping up on the shelves and the menu at your local café, supermarket and health food store.
But what is it about hemp seed that has everyone going gaga? Here are our 5 top reasons:
- A Rich Source of Complete Protein
While it may look like a small, unassuming seed, hemp is a powerhouse of protein content. If you’re a vegetarian, vegan or simply trying to have less meat in your diet, hemp packs a serious punch of plant-based protein. In a 30g serving of hemp seeds, there is 9.47g of protein! https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/12012?n1=%7BQv%3D1%7D&fgcd=&man=&lfacet=&count=&max=25&sort=default&qlookup=hemp+seeds&offset=&format=Full&new=&measureby=&Qv=1&ds=SR&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=
Protein is made up of amino acids and is essential for health. Protein is the essential building blocks for muscle growth, healthy skin, hair and nails. Amino acids can increase energy levels and metabolic rate while healing and repairing body tissue
Hemp contains the full spectrum of all 10 essential and non-essential amino acids, making it a complete protein source. As very few plant-based foods are complete sources of protein, vegetarians and vegan will rejoice in hemp.
- A Perfect Ratio of “Healthy” Fats
Most diets are high in the wrong kind of fats, namely saturated fats, so a healthy dose of hemp will boost the good fats your body needs. Hemp is an exceptional source of essential fatty acids, which our body cannot produce on its own. The two key essential fatty acids found in hemp are omega-3 and omega-6. To top it off, Hemp contains a near-perfect 3:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, a balance considered the optimal healthful ratio. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10681-004-4811-6
Essential fatty acids are vital for maintaining a healthy body – from strengthening the immune system, improving brain function, regulating organs and glands, to producing beautiful hair, skin, nails. The preventative health benefits of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are numerous, most notably the link to improved heart health and reducing inflammation.
Around 60 per cent of hemp seed oil is the essential fatty acid called Linoleic Acid (this is about six times more than the amount of Linoleic acid found in olive oil) which is a beneficial substance that is rarely found in food sources. Hemp seed oil also is one of only a handful of food sources containing Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA), a polyunsaturated fatty acid which may also have anti-inflammatory effects.
Hemp seeds also contain phytosterols, which help in reducing the amount of cholesterol in the body by removing fat build-up in the arteries.
- Improves Gut-health and Curbs Your Cravings
Hemp seeds contain the gut-cleansing and re-balancing wonder-ingredient – dietary fibre. Many of us don’t get enough fibre from the foods we eat – so a healthy boost from wholefoods like hemp can really make a difference. Dietary fibre is a prebiotic that builds a healthy gut microbiome to regulate the digestive system. The benefits don’t stop there. The gut influences many different functions in our bodies – from our immune system, heart health, brain health, mental health, sleep, appetite, weight management and more. Caring for your gut, means improving how you feel in both body and mind.
There’s more good news for anyone wanting to keep the mid-meal cravings at bay. The fibre from hemp is digested slowly, which means you feel fuller for longer.
- Strengthens Hair
Another benefit of the ultra-high concentration of Omega-3 and Omega-6 healthy fats is that promotes healthy hair growth and boosts the luster and sheen of your hair.
Hemp protein combined with the Vitamin E in hemp naturally conditions the scalp from the inside out, making your dry, itchy scalp a thing of the past.
- Contains Essential Vitamins and Minerals
Hulled hemp seeds and hemp oil are among the world’s most nutritionally-perfect food, very deserving of the title ‘superfood’.
There are many healthy ingredients in hemp seeds and hemp seed oil. Hemp seeds contain calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, folate, vitamin D, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, vitamin C, and vitamins A and E.
Hemp seed oil has been used as a food and medicine in China for at least 3,000 years (de Padua et al, 1999). Hemp seed oil has a lovely nutty flavour, so is delicious as a salad dressing and in home-made dips. In health drinks, you can really taste the natural goodness, especially zero-sugar hemp drinks (from the Hemp Oz beverage range).
Hemp seeds can be consumed raw, cooked or roasted. Hemp seed oil should not be fried, heated, or stored in direct sunlight because the heat and light break down the healthy components.
So, if you want a natural way to improve your health, jump on board this hot superfood craze and enjoy hulled hemp seeds, hemp oil, hemp powder, Hemp Oz Natural Springwater and Hemp Oz Kombucha as much as you want!