Let’s Talk About Hemp!
I don’t know why but for some reason the song “Let’s Talk About Sex” by Salt n Pepa kept playing in my head while preparing to write this post. When I think about it, it actually flows pretty well replacing the word “sex” with hemp. I could revamp the whole song and go on a national hemp tour with it. “Let’s talk about hemp, Baby. Let’s talk about you and me. Let’s talk about all the good things, all the good things that it can bring. Let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about Hemp!” This could be really big! But there’s a couple of problems (1) copyrighting infringement, sigh and (2) I can’t sing or rap….another sigh. So let me go back to what I do best and write.
Hemp is part of the Cannabis Sativa plant variety and is one of the earliest plants to be cultivated. An excellent article written about hemp on mit.edu stated that archaeologists found a piece of cloth made out of hemp from ancient Mesopotamia dating back 8,000 BC. According to the same article hemp was here in North America way before Europeans came on its shore. And at one point hemp was grown in every state. Hemp was used for cloth, rope and paper. And for centuries it’s been used medicinally for anything from arthritis to insomnia.
Hemp is known to have lower concentrations of THC and higher concentrations of cannabidiols. Which is why when you consume a product like CBD oil there are no psychoactive effects. Now let’s get into what cannabidiols are, cannabidiols are chemical compounds naturally found in hemp that matches the cannabinoids in our bodies. Yes we have cannabinoids in our bodies! If you have ever heard the term endocannabinoid system, the prefix endo means within and cannabinoids is what we have inside of us. Hemp contains essential fatty acids, flavonolds which are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties and terpenes which are organic compounds that gives a plant it’s smell, color and flavor (every plant has this). Hemp contains 120 of these terpenes. The compounds of hemp act synergistically to the cannabinoids in our system by binding to our cannabinoid receptors creating balance in the body.
An article found on PBS.org reported that hemp seed contains a nutrient also found in breast milk which is called GLA, gamma linolenic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid. Amazing right? Here’s more info about hemp that’s going to knock your socks off. Website foodfacts.mercola.com stated that hemp is high in fiber and hemp seeds are more digestible than any other high protein foods and we’re talking about higher than meat, cheese, eggs, human milk and cow’s milk.
Other nutrients from hemp are:
- Iron
- Zinc
- Copper
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Carotene
- Vitamin B1
- Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin E
- Chlorophyll
- Sulfur
- Phosphorus
- and a few more not mentioned
Hemp is definitely a powerhouse and useful for so much from clothing, food to medicinal purposes. It’s definitely worth incorporating into your lifestyle. Speaking more so on the consumption of hemp, the main nutritional values come from hemp seeds and hemp oil so either one or both of these two ways would be the best method to consume hemp.
Hemp oil and CBD oil both have nutritional properties. The difference between CBD oil and hemp oil is CBD oil contains the leaves and flowers from the hemp plant which has minuscule amounts of THC but has lots of cannabidiols. Hemp oil only contains the seed, there’s still nutritional properties, but the seed itself does not contain THC. CBD oil is used normally as a supplement for medicinal purposes, HEMP oil is used for cooking.
As always with any supplement, herb or plant it’s important to make sure the source from where the items are purchased from is a Non-GMO and organic source. It’s vital to maintain the integrity of the plant as much as possible. In regards to hemp oil just like any oil purchased making sure it’s cold-pressed is ideal. If it’s CBD oil and it’s being used as a supplement make sure the company is reputable, the oil is 3rd party lab tested, they’re using full spectrum extract for potency and more importantly they have information on the strain of hemp the CBD oil is coming from.
For more in depth information on the history of hemp and a whole load of other great stuff about hemp check out this fabulous website I came across right here.
Peace & Wellness!
