Amongst several other uses of hemp, it is also an important source of food that is healthy and nutritious. In the leading grocery stores, you can come across a wide range of hemp-based food products that deliver great health benefits.
Cannabis is an amazing plant having several strains or variants. Hemp is a leading variant of this plant and delivers tons of potential benefits to the users. If you are an avid cannabis user or wish to inculcate the benefits of Hemp in your day-to-day lives, here are some of the top Hemp plant functional foods that you should know about:
- Hemp Seed Oil: It is made by cold-pressing hemp seeds. The hemp seed oil cannot be used as a cooking oil as it features a low smoke point of around 160 Degree C or 320 Degree F. When you consume hemp seed oil, one of the major health benefits that you can acquire out of the same is that it is known to offer a balanced distribution of EFA (Essential Fatty Acids) in the body. This is unlike other oils like flaxseed oil. Hemp seed oil is known to consist of:
- GLA (Gamma-Linoleic Acid) –around 1-4 percent
- LA or Omega 6 (Linoleic Acid) –around 55 percent
- ALA (Alpha-Linoleic Acid) or Omega-3 –around 22 percent
- SDA (Stearidonic Acid) or Omega-3 -around 18-28 percent
- Hemp Oil: While it is easier to get confused between hemp oil & hemp seed oil, you should know the points of differences between the two. Hemp oil is the hemp extract oil having phytocannabinoids. One of the highly studied cannabinoids in the CBD –cannabidiol. CBD is known for its wide range of health-related benefits. Amongst all other benefits, CBD is known to deliver the potential to help in the treatment of chronic pain, neuro-inflammation, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, and even some specific types of cancer. The higher the CBD content is found in the given sample of hemp oil, the better the results it can deliver.
- Hemp Milk: It is yet another famous functional hemp food items derived from hemp. Hemp milk is obtained from hemp seeds. Most often, for improving its overall taste, hemp milk is flavored with chocolate or vanilla. On an overall basis, it is regarded as a great alternative to other variants of milk including soy milk, almond milk, and even traditional milk. The best part of using hemp milk is that it contains no dairy substitutes. Moreover, it is also known to not cause any allergic reaction. Most of the functional benefits of hemp milk are derived from its origin from hemp seeds. Hemp seeds are known to provide a rich source of omega fatty acids, calcium, iron, zinc, and niacin.
- Hemp Tea: Hemp tea is known to consist of dried hemp leaves and even toasted hemp seeds. Hemp tea is known to feature traces of various useful cannabinoids including CBD. It would eventually depend on the type of cannabis plant. However, it is also important to note that most of the cannabinoids are non-soluble in water. Therefore, towards maximizing the overall health benefits of hemp tea, the experts recommend that you should add the dry hemp with small volumes of butter, oil, or even alcohol. This will allow the cannabinoids in the hemp tea to dissolve easily & instantly.
There are several potential health benefits of using hemp tea. Some are:
- Helps in treating insomnia while reducing stress, anxiety, and depression-like conditions
- Helps in illuminating irritable bowel syndrome and nausea –common symptoms found in patients undergoing chemotherapy
- Reducing chronic pain –sometimes, even helping in reducing inflammations and allergies. This is the reason why hemp tea is a popular remedy for MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and rheumatoid arthritis.
- Hemp-based Infusion Drinks: You can also come across a wide number of hemp-infused drinks like Hempfy. These drinks are immensely tasty while delivering the potential health benefits of hemp at the same time. These drinks can be consumed as stand-alone drinks or in concoction with other cocktail mixes.
- Hemp Seeds: One of the most delicious functional foods is hemp seeds or hemp heart seeds. One of the major benefits of hemp heart seeds is that these can be included in any other dish or salad. Hemp hearts are known to be rich in proteins, full of hemp fibre content, and features well-balanced fats at the same time. Studies reveal that hemp seeds are helpful in promoting digestion, reducing bowel irritability, and normalizing gastrointestinal functions.
Make the most of the hemp functional foods for health benefits.
