In our part of the world, these other uses of hemp are no longer familiar.We rarely use hemp fiber and know little about hemp medicine. (Some cancerpatients have found it to be a superior remedy for the nausea caused bychemotherapy, and some people with multiple sclerosis are grateful for itsrelaxant effects on spastic muscles.) Hemp seed is sometimes an ingredientin bird food; otherwise, edible products from Cannabis sativa are virtuallyunknown.
This may all change. In many parts of the country, promoters of hempcultivation are working to educate people about the immense potential ofthis plant and to reintroduce it into commerce. They champion hemp as arenewable source of pulp for the manufacture of paper, as a superior fiberfor making cloth, and as a new food that can be processed into everythingfrom a milk substitute to a kind of tofu.
Hemp seeds contain 25% high quality protein and 40% fat in the form of anexcellent quality oil. Hemp oil is just now coming on the market. Producedby the Ohio Hempery in Athens, Ohio, it will be sold through natural foodstores in small, opaque bottles to be kept under refrigeration. It has aremarkable fatty acid profile, being high in the desirable omega-3s andalso delivering some GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) that is absent from thefats we normally eat. Nutritionally oriented doctors believe all of thesecompounds to be beneficial to health.
Hemp oil contains 57% linoleic (LA) and 19% linolenic (LNA) acids,in the three-to-one ratio that matches our nutritional needs. These arethe essential fatty acids (EFAs)-so called because the body cannot makethem and must get them from external sources. The best sources are oilsfrom freshly ground grains and whole seeds, but EFAs are fragile and quicklylost in processing. EFAs are the building blocks of longer chain fats, suchas eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that occur naturallyin the fat of cold-water fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon, bluefish,herring, and, to a lesser extent, tuna.
Adding these foods to the diet seems to lower risks of heart attacks becauseomega-3 fatty acids reduce the clotting tendency of the blood and improvecholesterol profiles. They also have a natural anti-inflammatory effectthat makes them useful for people with arthritis and autoimmune disorders.
Health food stores stock many brands of EPA/DHA supplements in the formof fish oil capsules. I usually do not recommend them because I thinkit's better to get your essential fatty acids in foods, and I worry abouttoxic contaminants in fish oil supplements. But what can you do if you choose,for one reason or another, not to eat fish? You can get some omega-3s inexpeller pressed canola oil, the only common vegetable oil that containsthem.
A much richer source is flax oil. Flax oil is pressed from the seedsof Linum utilitatissimum, the source of linen fiber and an oil better knownin this country as linseed oil, the base for oil paints.
Linseed oil is usually classified as a "drying oil" rather thana food oil because its chemical characteristics cause it to combine readilywith oxygen and become thick and hard. This tendency to harden on exposureto air quickly turns linseed oil rancid and unfit to eat, but makes it usefulas a vehicle for pigment on canvas. (The word "canvas" by theway is a relative of "Cannabis," because true canvas is made fromhemp fiber.)
For dietary purposes flax oil must be pressed at low temperatures, protectedfrom light, heat, and air, stored at cool temperatures, and used quicklyonce the containers are opened. Most flax oil is not delicious. There isgreat variation in taste among the brands currently sold in natural foodstores, but the best of them still leaves much to be desired.
I have been recommending flax oil as a dietary supplement to patients withautoimmune disorders, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions, butabout half of them cannot tolerate it. Some say it makes them gag, evenwhen concealed in salad dressing or mashed into a baked potato. These peoplehave to resort to taking flax oil capsules, which are large and expensive.
Udo Erasmus, author of the classic book, Fats and Oils (Alive, 1986), [and Fats that Heal,Fats that Kill, The Complete Guide to fats,oils, cholesterol and human health, Second Printing of Fats andOils, (Alive, 1996). This book is a fabulous resource on nutrition--ratitor] says that the problem is freshness. Unless you get flax oil right from the processor and freeze it until you start using it, it will already have deteriorated by the time you buy it. Hemp oil contains more EFAs than flax and actually tastes good. It is nutty and free from the objectionable undertones of flax oil. I use it on salads, baked potatoes, and other foods and would not consider putting it in capsules.
Like flax oil, hemp oil should be stored in the refrigerator, used quickly,and never heated. Unlike flax oil, hemp oil also provides 1.7% gamma-linolenicacid (GLA). There is controversy about the value of adding this fatty acidto the diet, but many people take supplements of it in the form of capsulesof evening primrose oil, black currant oil, and borage oil. My experienceis that it simulates growth of hair and nails, improves the health of theskin, and can reduce inflammation. I like the idea of having one good oilthat supplies both omega-3s and GLA, without the need to take more capsules.
One of the questions that people are sure to ask about hemp oil is whetherit has any psychoactivity. The answer is no. The intoxicating propertiesof Cannabis sativa reside in a sticky resin produced most abundantly inthe flowering tops of female plants before the seeds mature. The main psychoactive compound in this resin is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Strains of hemp grown for oil production have a low resin content to beginwith, and by the time the seeds are ready for harvest, resin productionhas dropped even further. Finally, the seeds must be cleaned and washedbefore they are pressed. As a result, no THC is found in the final product.
A second question that people may ask is, "Is hemp oil illegal?"The oil itself is perfectly legal. Hemp seeds are allowed in commerce ifthey have been sterilized in some way to prevent germination. This is usuallydone by subjecting them to heat. At the moment, the Ohio Hempery is importingsterilized seeds from Canada and extracting the oil here, but it hopes toget some sort of exemption from this requirement in order to be able touse the freshest seeds possible in the future.
Obviously, there is a political dimension to the appearance of thisproduct. For many years, Cannabis sativa has been stigmatized as a satanicplant and its cultivation has been prohibited. As an ethnobotanist interestedin the relationships between plants and human beings, I have always feltthat making plants illegal was stupid, especially when the objects of theseactions are supremely useful plants like hemp. The plant is not responsiblefor human misuse of it.
The efforts of the Ohio Hempery and other groups to promote hemp cultivationare part of a campaign to rehabilitate this plant and change society's viewof it. Whether or not you wish to join that campaign, it must seem counterproductiveto deny ourselves access to the many benefits that hemp offers. Of those,the gift of an edible oil with superior nutritional and therapeutic propertiesis one of the most important.
If you have a chance to try hemp oil, a long forgotten, newly rediscoveredfood, I think you will see why I am enthusiastic about it.
This may all change. In many parts of the country, promoters of hempcultivation are working to educate people about the immense potential ofthis plant and to reintroduce it into commerce. They champion hemp as arenewable source of pulp for the manufacture of paper, as a superior fiberfor making cloth, and as a new food that can be processed into everythingfrom a milk substitute to a kind of tofu.
Hemp seeds contain 25% high quality protein and 40% fat in the form of anexcellent quality oil. Hemp oil is just now coming on the market. Producedby the Ohio Hempery in Athens, Ohio, it will be sold through natural foodstores in small, opaque bottles to be kept under refrigeration. It has aremarkable fatty acid profile, being high in the desirable omega-3s andalso delivering some GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) that is absent from thefats we normally eat. Nutritionally oriented doctors believe all of thesecompounds to be beneficial to health.
Hemp oil contains 57% linoleic (LA) and 19% linolenic (LNA) acids,in the three-to-one ratio that matches our nutritional needs. These arethe essential fatty acids (EFAs)-so called because the body cannot makethem and must get them from external sources. The best sources are oilsfrom freshly ground grains and whole seeds, but EFAs are fragile and quicklylost in processing. EFAs are the building blocks of longer chain fats, suchas eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that occur naturallyin the fat of cold-water fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon, bluefish,herring, and, to a lesser extent, tuna.
Adding these foods to the diet seems to lower risks of heart attacks becauseomega-3 fatty acids reduce the clotting tendency of the blood and improvecholesterol profiles. They also have a natural anti-inflammatory effectthat makes them useful for people with arthritis and autoimmune disorders.
Health food stores stock many brands of EPA/DHA supplements in the formof fish oil capsules. I usually do not recommend them because I thinkit's better to get your essential fatty acids in foods, and I worry abouttoxic contaminants in fish oil supplements. But what can you do if you choose,for one reason or another, not to eat fish? You can get some omega-3s inexpeller pressed canola oil, the only common vegetable oil that containsthem.
A much richer source is flax oil. Flax oil is pressed from the seedsof Linum utilitatissimum, the source of linen fiber and an oil better knownin this country as linseed oil, the base for oil paints.
Linseed oil is usually classified as a "drying oil" rather thana food oil because its chemical characteristics cause it to combine readilywith oxygen and become thick and hard. This tendency to harden on exposureto air quickly turns linseed oil rancid and unfit to eat, but makes it usefulas a vehicle for pigment on canvas. (The word "canvas" by theway is a relative of "Cannabis," because true canvas is made fromhemp fiber.)
For dietary purposes flax oil must be pressed at low temperatures, protectedfrom light, heat, and air, stored at cool temperatures, and used quicklyonce the containers are opened. Most flax oil is not delicious. There isgreat variation in taste among the brands currently sold in natural foodstores, but the best of them still leaves much to be desired.
I have been recommending flax oil as a dietary supplement to patients withautoimmune disorders, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions, butabout half of them cannot tolerate it. Some say it makes them gag, evenwhen concealed in salad dressing or mashed into a baked potato. These peoplehave to resort to taking flax oil capsules, which are large and expensive.
Udo Erasmus, author of the classic book, Fats and Oils (Alive, 1986), [and Fats that Heal,Fats that Kill, The Complete Guide to fats,oils, cholesterol and human health, Second Printing of Fats andOils, (Alive, 1996). This book is a fabulous resource on nutrition--ratitor] says that the problem is freshness. Unless you get flax oil right from the processor and freeze it until you start using it, it will already have deteriorated by the time you buy it. Hemp oil contains more EFAs than flax and actually tastes good. It is nutty and free from the objectionable undertones of flax oil. I use it on salads, baked potatoes, and other foods and would not consider putting it in capsules.
Like flax oil, hemp oil should be stored in the refrigerator, used quickly,and never heated. Unlike flax oil, hemp oil also provides 1.7% gamma-linolenicacid (GLA). There is controversy about the value of adding this fatty acidto the diet, but many people take supplements of it in the form of capsulesof evening primrose oil, black currant oil, and borage oil. My experienceis that it simulates growth of hair and nails, improves the health of theskin, and can reduce inflammation. I like the idea of having one good oilthat supplies both omega-3s and GLA, without the need to take more capsules.
One of the questions that people are sure to ask about hemp oil is whetherit has any psychoactivity. The answer is no. The intoxicating propertiesof Cannabis sativa reside in a sticky resin produced most abundantly inthe flowering tops of female plants before the seeds mature. The main psychoactive compound in this resin is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Strains of hemp grown for oil production have a low resin content to beginwith, and by the time the seeds are ready for harvest, resin productionhas dropped even further. Finally, the seeds must be cleaned and washedbefore they are pressed. As a result, no THC is found in the final product.
A second question that people may ask is, "Is hemp oil illegal?"The oil itself is perfectly legal. Hemp seeds are allowed in commerce ifthey have been sterilized in some way to prevent germination. This is usuallydone by subjecting them to heat. At the moment, the Ohio Hempery is importingsterilized seeds from Canada and extracting the oil here, but it hopes toget some sort of exemption from this requirement in order to be able touse the freshest seeds possible in the future.
Obviously, there is a political dimension to the appearance of thisproduct. For many years, Cannabis sativa has been stigmatized as a satanicplant and its cultivation has been prohibited. As an ethnobotanist interestedin the relationships between plants and human beings, I have always feltthat making plants illegal was stupid, especially when the objects of theseactions are supremely useful plants like hemp. The plant is not responsiblefor human misuse of it.
The efforts of the Ohio Hempery and other groups to promote hemp cultivationare part of a campaign to rehabilitate this plant and change society's viewof it. Whether or not you wish to join that campaign, it must seem counterproductiveto deny ourselves access to the many benefits that hemp offers. Of those,the gift of an edible oil with superior nutritional and therapeutic propertiesis one of the most important.
If you have a chance to try hemp oil, a long forgotten, newly rediscoveredfood, I think you will see why I am enthusiastic about it.
710ml
