As more emphasis is being put on natural, home-grown products, you may have heard about something called hemp. Since its cousin is marijuana, hemp initially had a bad connotation. But in reality, it has many health benefits, all without you having to get “high.”
For many people, they may not want to support the pharmaceutical industry, or they’re into the natural lifestyle. Whatever their reasons, they may turn to hemp for its healing properties instead of prescribed drugs. Here are some hemp benefits on health you never knew.
What Is Hemp?
Hemp is a type of crop that thrives in the northern hemisphere. For the time of planting to harvest, it takes around four months. When you harvest the plants, you collect the seeds, which you can ingest for a number of benefits.
As we said earlier, hemp is related to marijuana, which means their plants look very similar. However, you can’t get “high” off of hemp. This is because while marijuana has a high THC level (the psychoactive component), hemp has little to no THC in it.
As a result, you can ingest hemp with no fear that your sobriety will be impaired. Marijuana plants are specifically grown for their psychoactive effects while hemp plants are specifically grown for their health benefits with no impairment in judgment.
Hemp Seeds Benefits
When you want to ingest hemp, you don’t eat the plant. Instead, you eat the seeds that are harvested after the plants have matured. You can consume them raw, roasted, or cooked.
In hemp seeds, you can find a number of nutrients in it, such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, folate, vitamin C, and more. As you can see, this tiny seed packs a lot more than you think it would. Here are some benefits to eating hemp seeds.
You’ll Get Healthy Fats
You might think that all fats are bad, but that isn’t true at all. You need some healthy fats in your diet to produce energy and new cells in your body. They’re also good for cushioning your organs and keeping you warm in all climates.
Usually, health experts recommend you eat fish to get a good dose of omega-3 fatty acids. But if you don’t like fish or are a vegetarian or vegan, that may be a problem. Hemp seems are a great way to get your omega-3 fatty acids without having to eat something you don’t like.
For people who don’t eat meat or dairy, adding hemp seeds to your diet can make up for the lack of healthy fats you’re missing out on.
It’s a Good Protein Source for Vegetarians and Vegans
One thing vegetarians and vegans struggle with is getting enough protein in their diets. Many vegetarian/vegan sources for protein aren’t ideal since they have phytates, which is something that prevents you from absorbing all nutrients from the food you’re eating.
Hemp seeds don’t have any phytates, which means when you eat them, you absorb all 10 essential amino acids that you find in them. You definitely won’t be lacking in protein when you incorporate hemp seeds into your diet.
Even meat eaters can benefit from eating hemp seeds. If you’re not eating a balanced diet, you may be lacking in protein too. Everyone can get better digestion when they eat hemp seeds.
You’ll Get Better Skin
When you add hemp seeds to your diet, you can get the anti-inflammatory benefits, which can help with skin conditions like atopic dermatitis and acne. Hemp has fiber and prebiotics, which are components that assist in managing symptoms from atopic dermatitis.
It Can Alleviate Symptoms from PMS and Menopause
Many women suffer from PMS and menopause, which can be so severe that it interferes with their daily lives. If you find yourself in discomfort and pain from PMS or menopause symptoms, add some hemp seeds to your diet. They work so well that some women who didn’t get relief with other PMS therapies found it with hemp seeds.
What Is Hemp Oil?
Hemp oil is oil made from cleaning then pressing hemp seeds. Because of this, hemp oil is a liquid, not a solid like its antecedent. Hemp oil is not really consumed, but instead, applied topically or used for cooking.
Hemp Oil Benefits
You may have heard the term “CBD oil” and some places use it interchangably with “hemp oil.” However, they are two different things.
We’ll talk about CBD oil later on. First, here are some of the benefits you can get from using hemp seed oil.
It’s Good for Your Skin
If you use skincare products with unrefined hemp seed oil, it can help with skin cell repair. Plus, it has anti-aging properties, which means your skin will look good for years to come if you keep using products with hemp oil.
It’s Good for Your Hair
The moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging properties of hemp oil can help your hair grow healthy and strong. With better nutrition, your hair follicles and scalp will give you a head full of beautiful locks.
It’ll Improve Your Cardiovascular Health
When you add hemp oil to your cooking, there are many advantages you can get. Not only can it reduce your blood pressure, but it can also improve your resting heart rate and decrease your chances of heart disease.
Since heating it up for too long and too much can make hemp oil deteriorate, it’s best you use it at the very end of cooking or use it to mix for dressing so you get the full benefits of hemp seed oil.
What Is CBD Oil?
CBD oil shouldn’t be confused with hemp oil. While hemp oil is only made from hemp plants, CBD oil can be made from both marijuana and hemp plants.
Even if it comes from a marijuana plant, the extraction process makes it so all CBD oil has little to no THC content in it. Because of this, you can trust that CBD oil will not impair your judgment. However, some CBD oils may have just enough THC in it for you to fail a drug test, so if your workplace does regular drug testing, you may want to avoid using CBD oil.
Below are some of the health benefits you can get from using CBD oil.
CBD Oil Benefits
CBD oil is made from a much more complicated process than for hemp oil, which only requires cleaning and pressing. CBD oil can come from either hemp or marijuana plants is made through either isolates extraction or alcohol extraction.
You can smoke, vape, or consume it in your food or through sublingual drops. You can also apply it topically. Here are some of the benefits of CBD oil.
It Can Help with Mental Health
If you struggle with mental health issues and don’t enjoy the side effects that come with prescribed drugs, CBD oil may be a good alternative. It looks promising for helping manage symptoms without any of the nasty side effects. Plus, if you decide to quit using CBD oil, there are no withdrawal symptoms like with psychotropic drugs.
It Can Assist in Pain Management
As a substance that affects your endocannabinoid system, CBD oil can be effective in reducing pain and inflammation. If you’re having difficulty managing pain symptoms from an injury or condition, CBD oil is a great way to do so without having to take opioids.
It Can Help You Withdraw from Drugs Safely
Trying to come off of illicit drugs can be difficult and even life-threatening at times. CBD oil is a good supplement to take while trying to withdraw from drugs since it can help you manage the symptoms and not relapse.
Plus, it has the ability to keep you off drugs. It’s shown the possibility of reducing dependence on opioids in a study done on rats.
It’s Good for Pets Too
Your furry friend may have similar health issues to you, such as arthritis and even anxiety. CBD oil can be used in the same way on your pets as on you. In fact, there are companies that specifically sell CBD oil for pets so you’re sure to be getting something that works for and isn’t dangerous to Fido.
Together, you and your best friend can experience the wonderful benefits of hemp without adverse side effects.
Hemp Benefits Are Endless
As you can see, there are endless possibilities for how hemp can help your health. As a natural product, hemp benefits far outweigh the negatives, unlike other products on the market. So if you have any ailments you’d like to treat in a more natural way, consider using either hemp seeds or oil to find relief.
Find out more about hemp and CBD by reading our wellness and business blog articles.
