Hemp seeds, or hemp “hearts” are the edible shelled seeds of the C. sativa, or hemp plant. An amazing superfood, hemp seeds are a plant-based protein with everything you need. Here are 10 powerful health benefits of hemp seeds for men, women and children, plus helpful suggestions of how to add them to your diet.
When it comes to superfoods, hemp seeds really shine, because it’s difficult to find another single plant food that packs such a mighty nutritional punch. With their mild and nutty flavor, they remind me of pine nuts, and they are easy to snack on and add to meals. In fact, there are many ways to take advantage of hemp seed benefits, and once you hear about why we love hemp seeds, you’ll find yourself looking for more ways to enjoy them.
Where Do Hemp Seeds Come From, Anyway?
There are numerous agricultural strains of the hemp family and nutritional hemp seeds come from Cannabis sativa, also known as C. sativa. Not only does industrial hemp provide us with its superfood seeds, but it’s a sustainable plant that has a wide variety of industrial uses such as biofuel, composite building materials, jewelry, rope, fiber for clothing, oils and resins and more.
C. sativa that provides us with hemp seeds is a relative of the marijuana plants that are cultivated for medicinal and recreational purposes, although the two plants are very different. Nutritional hemp seeds contain only trace amounts of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound that makes marijuana and hashish psychoactively potent – in other words, you can’t get high from eating hemp seeds and they’re perfectly legal to consume! 😊
Hemp Seeds Benefits For Health
If you regularly add hemp seeds to your daily diet, you can enjoy the fact that hemp seeds:
1. Provide A Complete Plant -Based Protein
The hulled hearts of the hemp seed are what you could consider a perfect plant food because they contain complete protein. That means that they contain an abundance of amino acids – over 20! Their high amino acid profile includes all 9 essential amino acids, which are responsible for building proteins that create the cells in our bodies – something that our bodies cannot do on their own. So we all need to gain this needed protein from our diets, and little hemp seeds are 33% protein!
Complete proteins are usually associated with meat or dairy products, so adding hemp seeds to your diet is perfect for those who avoid meat and dairy (vegans) or those who want to adjust their intake of those foods by including more plant-based protein.
2. Boost Immunity
Although other superfoods such as flax seeds and chia seeds also contain all of the essential amino acids, hemp seeds excel because the majority of their protein is in the form of bio-available globulin edistin and albumin. Globulin edistin is extremely important to help our bodies produce the immunoglobulins that keep our immune systems strong. And a strong immune system can resist infections of all kinds and resist immune deficiency diseases, so that’s a huge benefit!
3. Improve Heart Health
Hemp seeds are high in beneficial Omega 3 (alpha-lineolic) and Omega 6 (lineolic) amino acids, which can reduce the risks of heart disease by keeping the arteries clear and strengthening the heart. Additionally, hemp seeds are rich in l-arginine, an amino acid that turns into nitric oxide in the body. That’s fantastic, because nitric oxide is necessary for increasing blood flow, thereby lowering blood pressure.
Note: If you are taking prescription anticoagulant medication, please consult your physician before starting to eat hemp seeds, as hemp seeds help to increase blood flow.
4. Prevent Anemia
Hemp seeds are incredibly iron rich (up to 70% more iron than either flax or chia seeds!) so adding hemp seeds to your diet can prevent iron deficiency or treat anemia if you already suffer from the condition.
5. Protect Brain Health
The high level of antioxidants and fatty acids in hemp seeds are neuro-protective and help feed the brain. This can aid in preventing the onset of degenerative brain disorders such dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Eating hemp seeds can help improve focus, memory and cognitive abilities.
6. Are Energizing
Due to their high protein-building profile, just a small amount of hemp seeds added to your daily diet can boost energy levels. With the perfect proportion of amino acids (3:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is preferred) hemp seeds, with their exceptionally nutritious profile, are often suggested ingredients in energy smoothies or energy bars – a little goes a long way!
7. Aid in Building Muscle Mass, Help With Weight Loss
While hemp seeds are high in fiber, which helps you to feel fuller (a plus when trying to lose weight) adding hemp seeds to your diet is also an excellent way to promote muscle mass. This is why body builders are happy to add hemp seeds to their muscle building protein shakes and supplement programs.
8. Are Anti-Inflammatory
Rich in gamma-linoleic fatty acid or GLA, hemp seeds can help inflammatory conditions in the body, in a similar way that anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen) do. For those suffering from arthritis pain, muscular pain or skin inflammation, adding a daily dose of hemp seeds is excellent for naturally reducing inflammation over time.
9. Improve Skin, Nail and Hair Health
Due to its high Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acid content, hemp seed oil is often used in cosmetics and hair products. It’s no wonder then, that eating a portion of hemp seeds every day can heal your skin, nails and hair from the inside! Eating hemp seeds can reduce the symptoms of acne, eczema and dermatitis, by reducing inflammation.
10. May Help Improve Sleep
Although consuming hemp seeds before bedtime may not directly put you to sleep, hemp seeds are naturally high in magnesium. So, including hemp seeds in your diet on a regular basis will help to decrease magnesium deficiency, which is often associated with poor sleep or insomnia. Increased GLA and magnesium in hemp seeds also help improve hormonal balance, (also helping to alleviate PMS symptoms) which in turn, helps regulate sleep for better rest.
Adding Hemp Seeds To Your Diet
Hemp seeds are delicious, little morsels, with a light, nutty flavor. They’re best eaten raw or when lightly roasted at temperatures under 325F degrees. Just two tablespoons of hemp seeds contains about 7 grams of protein! It is better to add a few teaspoons to yogurt, breakfast cereals, pancakes, homemade granola bars, or sprinkled as a garnish to finished dishes, and to avoid frying your hemp seeds at high heat.
You can also blend hemp seeds into salad dressings or smoothies, or sprinkle them on bagels. Another way to use hemp seeds is to grind them into hemp butter and slather some on toast or add to energy balls as a peanut butter substitute. Additionally, you can blend hemp seeds into hemp milk, too.
Because of the high fat content of hemp seeds, it’s a good idea to start with no more than one tablespoon per day, as more could cause loose bowel motion. Take note of how your body reacts, and you can work up gradually to taking up to 2-3 tablespoons per day. More than that is not needed or recommended.
Added bonus: as they are not tree nuts, hemp seeds are not known to cause any allergic reactions, unlike soy or peanuts!
Conclusion
Hemp seeds or hemp hearts are deliciously tasty gifts of nature that are exceptionally good for health! A true superfood, hemp seeds have been used for thousands of years to improve energy, protect heart health, boost immunity, help the brain and so much more.
Hemp seeds are nutritious, a rare plant-based protein that contains everything that you need! And, they can be enjoyed by the whole family! As with all of our superfood suggestions, we encourage you to take advantage of hemp seeds by choosing organic hemp seeds that are natural, free from toxic chemical residues, and produced using sustainable practices.
We suggest Manitoba Harvest Organic Hemp Seeds and you can learn more about them here:
Now that you know how amazing hemp seeds are, we hope that you enjoy adding these little protein filled gems to your daily diet!
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