Evelyn Alarcón Cañas | Nutritionist from the University of Concepción | Specialist in Plant-based diets | Diploma in Vegetarian and Vegan Diets | Espacio Vital Concepción | evelynalarconcanas@gmail.com
Hemp is a plant native to Central Asia, however, other civilisations such as India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt and Central America, also grew it.
Hemp production is ancient, in fact, in a fragment of the book The Columbia History of the World, it’s mentioned that the most arcaic found relic is a piece of hemp cloth dating back to year 8000 B.C.
Another curious fact is it belongs to the Cannabis genus just like marijuana, distinguishing from it for having a lower content of THC (delta – 9-tetrahydrocannabitol), psychoactive substance found in leaves and flowers.
Hemp is grown for the nutritional benefits of seeds and oil, or the multiple uses given to the fibre at an industrial level (textiles, paper, ropes, fuel).
If we focus from a nutritional perspective, what do hemp seeds bring us? It contributes with a 47% of fat, 12% of carbohydrates and 35% of proteins on average, a surprising situation because, if we follow a plant-based diet, one of the first questions is: where do we get proteins? By having as a premise that there are essential aminoacids we can only get from the diet, as the body doesn’t produce them – aminoacids are brick-like chemical units that make proteins.
Hemp brings us all essential amino acids; proteins from the seed are pure, raw, complete and easily digestible. Not less is that the hemp seed is made of globulin and albumin, both light proteins that are considered hypoallergenic for their easiness to be digested.
Proteins
Remember that proteins are necessary for building muscles, but not just that, they are also necessary for building tendons, ligaments, glands, fluids, nails, hair, etc.
They also acts as neurotransmitters, doing the function of producing strength, resistance, balance; regulates blood sugar, participates in brain chemistry; so they are fundamental for neurological health, they are extremely vital for life and, therefore, they are the second most abundant substance in the body after water.
As previously mentioned, 47% of each hemp seed is made of ‘good fats’ with an essential fatty acid contribution that, besides being as essential as amino acids, they indicate that our organism is not able to produce them, so we have to obtain them from food.
Hemp is one of few plants containing both fatty acids – Omega-6 and Omega-3; and the most incredible thing is they are found in their ideal proportion according to advice from the World Health Organization 4:1 (WHO). Linseed oil is rich in Omega-3 but lacks Omega-6, as an example.
Essential fatty acids play an important role as antioxidants, improving our immune system thanks to their anti-inflammatory properties; they remove toxins from the skin and gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and lungs. They are also essential components of the brain and eyes (organs made of large Omega-3 fractions), and they are cardioprotectors.
As you can see, it’s a high value food, so it’s up to us to dare and start using it in our preparations.