Healing Hemp Oil & Seeds for Skin, Hair & Ingestion

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One of nature’s greatest gifts to humankind, hemp oil is a bountiful source of high quality nutrition and provides many wonderful medicinal uses as well.

Research has shown that this nutritional oil was once a part of worldwide dietary intake, as hemp is one of the very first plants ever cultivated by humans. The use of the hemp plant for its medicinal and nutritional properties dates back as far as 4,000 B.C. in China and as far back as the Ming dynasty. Indeed, whole populations have survived off hemp seed in times of famine. In China, at the cinema, you can still buy roasted hemp seeds in the same way as you can buy popcorn in the West. Not only is it an edible plant, but it was also made into a fiber for rope and clothing. 

Over time, hemp has faded in and out of obscurity. Recently, researchers have been studying the profound benefits of hemp seed oil, giving both hemp seeds and hemp seed oil recognition as some of the world's healthiest foods.

When the seed of the hemp plant is cold-pressed, it yields an oil that has a delicious and remarkable sweet nutty taste that is appreciated by both gourmet and health minded folks alike.

Hemp Oil's Nutrition

As a protein it stands head and shoulders above other medicinal oils, containing no less than twenty different amino acids, it is 33% pure digestible protein, providing readily available amino acids for building and repairing tissue.  Hemp seed contains all 10 essential amino acids. Hemp seed protein is composed of 65% high-quality edestin protein, the most potent protein of any plant source, 35% albumin protein and glutamic acid. The globulin edestin in hemp seed closely resembles the globulin in blood plasma, and is compatible with the human digestive system. 

It is vital to the maintenance of a healthy immune system and is also used to manufacture antibodies. Albumin is a protein manufactued by the liver that is supportive of liver and kidney health. In addition, Hemp Seed Oil is rich in a variety of bio-active compounds including vitamins (A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, D, and E), antioxidants, carotene, phytosterols, phopholipids, chlorophyll, and minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, phosphorous, iron, and zinc).

Apart from its high protein, and vitamin content, it also contains high levels of dietary fiber, and carbohydrates. Hemp is one of the purest plants on earth and one of the few cultivated crops that needs no pesticides or herbicides to produce a healthy crop. It is a hardy plant, able to withstand diverse, severe and extreme weather conditions.

Hemp seed oil is also the only food oil that contains not only omega 3, omega 6, but also GLA. Hemp oil is natures most balanced oil for human nutrition (3:1 LA to LNA ratio) and is easily digestible; in fact this oil could provide all of our Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) requirements for life, due to the balanced 80% EFA content of the oil. Hemp seeds are the only natural source to boast of having the ideal ratio of EFAs required by the human body, which is roughly 3:1 of omega-6 to omega-3, the two most important EFAs.

 
Hemp Oil's Health Benefits

Using Hemp oil can improve energy levels, blood pressure, regularity, cholesterol levels, hair, finger nails, and help ease joint, improve cardiovascular circulation and organ health, reduce symptoms of PMS, and arthritic pains.  It can also help to improve  concentration levels and assist in combating mood disorders. It is also a useful preventative measure for all types of degenerative diseases. Recent studies have shown that EFA's can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and also relieve symptoms of chronic illness in both humans and pets.

EFA's are involved with literally every function of the body, at the cellular level, and therefore are critical for our bodies to function at their best and for overall wellness. EFAs help us to experience: healthier skin & hair, better use of oxygen in the body, a stronger immune system, better arterial and cardiac health, healthy cell membranes, improved hormonal balance, balanced thyroid and adrenal activity, loss of excessive weight, better pain control, increased energy and greater mental clarity.

In addition the EFA's in hemp not only help to restore wasting bodies, but also improve damaged immune systems, so it is not so surprising that modern researchers have studied them in relationship to the modern immune attacking AIDS virus. (Eidlman, M.D., Hamilton, ED.D, Ph.D 1992).

Some even claim hemp oil can cure cancer here.
 
Hemp Oil For Skin

Hemp oil is antimicrobial and has anti-inflammatory properties that are not often found in other oils. Because of the high levels of so many critical nutrients, especially EFAs, hemp seed oil is an excellent product to use on the skin. This, added to its antioxidant properties, allows hemp oil to detoxify and clean your skin, as well as evening out your skin tone. Its lipid constituents allow it to permeate through the skin and nourish skin cells directly. It will help to keep the skin supple and restore tissues, has anti-aging properties, and can even help protect your skin from harmful ultra-violet rays. It is a natural sunblock.

Hemp seed oil also provides healthy, effective treatment for a variety of serious skin disorders such as psoriasis, dermatitis eczema, acne, and dry skin. Hemp seed oil is used in cosmetics which take care of skin lesions and blotches that may occur as a result of excessively dry skin.

Since it won't clog your pores like many other oils, you can safely use hemp seed oil to moisturize your skin, and do so without any greasy buildup.

Hemp oil is easily absorbed by the skin and those EFA's go straight to work with their magic.

Hemp Oil For Hair

Using hemp oil to condition your hair and your scalp is highly recommended. Hemp oil has vitamin E, along with a high essential fatty acid content which are beneficial for hair. Fatty acids provide emollient action, meaning they prevent water loss and have a softening effect. The oil is also a natural moisturizer that boosts scalp health, shoring up the intercellular matrix, which protects against moisture loss. Keeping the scalp healthy can help prevent dry scalp and minimize irritation. Hemp oil is especially good to use in the winter, when the outdoor air is cold and indoor heating systems are cranked up, because both of these factors dry out your hair and skin.

Hemp promotes strong, healthy locks and staves off the effects of aging. Shampoo and other hair care products that use hemp will leave your hair soft. Hemp oil can be applied directly to hair as a conditioner, even left on overnight. Hemp oil is also used to moisturize braids, cornrows and weaves.
 
Hemp & Marijuana: 

The Difference

Hemp and marijuana but are both varieties of the Cannabis sativa plant. It is illegal to grow both hemp and marijuana in the United States (although it is not illegal to sell or purchase hemp products—hence the hemp bags and dresses you see in store windows and the hemp oil at the health food store). The two plants have similar aromas when in bloom—however, only one will get a person high because only one of the varieties contains any significant amounts of THC. Hemp does contain tiny traces of THC, but not enough to get a person high.

Smoking marijuana will make the user high, and smoking hemp will not. Hemp contains less than 1 percent of the active ingredient THC, the substance that gives pot smokers a high. Marijuana plants, on the other hand, can contain 10 to 20 percent THC.
 

Marijuana plants and hemp plants have different appearances and are harvested differently. Marijuana plants tend to be short and bushy, while hemp plants can have stalks that are 25 feet high. Unlike marijuana, hemp has many uses. Over 25,000 products can be manufactured from hemp, including hair conditioner, diapers, insulation, carpets, paper, and perfume.  Things like rope made out of hemp never rot like traditional rope.  Hemp as a food is one of the most easily absorbed by the body, and can help you live a healthier and happier life.

Much information about hemp has been systematically removed from written texts since the 1930's and is now difficult to find. Many of the myths about hemp, perpetuated by governments to this day relating to hemp being a drug crop are incorrect and simply propaganda created to make way for synthetic human made products .

In the past, Industrial hemp was legally grown all over our country for many years by forefathers such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. They grew industrial hemp and used it to make cloth for the revolutionary army.

Did You Know?
-Hemp paper is used in Europe for bibles because it doesn't yellow as it ages.

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