Hemp health benefits go far beyond any traditional herb in the garden patch, but most people don’t realize that hemp has been used for a millenia dating back to 4000 BC in China and 10,000 BC in Taiwan.
Although the oldest dated use of hemp was for hemp rope, hemp health benefits were seen to be of great value to China as their civilisation grew, cultivation of this incredible plant for both food, textiles and medicine expanded.
Hemp Health Benefits
Hemp health benefits have long been known about by many cultures around the world and up until the plant’s ban in 1930. In 1621, The Anatomy of Melancholy was published and recommended hemp to treat depression. In 1764, The New English Dispensatory encouraged topical application to treat skin inflammation. In 1839, W.B. O’Shaughnessy reported that hemp was effective in treating epilepsy and tetanus. He noted that a tincture of hemp was used for pain relief.
But you may be thinking, do these benefits apply to all varieties of hemp products or just some? The answer is, hemp products vary greatly in both content and make-up, so depending on the type of hemp product will depend on the hemp health benefits.
Some hemp products are available in New Zealand and are classified as foods or food supplements such as hemp hearts, hemp seeds, hemp protein, hempseed oil, full spectrum hemp oil and cosmetics such as hemp balm.
If you want to buy cbd oil in NZ you’ll need a prescription. The same goes if you’re wanting the hemp health benefits from medical cannabis oil. Many people have been searching for a hemp product for their conditions or ailments and current legislation in New Zealand limits over the counter hemp sales to only the seed.
Previously those who wanted a medical grade cannabis product could import directly into NZ, but with the law change in April 2020, this left kiwi’s with prescription only CBD and medical marijuana options. We’ll cover more on this later...
Hemp Health Products
As for hemp products such as hemp hearts, hemp seeds and hemp protein, these are a complete source of protein, high in the healthy fat’s omega 3, 6 and 9, and a strong source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.
This is important as it shows hemp health benefits are far reaching as the body requires a wide range of vitamins and minerals, healthy fats and antioxidants to support optimal health. This makes hemp a superfood in its own right, and one reason why it’s been used for thousands of years as a support to good health.
Hemp seed protein is a complete protein due to this reason, and is also easily-digestible due to its major protein, edestin, which is almost identical in structure to the proteins produced in the human body.
Edestin is the same protein that our DNA is made up of. So by consuming a plant-rich form of this protein, it naturally makes sense that our body would use it to repair and rebuild DNA.
Hemp health benefits also come from the fact it contains albumin as one of its other major forms of protein. This is the same protein found inside eggs and is another abundant source of amino acids, aiding our body in repair and renewal of skin, hair, muscles and other important tissues.
Hemp hearts and hemp seeds also contain about 30% healthy fatty acids that are critical for brain health, organ elasticity, hormone and mood balance.
Hemp Oil
When it comes to brain health, most of us understand the importance of receiving adequate omega-3 intake. Especially with regard to pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, as the developing baby requires high levels of omega-3, and if the mother isn’t consuming adequate levels, the body will draw it out of her in order to provide for the infant, thus, leaving the mother undernourished. Hemp oil and fatty acids found in hemp products can be of great support.
The same can be said for organ elasticity, hormone and mood balance with respect to pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, but also applies to non-pregnant humans. Our skin is the body’s largest organ and without adequate supply of omega-3 and other fatty acids, it becomes brittle, dry and we experience accelerated aging.
Hormone and mood balance is of great importance for all of us, as this aids in preventing us from experiencing extreme mood cycles and swings, helps us maintain a balanced outlook on life, and keeps our energy levels stable. Hemp health benefits reach straight into the pocket of hormones and their healthy regulation with its abundance of fatty acids and other all health giving nutrients.
Hemp Health Research
There is a lot of research surrounding hemp health benefits and most of it is in the area of how specific cannabinoids found inside the hemp plant aid in certain bodily conditions such as endometriosis, fibromyalgia, stress, insomnia, multiple sclerosis, the list goes on, really…
You can read about how hemp works for these conditions over on our blog, which covers the latest research on all things hemp, cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system.
The research also falls into the arena of the endocannabinoid system and how both cannabinoids made by the body and by plants both work through this system and activate it.
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is considered to be the most important system of physiology in the body and when activated maintains order and balance across all other bodily systems from the digestive to the reproductive.
Whole plant or full spectrum hemp oil products contain a wide array of cannabinoids and produce a kind of synergy that isolated products such as CBD oil do not. With over 120+ different phytocannabinoids found inside the hemp plant so far, with more being discovered each month, it’s hard to think that one single isolated cannabinoid would be more effective than the combined power of an army of them.
If you're searching for CBD oil or medical cannabis oil you'll need to visit your Doctor to get a prescription. We have a full write up on CBD oil, it's benefits and what the deal is, which you can read here.
You can scan our blog for the many hemp health benefits relating to a variety of conditions if this has sparked your interest in all things hemp health.
