Hemp milk benefits are encouraging with its rich profile of omega 3 fatty acids for brain, heart and organ health, environmentally friendly footprint, and it’s delicious earthy nutty milky taste.
You would be hard pressed (no pun intended) to find a more environmentally friendly milk product with hemp’s easy to grow and soil restorative nature. Hemp milk also doesn’t have to be processed with volatile and harsh chemicals like it’s soy and almond milk cousins.
What is Hemp Milk
What is hemp milk, really? Hemp milk is made from the cannabis sativa family of plants, specifically, the hemp variety. There are other varieties of cannabis such as sativa, ruderalis and what is referred to as marijuana.
New Zealand law states that growing hemp in NZ requires a permit along with strict protocols that ensure the THC levels remain below 0.3%. This ensures no hemp products enter the marketplace that could potentially give people a “high.” So if you’re looking at guzzling back litres of hemp milk to get a buzz, it just won’t cut it, sorry.
Hemp is an extremely versatile plant with over 50,000 different modern applications from clothing, timber replacement, textiles, and building materials, to plastics, biofuel, health products and cosmetics. Hemp milk is just one of those resulting products.
If there hadn’t been the initial ban in 1930 over the confusion between marijuana and hemp we would probably all be living in fire and bug-resistant houses made of “hempcrete”. Hemp has been used for thousands of years dating back to 10,000 BC in Taiwan and 4000 BC in China.
Hemp milk is made from either hemp hearts, which is essentially hemp seed that has had the outer husk, or hull, removed, or from whole hemp seed. Hemp hearts or hemp seeds have a soft, chewy, earthy, nutty flavor, which is then developed into a delicious creamy milk you can pour on your cereal, coffee, tea, or use in smoothies and baking.
So if you’ve been wanting to know ‘what is hemp milk’, we hope that satisfies. Be sure to check out your local supermarket for a variety of hemp product options from hemp milk, hemp hearts, hemp seeds to hemp oils, hemp bars and hemp balms.
Hemp Milk Nutrition
Hemp milk nutrition values are more health-promoting than other forms of plant-based milks, and we would even go so far as to say, more than cow’s milk. The rich hemp milk nutrition profile contains essential fatty acids like omega 3 and 6 for skin and organ health, high quality hemp protein with ample albumin and edestin for tissue repair, and compared to dairy, hemp milk has less carbs and protein but about the same amount of fat (healthy fats, that is).
One cup (240 ml) of unsweetened hemp milk contains approximately:
- Calories: 83
- Carbs: 1.3 grams
- Protein: 4.7 grams
- Fat: 7.3 grams
- Calcium: 2% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Iron: 7% of the DV
Hemp milk nutrition is the obvious choice for those who wish to avoid soy, gluten or dairy. Hemp milk also contains a range of vitamins, minerals and naturally occurring antioxidants such as phosphorus, calcium, vitamin A, B12 & D.
Hemp protein found inside hemp milk is a complete protein and easily digestible by the human body. It contains all essential amino acids which are crucial to human health.
If you’re looking at hemp milk nutrition for its health benefits you’d be well placed to give a few commercially available hemp milk options a try by shopping at your local supermarket (as the taste can vary from brand to brand).
Hemp Milk Benefits
Hemp milk benefits are far reaching as we already understand hemp products such as hemp oil, hemp balm and hemp hearts have a wide range of health benefits, but does this extend to hemp milk? It sure does!
Because hemp milk is made from hemp seeds, and we know hemp seeds contain a nutrient rich profile full of omega 3, omega 6, vitamins, minerals, plant flavonoids, fibre, antioxidants and essential amino acids, then we know consuming hemp milk is going to be advantageous to our health.
There are many research papers available on the health benefits of hemp and its constituents, however, hemp milk does not currently have a lot of peer reviewed papers due to the fact it is a commercially produced product from hemp that is relatively new in the marketplace.
On our blog we cover the latest research surrounding hemp and the cannabinoids inside this almost magical plant, how they work with and through the body’s own powerful endocannabinoid system (now considered by most to be the most important system of physiology in our body), and what consequences that has for the health of our population.
Hemp milk does not contain any appreciable amounts of cannabinoids. However, as previously mentioned, it does contain many health promoting compounds and properties.
Hemp Milk Recipes
If you’re looking for hemp milk recipes you’ve found it in this simple easy to follow one you can do from home. There are a ton of hemp milk recipes available online, so be sure to try a few out like the one below and see which one you like the most.
Here’s a simple hemp milk recipe you can make from home. You only need a few household ingredients, so let’s get started with this one.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup hemp seeds
- 1 tbsp raw agave, or 2 dates pitted
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon, or orange zest
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours.
There’s a simple hemp milk recipe you can make from home and if you’re feeling extra experimental and creative, try changing up the cinnamon or orange zest for a different flavored hemp milk. For other hemp milk recipes be sure to run a quick search online to find many like the one below that may meet your needs
How to Use It
Anything that cow’s milk can be used for, hemp can be used for. Hemp milk is a versatile replacement for soy, almond, oat or cow’s milk and can be added to your diet in a variety of ways.
Because hemp milk is free from soy, gluten or dairy, it’s an obvious choice for those wishing to avoid those food items, but what about if you’re vegan? Well, hemp can be the ideal option for vegans, too, being 100% plant-based.
Hemp milk can be used as a milk-replacement option in different cereal options, such as porridge, oatmeal, corn flakes, wheat-bix, or in your morning cup of tea or coffee. It can also be used in baking or smoothies and as a delicious creamy drink on its own.
We hope this answered your questions about hemp milk benefits and if you were looking for hemp milk recipes you could make from home, that you’ve found it in this article.
If you would like more articles on hemp, cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system, check out our blog as we post the latest research on all things hemp.
