This article is covering the hemp oil benefits for New Zealand families so you can not only gain clarity on the specific health benefits of hemp oil to the individual, but also how hemp can contribute to the health of our families as a whole, the economic health of kiwi farmers, and our communities, leading to a stronger, more stable New Zealand economy and population.
What Is Hemp
Hemp is an annual plant commonly found in the Northern Hemisphere; it is part of the Cannabis sativa family. There are three species of the hemp plant: Cannabis sativa L., Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient of marijuana, is the main difference between the different species.
Hemp contains just 0.3% THC (the legal limit), whereas marijuana levels can range from 10-20%. This is why MJ is responsible for the psychoactive effects that you simply won’t experience with hemp. Same plant, but like in the case of Granny Smith or Macintosh apples, they’re a different variety with their own unique flavour.
Hemp is a plant with a diverse range of applications from industrial use, to cosmetics, cooking, and health, with it’s over 50,000 different modern uses, there isn’t much hemp can’t do.
You can read our article What Is Hemp for a full breakdown of hemp’s history and applications. We’ll get into hemp oil benefits soon, right after we cover what hemp oil is exactly.
What Is Hemp Oil
Hemp oil is commonly referred to as hemp seed oil (or “hempseed oil”). Hemp oil is commercially made by pressing hemp seeds to extract their oil with a cold pressing technique that requires the seeds to be de-shelled with removal of the outer husk. It has great nutritional value, but the way growing hemp in NZ is done, it leaves the oil without any appreciable amounts of cannabinoids, especially CBD and THC.
Now, we don’t want to complicate this article too much, however it is important to inform you that if you’re searching around for hemp oil benefits, but you’re not sure the difference between “hemp seed oil” (as explained above), “CBD oil” and “full spectrum hemp oil”, then we would be doing you a disservice if we didn’t briefly cover these differences in short.
CBD oil is abbreviated for cannabidiol oil, which is an isolated cannabinoid floating in a base such as coconut oil. Originally, the cannabinoid, CBD, was sourced from the hemp plant, but was later isolated (or synthetically made). The reason the cannabinoid has been isolated, is so that it can be patented as a pharmaceutical product, studied in animals and humans for safety and efficacy, and then approved by the FDA (or in New Zealand, the MOH - Ministry of Health) as a prescription only medicine.
Full spectrum hemp oil is the same as CBD oil only in the respect that it contains cannabinoids, but that is where the similarities end. Full spectrum goes on to contain a full range of the other 119 cannabinoids present in the hemp plant, along with fatty acids (omegas-3-6-9), terpenes and other beneficial compounds creating a more synergistic product with superior absorbability and effectiveness (this is often referred to as "the entourage effect"). Often, “full spectrum hemp oil” and “whole plant hemp oil” are interchangeable in their terms, but the same, with minor differences such as THC content, pending the country where the hemp was grown. Growing hemp in NZ follows strict legal guidelines in order to adhere to current legislation.
Hemp Oil Benefits
In this article we’ll briefly cover hemp oil benefits starting with “hemp seed oil” and moving on to a full spectrum hemp oil rich in cannabinoids and other beneficial compounds.
Hemp oil benefits (“hemp seed oil”) are as follows:
- Can be used in salads or in low temperature cooking below 36 degrees (it is not to be used as a high temperature cooking oil as it has a low temperature burning point)
- Helpful as an ingredient in soaps and shampoos for personal hygiene
- Some studies have shown it can be helpful in the treatment of eczema
- Offers a complete spectrum of fatty acids, omegas-3-6-9
- Offers a 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 (the ideal ratio)
- Contains GLA which linked to reduced inflammation, which may reduce heart disease risk
- Contains Linoleic acid which can help support the immune system
- Can balance blood sugar through polyunsaturated fats
- Provides a range of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for good health
- Can assist with some forms of dermatitis
- Has been helpful in the management of PMS
After covering a range of benefits with hempseed oil, we’ll now move onto the benefits when you have a hemp oil rich in cannabinoids, such as in a full spectrum hemp oil.
Hemp oil benefits (“full spectrum hemp oil”) apply to a wide range of conditions:
Pain and pain management
Depression and anxiety
Cancer treatment assistance
Stress and tension relief
Seizure frequency and severity
Skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis
Metabolic conditions
Endometriosis and poly-cystic ovarian syndrome
Addiction and withdrawal
Management of allergies
Autism spectrums in bringing more calm and balance
Fibromyalgia
Bipolar
Blood health
Borderline personality disorder
Brain injuries
Heart health
Focus and concentration
Sleep and sleep related conditions
Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
Multiple sclerosis
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Erectile Dysfunction
Gastrointestinal health
Hair loss
Inflammation
Kidney health
Liver health
Neuropathy
Oral health
PTSD
Reproductive health and development
Respiratory health
Schizophrenia
Cancer
Can provide pets with all these benefits, too
We cover all of these conditions and how they relate to the cannabinoids found inside full spectrum hemp oil over on our blog.
Individual Cannabinoid Benefits
Some of the individual cannabinoids inside a full spectrum hemp oil have been studied too, each with their own unique benefits
THCA has shown effectiveness in protecting brain degeneration, treating inflammation, and preventing general nausea and appetite loss, as well as stopping the growth of cancer cells.
CBG has shown to be of assistance with chronic pain disorders, inflammation, bone growth stimulation, brain cell stimulation, depression, seizures, insomnia, poor appetite and bacterial infections.
CBDA has been shown to suppress the COX-2 enzyme through its anti-inflammatory properties. The inhibition of COX-2 has shown promise in the reduction of breast cancer cell growth. CBDA activates the serotonin receptors which can help alleviate depression and anxiety. Serotonin also helps manage general nausea and vomiting, which can help increase appetite.
CBN is showing promise with it's sedative qualities without the 'high', to be of assistance with PTSD, increasing appetite, controls the growth of cancer cells, activates pain relieving pathways
Hemp Oil Benefits for Farmers
Growing hemp in NZ comes with a great number of benefits for our kiwi farmers. Hemp is on the rise and the future looks bright for this plant with it’s over 50,000 different modern uses from industrial, textiles, cosmetics, foods and consumer health.
Kiwi farmers have the opportunity to get amongst this versatile crop as more people learn about hemp oil benefits, demand will grow for hemp. Over time, the use of industrial hemp has evolved into an even greater variety of products, including health foods, organic body care, clothing, construction materials, biofuels, plastic composites and more can be made from hemp.
Hemp is a low-input, sustainable crop that due to its large variety of applications growing hemp in NZ is a win-win not only for our local kiwi farmers but also for the environment. Hemp has the ability to clean up soil through a process called phytoremediation. It draws up chemicals and toxic substances from the soils, leaving a clean soil ready to be planted on. When growing hemp in NZ for phytoremediation, a farmer would not sell that particular crop for human consumption, of course. That would be for the later crops.
Hemp grows in a variety of climates and soil types, making it ideal for the widely varied terrain that is New Zealand. Hemp is naturally resistant to most pests, and grows very tightly spaced allowing it to outcompete most weeds, a big bonus for farmers allowing them to save money on chemicals, and produce a cleaner product.
Hemp is a natural substitute for cotton and wood fiber, hemp can also be pulped using fewer chemicals than wood because of its low lignin content. Its natural brightness can obviate the need to use chlorine bleach. This is big for New Zealand as we are all in this together to clean up and restore our natural rainforests.
Since 2008 kiwi farmers have been growing hemp in NZ and as long as more consumers learn about hemp oil benefits, our farmers will have a cash crop that sustains their families health and their bank account.
Hemp Oil Benefits New Zealand
As you can tell, there are many hemp oil benefits for New Zealand as a whole. As more people learn about hemp oil benefits, and as more farmers grow this environmentally sustainable and enriching crop, this brings not only more opportunity to improve the health of kiwi’s nationwide, but also our economy through export trade of high quality hemp grown in NZ.
When we strengthen our farmers with hemp, we strengthen our communities as our farmers spend in their local towns, we strengthen our local towns with more cash flow, and as a collective of towns and small communities across Aotearoa, we strengthen our economy through both local sale and export trade.
If you would like to learn about hempseed oil benefits specifically, you can read our article on that or just check out our blog for the latest research in all things hemp, cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system.
