Are Hemp Seeds the Next Superfood?
Chia seeds were all the craze in health food circles a few years back, and with good reason: they are loaded with protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other essential nutrients.
Chia was described as a bonafide superfood, an informal moniker for foods that are exceptionally nutrient dense, meaning the same weight and volume of those foods have significantly more energy and micro and macronutrients — and other healthful and necessary (but indigestible) components like soluble and insoluble fiber — than most other foods.
Well, look out chia, there’s a new contender for the healthiest seed, and even though it’s been cultivated and eaten for thousands of years, we’re only just now discovering how many positive benefits it has for human health.
Gram for gram, hemp seeds are higher in protein than chia seeds and contain more iron, zinc, and magnesium. Plus, hemp seeds are delicious in a wide variety of preparations. They can be eaten raw, roasted, or sprouted; dried and crushed into a powder; or ground into hemp meal. They can even be converted into non-dairy milk substitutes.
Modern Acclaim for an Ancient Food
Though they derive from the cannabis Sativa plant, which is also the source of marijuana, hemp seeds contain only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis, and hence have no mind-altering effects. The effects they do have on human health when eaten, however, place them squarely in contention for superfood status.
But what precisely makes hemp seed such a beneficial food and why is it only now getting the recognition it deserves?
The answer to that first question is fairly straightforward: hemp seeds are absolutely loaded with high-quality protein, healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and are a complete source of all nine essential amino acids. They contain compounds strongly linked to improved functioning of the heart, skin, joints, and digestive system.
The second question, why did this ancient food source go unnoticed in large parts of the world for so long, however, comes down to common misconceptions and legal obstacles that are slowly but surely disappearing.
Hemp only became legal to farm in the U.S. in 2018. Before then, it was listed by the Drug Enforcement Agency as a controlled substance. Hemp proponents spent years lobbying to correct this misclassification, and now any hemp-based product, including hemp seeds, containing less than 0.3-percent THC are completely legal to grow and eat.
Super Stats
To earn its superfood status, hemp seeds need to prove they have characteristics that put them in the same league as the likes of blueberries, kale, green tea, chia seeds, and other foods commonly lauded as superfoods.
Protein
The human body uses protein for pretty much everything. It makes up the building blocks for muscles and bones and is a necessary part of the hormones and enzymes that underpin our metabolic processes. Proteins are themselves made up of amino acids, of which there are 20 distinct types that the human body needs to function. However, we are only capable of producing 11 of them ourselves. The other nine are called essential amino acids because we can’t live without them and must consume them in our diet.
Most foods only have a few amino acids and we have to eat combinations of them to get all our needed protein building blocks. That’s why, for example, many world cuisines pair rice with beans. They are more than just tasty together, they also form a complete source of protein with all nine essential amino acids. A few rare foods contain all the essential amino acids all by themself and hemp seeds are one of them.
Plus, hemp seed doesn’t just have very high-quality protein, it has a lot of it. One tablespoon of chia seeds has 2.5 grams of protein, compared to 3.5 grams in hemp. Hemp seed is also notably rich in the amino acid arginine, which has been associated with heart health because it is converted into nitric oxide, a gas compound that is very important to artery and vein dilation and, consequently, healthier, more flexible blood vessels and lower blood pressure.
Vitamins and Minerals
Hemp seeds are a great source of a number of important vitamins and minerals, including:
Vitamin E
Magnesium
Phosphorous
Potassium
Iron
Zinc
Calcium
Sulfur
They are also rich in several B vitamins:
Thiamine (B1)
Riboflavin (B2)
Niacin (B3)
Pyridoxine (B6)
Folate (B9)
Healthy Fats
Too often fat is seen as completely negative in the context of dietary health, but like proteins and carbohydrates, it is a vital macronutrient that the body needs to survive. Furthermore, not all fats are created equal. Some, like polyunsaturated fats, have substantial health benefits. Hemp seeds are an especially good source of many of those types of fats, especially omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (also called linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid, respectively).
What’s more, new research is uncovering that obtaining health benefits from eating those fatty acids depends heavily on the ratio in which they are consumed. Too many omega-6 fats and too few omega-3s can undermine their health advantage. Fortunately, hemp seeds naturally contain a 3:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6, which is considered optimal.
Hemp seeds are also rich with gamma linolenic acid (GLA), another polyunsaturated fat with anti-inflammatory properties.
Fiber
Not everything we eat is digestible. Some parts of food are roughage which passes completely through us and ends up in our stool. Hemp seeds can be eaten hulled (with the outershelled removed and sometimes called hemp hearts) or intact. Both types contain some roughage in the form of soluble and insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, is a probiotic substance that doesn’t feed you directly, but rather becomes a food for healthy bacteria in your gut. Foods rich in soluble fiber stimulate and nourish your microbiome (the diverse array of microorganisms that live within us and provide symbiotic health benefits).
Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and isn’t a major food source for your microflora. Instead, its role is to add bulk to the stool and to mechanically assist in the digestive process by helping food move through the GI tract. Studies show that a diet rich in insoluble fiber may reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
One tablespoon of hulled hemp seeds contains a full gram of fiber (and intact hemp seeds have much more), with 20-percent soluble and 80-percent insoluble.
Hiding in Plain Sight… But Not for Long
China has been cultivating hemp seed for food and medicine for over 3,000 years. Hemp hearts have also been a component of Indian ayurvedic natural medicine for millennia.
It’s simply remarkable that this plant-based product — which can be cultivated and harvested sustainably; has as much protein as beef, gram for gram; is a complete source of all nine essential amino acids; and is loaded with vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and fiber — has gone unappreciated in other parts of the world for so long given its numerous benefits.
GÜDPHORIA is working to help change that reality. Our 10-acre hemp test plot in Central Oregon will be the site of an advanced and eco-friendly hemp cultivation and processing operation. Our goal is to share the knowledge we have gained of hemp’s untapped potential to spur greater awareness of just how valuable this superfood crop can be.