Thursday, August 17, 2006

Hemp, beautiful hemp


Hemp is a wonder plant that can be used to make fibers, fuel and food. Nutritionally, in a vegetarian or vegan diet it is a perfectly balanced source of Omega-3-6-9 Essential Fatty Acids with fantastic benefits such as being anti-inflammatory, a nervous restorative and cardiac tonic. The most common source of Omega oils are found in fish liver oil, but hemp is the premier natural source of Omega 3-6-9 Essential Fatty Acids from a plant source.

For millenia, Ayurvedic physicians have used hemp to treat dozens of diseases and medical problems. I am trying to find out which dosha most benefits from hemp (is it cooling, heating, invigorating, soothing?) but so far have seen it interchanged with ghee, which is tri-doshic -- so I conclude that it is healing for all doshas.

Always consume hemp organic and raw (heating destroys the aminos in the fat). It comes in a variety of forms, including hemp seed nuts that you can sprinkle on your food, or hemp butter for spreading on baked goods. There is also hemp seed oil, the most concentrated form, which can be drizzled on a plate of food or used in a salad dressing, and hemp protein powder for shakes. It has a very unique, nutty flavour that can get quite addictive! (...well, not literally, despite its reputation)

5 comments:

Jess K said...

Hey Claudia - did you ever find out the scoop on hemp protein's qualities from an ayurvedic perspective? I'm always looking for good vegan sources of protein... Thanks! Jess (a Pitta, in Texas, in summertime - really trying to keep cool!)

Claudia Davila said...

Sorry Jess, there are a handful of things I cannot find Ayurvedic information on, including hemp. There may be some associations with it being tridoshic which means it's good for everyone. But if I find anything more specific I'll update this post. Keep cool!

mamacinzia said...

We found hemp growing along side of bike trail here in Illinois. they seed to grow it here prior to WWII. Wouldn't want to be caught with it though.

Anonymous said...

I found information on the ayurvedic properties of hemp here:
http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/ayurveda-health-wellbeing/902269-hemp-ayurveda.html
It apparently decreases vata & Kapha and increases pitta

Anonymous said...

I was surfing net and fortunately came across this site and found very interesting stuff here. Its really fun to read. I enjoyed a lot. Thanks for sharing this wonderful information.cbd oil