The Leaf THE LEAF July-August 2017 | Page 29

“…known to affect vital metabolic roles in humans, ranging from control of inflammation and vascular tone to initiation of contractions during childbirth. GLA has been found to alleviate psoriasis, atopic eczema, and mastalgia, and may also benefit cardiovascular, psychiatric, and immunological disorders.” Containing 75-80 percent of the polyunsaturated “good fats” and only 9-11 percent of the “bad fats,” hemp seed oil has the lowest unsaturated oil of all other plants. The GLAs help balance your hormones and maintain healthy hair, skin, and nails. Of the 20 known amino acids, hemp supplies them all, including the essential ones the body can’t produce, known as EAAs. About 65 percent of the protein in hemp seeds is edestin, a globulin protein that aids in digestion, similar to the globulin found in human blood plasma, and hemp seeds are the only place they’re found. The other third is made up of the protein albumin. Also, high in fibre, hemp seeds are more digestible than any other high-protein food, including meat, cheese, eggs, human milk, or cows’ milk. They’re high in antioxidants, and minerals like iron, zinc and copper as well as calcium, magnesium, potassium, carotene, thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B6 and vitamin E. If that’s not enough, there’s also chlorophyll, sulphur, phosphorus, phospholipids, and Phyto sterols. People suffering from maladies like tuberculosis, psoriasis, and even colon and prostate cancer report advantageous effects from adding hemp to their diets. Antiemetic – reduces nausea and vomiting Anticonvulsant – controls seizures Antipsychotic – fights psychotic disorders Antioxidant – fights neurological/degenerative disorders Anti-tumor/anti-cancer – combats tumors and cancer cells Antidepressant – controls depression and anxiety Studies on Hemp Scientists in Europe and North America concluded that hemp seed is an excellent source of nutrition. Numerous anecdotal incidences cited improvements in a wide range of acute and chronic conditions such as rapid healing of skin lesions and relief from flu, inflammation, and allergies. The benefits were attributed to the presence of rich source of the EFAs linoleic and alpha- linolenic acid, and their respective biologic metabolites, GLA and stearidonic acid. Recent research was undertaken on the benefits of hemp seed oil with low (0.3%) THC content, recently legalized by the European Union Benefits included the prevention of heart disease and lower risk of cancer and heart attack, lowered cholesterol, and beneficial against such degenerative diseases as atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's.