Hemp 101

The oil from hemp seeds has one of the highest concentrations of polyunsaturated fats and the best balance of the Essential Fatty Acids. The human body requires only two fatty acids, Linoleic acid (omega 6) and alpha linolenic acid (omega 3) and their metabolites, gamma-linolenic acid (omega 6) and stearidonic acid (omega 3), in order to sustain life and health. Hemp contains 54.4% linoleic acid, 18.3% linolenic acid, 3-4% gamma-linolenic and 1-2% stearidonic acid. It’s one of only four oils to contain this balance of essential fatty acids and is the most economical option available.

Hemp’s ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids is about 4:1, which mirrors the diet that helped primitive humans evolve and thrive for 2.5 million years. This ratio of fatty acids has been shown to prevent and even reverse Alzheimer’s disease in animal models and humans.

Yes! Hemp offers 17 different amino acids including 8 of the 10 essential ones. This protein is relatively high in cysteine and methionine, which are two sulfur- bearing amino acids that vegetable proteins usually lack.

Hemp seed hearts – also known as hemp hearts and hemp nuts – are raw whole hemp seeds that have had the outer shell removed. Hulled hemp seed hearts have a higher overall percentage of protein and are much sweeter and nuttier in flavour than the whole hemp seed.

Hemp contains the fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is especially beneficial for the elderly, who tend to become deficient in essential fatty acids as they age. Studies have shown that these polyunsaturated fats – especially omega 3 fatty acids – help prevent heart disease.

Hemp contains one of the highest concentration of phytosterols (B-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campestrol), which are known to reduce cholesterol. The US FDA supports the claim that plant sterol and stanol esters lower cholesterol levels, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.

Hemp contains chlorophyll, which is a known anti-carcinogen. Hemp also contains phytosterols, which have been shown to be anti-carcinogenic as well (Phytosterols as Anticancer Dietary Components, Awad and Fink, Recent Advances in Nutritional Sciences, 2000, pp 2127-2129).

Hemp seed hearts from Canada Hemp Foods have a 4:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids. This ratio mimics the human body’s requirements, delivering the Omega-6 and Omega-3 in optimum proportions. This means that if you eat hemp seed hearts from Canada Hemp Foods over a long period of time, you won’t run the risk of overwhelming your body with either Omega-6 or Omega-3 fatty acids, which can happen when you don’t eat these fats in proper balance.

You’ll find suggestions for uses and recipes for our products in our Recipes [link to recipes section of blog] section. We also have a free brochure with quick and easy recipes that you can order by emailing us or calling our sales office at 1.866.616.HEMP.

For optimum health results, we recommend 3-5 tablespoons for an adult and 3-5 teaspoons for a child.

Hemp seed hearts are not a tree nut or a groundnut but rather the contents (heart) of the hemp seed. Many people who claim to have allergies to nuts report no reaction to Canada Hemp Foods hemp seed hearts. However, to be safe, if you are allergic to nuts you should consult your physician first.

For best results, we recommend that you use the hemp food products for cold application.  You can cook with hemp seed products from Canada Hemp Foods, provided that the temperature doesn’t go above 350 degrees F. At that temperature, the healthy fats in hemp seed are in danger of turning into trans-fats, which are unhealthy.

For recipes that require high heat, we recommend you cook the rest of the dish first and then add the hemp hearts or oil for added flavour and nutrition one you turn the temperature below 350 degrees F.

To learn more about cooking with hemp, visit our recipes page! 

Scientists believe that humans have cultivated hemp for its nutritional, medicinal, and industrial properties for more than ten thousand years. Hemp is widely considered to be one of humanity’s first domesticated crops.

Every part of the hemp plant offers huge value:

• Flower: powerful medicinal and spiritual properties
• Seed: amazing source of protein and the essential amino/fatty acids required to sustain human life
• Stalk: contains the strongest natural industrial fibres in the world
• Roots & leaves: feed the soil with valuable nutrients – a farmer can grow multiple crops of hemp per season in the same field without seeing a decrease in soil nutrients. On top of that, you won’t find an easier plant to grow. The incredibly hardy hemp plant thrives in almost any environment without the need for pesticides or herbicides. It is one of the easiest possible plants for humans to domesticate.

Some religious scholars believe that the plant referred to in the Hebrew Bible as “kaneh-bosm” and “q’aneh-bosm” is the hemp plant, and it’s thought that the name of the land, Canaan, shares the same etymological root as “cannabis,” the Latin name for hemp. Kaneh-bosm is thought to have been an important ingredient in a highly valued anointing oil that had healing and restorative powers. Some religious scholars even believe that hemp is the “Tree of Life” mentioned in the book of Genesis, given its many important uses.

Here are just a few of the common goods and products that humans have made from hemp in ancient and modern times:

• Food
• Medicine
• Cooking
• Oil
• Clothing
• Soap
• Shampoo
• Cosmetics
• Pottery
• Building materials
• Canvas
• Sailing cloth
• Rope
• Carpets
• Pulp
• Paper
• Cardboard & packaging
• Fiberboard
• Sealant
• Lamp Oil
• Agro-fibre composites
• Compression-molded parts
• Brake/clutch linings
• Caulking
• Insulation
• Cement
• Stucco
• Mortar
• Oil paints
• Solvents
• Lubricants
• Printing inks
• Fuel

Yes! Up until the early 20th century, hemp used to be one of the largest and most important crops on the planet. Consider these facts: • George Washington grew hemp as one of his primary crops and proclaimed that farmers should sow it everywhere. • Thomas Jefferson once said, “Hemp is of greatest importance to our nation.” • In 1806, King George III of England passed a Declaration stating that all Canadian farmers must grow hemp or face serious repercussions. • Americans used to be able to pay their taxes in hemp.

Up until the early 20th century, hemp-made products were as ubiquitous as plastic is today. Industrial hemp only fell out of favour when the leaders of other competing industries – such as lumber and plastics – teamed up to demonize the plant by associating it with its distant cousin, marijuana, so that when laws were enacted preventing the growth and use of marijuana, the same laws applied to hemp as well—even though hemp contains no psychotropic substances. Unfortunately, this negative perception of hemp has lasted to this day.

Hemp and Marijuana are both in the Cannabis family, but hemp seed does not contain the psychoactive compound, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), that Marijuana does. Hemp is grown for industrial purposes: food, fiber and fuel. This is why hemp is legal and marijuana is not. It is similiar to the difference in poppies that are grown to make opium narcotic and the poppies that are grown for the poppy seeds that are used in food products such as bagels.

Nope! Hemp seed hearts from Canada Hemp Foods are made with a variety of hemp seed that has undetectable amounts of THC. These special hemp seeds are further cleaned and processed to ensure that all hemp seed hearts from Canada Hemp Foods have a THC content of less thatn 4ppm (parts per million), or 0.0004%.

Nope again! As stated above, hemp seed hearts from Canada Hemp Foods have 0.0004% THC so eating them will not cause a false positive on a urinalysis test. If a customer could eat an entire 16oz bag of Canada Hemp Foods hemp seed hearts in one sitting, he would still pass the urinalysis test. This is true even if the urine sample was given six hours after the time of ingestion (the time of highest elimination).

All of our organic products come from suppliers who are certified organic processors. However, though we can proudly claim that our products are herbicide and pesticide free, not all of them are certified organic. This is because the certification process is expensive and adds extra cost to the product, and we wanted to be able to offer a lower-cost version as well. This way we can offer all our customers, high-quality, chemical-free products while providing a certified option for customers who prefer and will pay extra for the organic label.

Hemp seed hearts have a 10-month shelf life. Once the package is opened, we recommend you eat the product within eight weeks. You can store the products in the freezer to extend the shelf life.

Yes. For optimum freshness, once the product seal has been broken the product should be refrigerated.

Yes, hemp seed hearts from Canada Hemp Foods can be frozen. Freezing the products will extend the shelf life as long as they are in an airtight container.

No. The very low THC variety hemp seeds that the company uses have been selectively bred, not genetically modified. Having been banned throughout many of the “technologically advanced” nations for the last few decades, the opportunity to use hemp in any capacity has been restricted and thus has reduced incentive to genetically modify hemp. To date, the company is unaware of any genetic modification that may have been done to any varieties of hemp.