Superfood Spotlight: Hemp Seeds
The benefits of hemp are seemingly endless. This amazing super-food balances your hormones, nourishes your skin and hair, calms post-workout inflammation, and relaxes your muscles. Thanks to it’s high levels of both iron and phosphorous, hemp is an essential food for athletes. Hemp contains high amounts of magnesium and double the protein of chia and flax seeds. Hemp also features plenty of other nutrients including abundant fiber, chlorophyll, vitamins and omega-3 and -6 essential fatty acids. Hemp also contains three times the vitamin E contained in flax.
Hemp is an easily-digested complete protein source that is also one of the richest vegetable sources of the Omega 3 & 6 Essential Fatty Acids. For optimum health, Omega-6 and Omega-3 need to be consumed in a certain ratio. I recommend hemp seed due to its ideal 3 to 1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 EFAs.
EFAs help organ muscles to contract, regulate stomach acid, help lower blood pressure, regulate hormone levels, break up cholesterol, while aiding in fat transportation and metabolism, and they help support the immune system and guard against viral infection . The EFAs in hemp also help improve brain function.
Wondering how to add hemp seeds to your diet?
Hemps seeds have a mild, nutty flavor similar to sunflower seeds.
•Sprinkle shelled hemp hearts on salads, non-dairy yogurt, oatmeal and cereal
•Add them to soups
•Toss them into smoothies
•Toss into other cooked grains
•Hemp butter is a great substitute for those with allergies to peanuts or tree nuts
Eat Healthy & Thrive.. Enhance Performance & Recover Faster. Sound Nutrition is the Competitive Edge!
(By Texas & Markus Boesch)