Herbs - Hemp

Early January 2010 I was assisting with admitting my Mother to a long-term care facility for her dementia/Alzheimer's way out there in California near one of my brothers'. During a "care planning" meeting, one of the very kind administrators was going over supplements, diet, etc., when she mentioned that Hemp oil is much higher in essential fatty acids (EFA's) than fish oils and she highly recommended it for our Mother. This was important because Mom had been carefully managing her cholesterol for many years and EFA's were an essential part of that regiment. .... Did I freak out when the hemp supplement was mentioned? No...but I was surprised as I had had no knowledge of this product existing or its benefits....legalness, etc.

Over a year later, I'm in an organic market and I run across a big-ol-bag of hemp powder and (to the horror of my friend), I purchased it! Which brought to mind the stigma of "Hemp" and a thriving population who haven't learned that there's a difference in organic hemp and the illegal bastard cousin of the stuff ~ which causes all sorts of interesting expressions.

There's hemp and then there's HEMP. They're all in the same family, but varieties differ in THC levels (that's the magic ingredient) by an order of magnitude. Commercial hemp powders and oils sold in organic markets contain almost no THC. Sure, the THC is its claim to fame, but this plant offers so much more.

Oils rich in EFA's are oily. I find feeding an EFA rich oil kind of dicey when it comes to dogs. I don't want loose stools to be the side effect. In fact, I don't want loose stools at all. Loose stools suggest an allergy, illness, or (in this case) a reduction in nutrient absorption. Traditional EFA oils have that one benefit going for them. Hemp offers a whole lot more: it cleanses the liver by burning fat; it is environmentally friendly being grown without pesticides; while oils contain omega-3 EFA's, hemp contains omega-3 AND omega-6; hemp is also high in protein (37%); it is easy to digest, and hemp is very high in fiber (43%).

I gravitated towards using hemp powders as a supplement when Elvis was diagnosed with diabeties. What woke me up was the commercial "prescription" diabetic diet produced by a famous kibble-making company found in every vets office. Obediently I followed along when the vet told me to switch to this RX diet. I then watched Elvis's blood sugar steadily rise over the following days to my complete and utter confusion and horror. THEN I read the ingredient label. Let this be a lesson.... read the labels! This "RX" kibble lists CORN as it's FIRST ingredient.

Remember what I told you about corn? Corn is a carbohydrate. The body burns it for fuel just like sugar. So, I freaked out a little bit. I donated the remainder of this expensive bag of crap and went back to our former (grain free) kibble. The vet was astonished when I informed her of all that had transpired. The dog food folks had told her that the "corn" was for fiber.
What an utterly crappy way to provide fiber for an animal with a sugar-regulating deficiency!!! I have no respect for the manufacturers of dog foods anymore... read the label. Don't believe their interpretation of the truth**.

Hemp powder is starting to sound pretty good after that! Loads of fiber, Omega-3's and Omega-6's, highly palatable, sugar free and protein rich. I put a large amount in the home brew I prepare every few days.

Now you know. Organic hemp contains no THC (or very little) and offers loads of benefits for you and your fur friends. Most health food stores will carry some variety of hemp supplement to try. I like the powder as it's higher in fiber... which is what Elvis needs.

Interested in the other benefits of organic hemp? Hemp was the plant originally used to make bullet-proof clothing before the invention of "modern" fabrics. Our constitution is written on hemp paper because of it's strength and lasting aspects. Hemp clothing is making a comeback as it's easy to produce and is long wearing. Hemp was the favored choice for marine rope long before synthetics came along. Hemp is natural. Nylon is not. So, some varieties of hemp are used for purposes other than clothing, rope, food supplements and the like.... those varieties are potent in specific areas and illegal in the US.... but, we're not talking about those hemps here. Night and day. Apples and oranges.

**I saw an ad a while back that pointed out that dogs and wolves are 90+% alike so they should be fed alike because that's the right thing to do. ....... Yeah, apes and humans are 99.7% the same but we don't eat the same stuff or look like twins! ......Ads will sell your sense of intelligence short at every opportunity. Use your noodle.