Since 2005, sales of hemp food products have risen by more than 50 percent, spawning an $8.6-million industry. While the United States currently prohibits commercial cultivation of industrial hemp, it allows the import of seeds, oil, flour and other hemp byproducts to be manufactured into ready-to-eat foods in the United States.

There are now hundreds of hemp foods available online and on supermarket shelves. The newest addition, hemp milk, is experiencing phenomenal sales.

Hemp can be used as an alternative to soy products such as soy milk, which some people can't tolerate. Many are attracted to hemp's taste and nutritional value.

Research suggests that the fatty acids in hemp can help reduce risk of cardiovascular ailments. However, the ALA omega-3 in hemp is not the same as the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil, which have been shown to be heart-healthy. ALA does convert into EPA or DHA in the body, but only at a rate of about 1 percent.

Los Angeles Times May 14, 2007

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

In the past two years, sales of hemp food products in markets and grocery stores rose by more than 50 percent, propelling the unassuming seed to an $8.6-million industry.

Hemp was first cultivated in China more than 6,000 years ago, and was used as a food source long before soy foods. Unlike soy -- whose prominence in natural food circles is a direct result of aggressive marketing by the edible oil industry -- hemp seeds pack a powerful nutritional punch. You can find it in hundreds of products, including shakes, snack bars, breads, ales and hempacinos.

Two tablespoons of shelled hemp seeds contain about 11 grams of protein and 2 grams of unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. Hemp oil also has a better-than-average ratio -- about 3 to1 -- of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, although, as mentioned above, the omega-3 is not the same omega-3 found in fish- or krill oil. Krill oil is still your best source of vital omega-3s and antioxidants that are so lacking in our modern diet.

Additionally, hemp, like flax, is loaded with highly beneficial water-soluble fibers.

If you are concerned that you might get high from these hemp food products, don't be. The government has made certain that commercially grown hemp does not contain the psychoactive ingredient THC.

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