Yorkshire Hemp:
supplies both certified organic and conventional bulk hemp to the baking and food manufacturing industry in the UK.

 

They also supply hemp food  products branded as “Yorkshire Hemp” to the UK health, whole food and super-market chains.

We recommend them 100%

"hemp nutrition seminar”

 

Do you know just how valuable hemp oil is, in terms of human dietary needs?

 

In historic times of dire food shortages and famine, hemp has been the foodstuff of survival, due to its highly nutritional nature.

 

In these days of mass-produced foodstuffs, with concern about the "wrong" kind of fats, about the need to find the "right" kind of fats (essential fatty acids) and of balance in diet, hemp has a huge contribution to make .

 

Hemp is high in EFA's, Omega oils and proteins - as this seminar lays out, for your interest.

 

The speaker featured is MaryBeth Augustine.

Hemp food shortcuts:

 

Hemp nutrition (video clip)

 

Hemp oil - nutritional info

 

Hemp recipes - free to try

 

UK hemp food supplier - we recommend

 

Hemp has long been prized in satisfying human dietary needs - learn why below.

Why Hemp Oil ?

 

Consider the following characteristics which apply to all foods

 

• Content
• Integrity
• Freshness

 

Content

 

All natural foods contain some substances which are essential to life. Oils for example, found in nuts and seeds, contain essential fatty acids (or EFAs) in amounts which are significantly greater than in other foods. Fresh oils also usually contain the fat-soluble vitamins A and E.

 

Typical EFA profile for Hemp Seed Oil

 

Alpha Linolenic Acid (Omega3)     (LNA)    19%

Linoleic Acid (Omega6)                 (LA)      50%

Gamma Linolenic Acid                   (GLA)   1.6%

 

Integrity

 

There are several factors which affect the amount of EFAs which end up in the oils we consume. These include the species of seed used, where it is grown, genetic manipulation of the seed and the oil-production method.

 

Plant breeders have developed high oleic varieties of seeds, which do not contain significant amounts of EFA's but do contain a high proportion of oleic acid, the mono- unsaturated fatty acid found in olive oil. Oils pressed from such seeds are not so easily damaged during processing but they do not contain the essential fatty acids required for human health.

 

The fats that we require are different from the kinds available in Supermarkets and Health Food Stores. Modern oil extraction causes much damage to the delicate EFAs.

 

Most of the vegetable oils/margarines on sale are labelled to show amounts of saturated, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (sometimes called "Essential poly-unsaturates" or PUFAs) contained. Unfortunately these oils are extracted using high temperatures and pressures. This significantly darkens the oil and causes it to take on an odour. The oil is then bleached, deodorised and de-gummed chemically to "clean" it up. it may then also be partially hydrogenated in order to "stabilise" it, i.e. to prevent it from going rancid. Partial hydrogenation and trans fats (which are produced during this processing) have received bad health publicity in recent years.

 

It is true that the fatty acids chains of hydrogen and carbon atoms, in these industrially extracted oils, may have the same chemical formulae as in the original seed but the spatial arrangement of the atoms has been altered. In nature, the unstable cis form predominates whereas in processed oils the trans form is present in increased proportion.

 

Enzymes in our bodies which metabolic these fats recognise only the cis form. It must be the case that, without essential fatty acids in an undamaged form, these enzymes will be unable to do their job.

 

Industrially processed oils do not go rancid rapidly because their compositions have been altered. The fragile but essential components have gone.

 

Freshness

 

EFA's are unstable and turn the oil rancid if care is not taken. Since EFAs are spoiled by exposure to light, heat and air, hemp food supply specialists (see our recommendations below) sell hemp oil, carefully pressed to minimise the damage caused by these agents.  They package and ship their live oil to you with the minimum of delay from the time of production.

 

N.B. Although flax seed oil contains significantly more Alpha Linolenic Acid (Omega3) than does Hemp seed oil, the latter is regarded as a better balanced oil for general consumption. Also, because of the natural anti-oxidants found in hemp, the oil remains fresh for longer.

 

Good suppliers make no health claims because no-one wishes their product to attract the legal status of a supplement or medicine and do not want hempathic customers to pay taxes on what essentially is a food.

 

Hemp Union pioneered the distribution of cold pressed hemp seed oil in the U.K. during the 1990’s - now Yorkshire Hemp are the suppliers of choice. The oil is green, delicious and perishable, but does keep in the freezer for up to one year without spoiling. Its cost is comparable to that of best quality nut oils.

 

If you wish to know more about the role of Essential Fatty Acids in health there is plenty of literature on the subject.

 

Here are some starting suggestions (see our library for more) :

 

Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill

Udo Erasmus - ISBN 0-920470-38-6

 

Nutritional and Medicinal Guide to Hemp

Kenneth Jones - ISBN 0-9625638-9-7