Hemp appeals to consumers for several reasons. It can be used as an alternative to soy products such as soy milk, which some people can't tolerate. Some people find hemp foods tasty. (We'll get to that in a minute.) Others are attracted to hemp's nutritional value. This may be its strongest draw.
The runty little nut, which resembles a sesame seed, does pack some stellar nutrients.
Two tablespoons of shelled hemp seeds contains 11 grams of protein, no cholesterol and, most important, about 2 grams of the very healthful unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
Hemp oil also contains a good ratio -- roughly 3 to 1 -- of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3s, says Barry Swanson, a professor in the food science and human nutrition department at Washington State University.
"That is an exceptional ratio, as far as balance is concerned, between omega 6s and omega 3s," Swanson says.
Further, he says, hemp has other good constituents: "The gamma-linoleic acid [an omega-6] and stearidonic acid [an omega-3] in hemp are both things our body needs more of, that don't occur in very many food products."
In short, the hemp seed is one healthy nut, and these days you can get it in hemp waffles, hemp ale, hemp lattes and hempacinos. Hemp lovers see the seed as an emerging health food superstar, but Roger Clemens, associate director of regulatory science at USC School of Pharmacy, says some of the excitement may be overblown.
Although preliminary research suggests that the fatty acids in hemp may reduce risk of cardiovascular events similar to better-studied oils such as fish oil or olive oil, compelling evidence is not yet in, he says. And, he adds, 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 very inefficiently, at a rate of about 1%, Clemens says.
In addition, although hemp contains essential amino acids, the quality of the protein in hemp, though digestible, doesn't measure up to that of soy, he says.
One ingredient that hemp foods don't contain is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana, says Lawrence Kushi, an epidemiologist and researcher at Kaiser Permanente, Northern California.
