Fabulous Hemp: A Guide to Hemp Seed Oil

Essential fats for good health

March/April 2000
By Christopher Hobbs, L.Ac. 
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Hemp is springing up all over. You can buy hemp oil at natural-food stores, where you will find it in an array of products, including lip balm, bubble bath, soap, shower gel, and moisturizers. Hemp oil is not only popular in bath and body-care products, but it contains compounds that can also benefit heart health, help support good mood, improve brain function, and heal serious skin disorders. It can even help protect the skin from free radical damage after excess sun exposure.

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Healthy fats for healthy skin

Hemp seed oil contains omega-6 (linoleic) and omega-3 (linolenic) unsaturated fatty acids. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are the ones that your body doesn’t manufacture, so you have to get them from food or supplements. Essential fatty acids are aptly named because they are essential to your health. Your body uses these fatty acids to lubricate skin and tissues and to cause cell membranes to function normally.

Getting ample EFAs in your diet or in a high-quality supplement can help improve some skin conditions, such as dryness, dandruff, and hair loss.

Hemp at a glance

With its high content of beneficial essential fatty acids and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), hemp seed oil may benefit health in many ways. Among its potential benefits:

• May ease depression
• May improve brain function
• May heal serious skin disorders
• Helps cell membranes function normally
• Helps alleviate skin dryness
• May help relieve dandruff
• May play a role in treating chronic inflammatory ­diseases such as lupus, arthritis, and psoriasis
• May help reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke

The perfect dose: 2 to 4 teaspoons of hemp seed oil daily (depending on weight) fulfills your daily requirement of ­essential fatty acids.

The missing health link?

Many researchers now believe that fatty acids may be the missing link in a number of unsolved diseases. EFAs are being used by researchers and increasing numbers of health-care practitioners to treat chronic inflammatory conditions such as lupus, arthritis, and psoriasis, sometimes with dramatic results. Hemp seed oil may also help improve your blood-cholesterol profile and reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

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