HEMP
Hemp, or cannabis, is one of the most medicinal and versatile plants on the planet. With over 50,000 known uses and counting, we have cultivated and used this plant for over 6000 years. Hemp has been used as a source of food, medicine, cosmetic, fibre and construction material. Recently it has even been used to make biodegradable plastics and biofuels.
Hemp is a variety of cannabis with a very low level of the psychoactive compound THC, and high levels of the compound CBD.
Here we're going to focus on the medicinal qualities of hemp and chat about some of the hemp and cbd products we stock...
Now, the medicine from this plant comes from compounds known as cannabinoids. We create small amounts of our own cannabinoids that interact with our endocannabinoid system. This system is responsible for the homeostasis of all other major systems in the body. So when something causes an imbalance, we produce cannabinoids to help the endocannabinoid system restore balance to our body. However, and here's the caveat, we do not produce enough on our own. We need to get it from external sources.
Cue the cannabis plant! The highest known source of cannabinoids available to us. The entire plant is edible and luckily once left to grow, they grow in abundance!
The effect of cannabis on our endocannabinoid system is why the plant can be used for so many things ranging from anxiety and stress, to immunity, gut health, hormone regulation, pain sensitivity, digestion and even brain function.
CBD
The most well known , and researched, cannabinoid is CBD! This cannabinoid is one of the more abundant in the plant and it seems to have the greatest effect on us. CBD oils are therefore highly sort after right now but what's the difference between full spectrum, broad spectrum and all the various types you see on the market?
Full spectrum/cold-pressed - this is where the plant has been slowly pressed to extract all of the cannabinoids the plant has to offer. So rather than just being CBD in the bottle you're getting all of the wonderful cannabinoid medicine! Research shows taking plants as a whole rather than isolating compounds has a greater effect on our whole body health as all of the compounds work together to achieve more than just the one could.
Our full spectrum and cold-pressed CBD is below:
Broad Spectrum - this means the CBD oil you're getting will have a range of cannabinoids in it. It must have more than just CBD but it won't have all 140+ cannabinoids in it as the heat in the machine extraction process will mean you inevitably lose some. However machine extraction has some benefits over the cold press method. Machine extraction allows you to up the amount of CBD you can put into a bottle, so you can have a range of strengths, as well as taking the bitterness out of the end oil. This range is much nicer in taste.
Our broad spectrum CBD is below:
CBD Isolates - this means you are only getting one cannabinoid in the bottle, CBD. These are usually cheaper but don't have anywhere near the medicinal power of cannabinoid rich oils. We currently don't stock any isolates.
HOW TO TAKE CBD
The body has cannabinoid receptors all over, but the best way to take it internally is by dropping the oil under your tongue. You have two cannabinoid receptors under your tongue that take the medicine straight into the bloodstream and around the body.
You also have one at the top of the stomach so swallowing the oil is also beneficial. However it is important to note that your digestive acid will break down a lot of the medicine before it can enter your system so perhaps take more if you are taking it this way, or try alternative methods.
The skin has lots of cannabinoid receptors too so an easy way to up your cannabinoid levels is by rubbing the oil onto the skin! This works especially well for arthritis, muscle pain and inflammation. We've even found it works wonders to relieve thrush!
This is the topical oil we stock but it is also edible and particularly yummy used as butter on toast:
HEMP SEEDS AS A SUPERFOOD
Did you know not only is Hemp great for its cannabinoids, the seeds are known as a superfood in itself?! You may have seen hemp seeds sold at supermarkets or in health food shops as it's really grown in popularity! And it's no wonder...
Hemp seeds are a complete protein, containing all 21 amino acids that our body needs but can't produce. This makes it one of the only complete plant-based sources of protein.
We sell ground hemp seeds as a protein powder:
The oil produced from pressing seeds contains the perfect ratio of Omega 3, 6 and 9 for our bodies. It's also super high in Vit E which is anti-ageing for the skin. We love to drizzle the oil over food to p our omega levels, or use a few drops topically on our skin as a natural face and body oil.
Our hemp seed oil is below:
WHY ORGANIC MATTERS
All of our hemp and CBD products are sourced from Hempen, an organic hemp farm based in Oxfordshire UK. They were one of the first in this country starting their co-op in 2015!
It is important to us that we use a certified organic product as hemp itself is very sensitive to toxins in the soil. If grown with pesticides the plants will soak up all of the toxins in the soil and your end product is less of a medicine and more of a chemical soup - yum.