Health Benefits of Hemp

I am a huge fan of hemp products and since they are gaining in popularity I thought I would dispel some myths, state some facts and share my personal experiences. I first got turned on to hemp products over a year ago when I was searching for another vegan alternative to soy protein powder. I wanted a product that was organic and free of harsh chemicals like the hexane that is used when processing soy. And if the products were produced in a way that was good for the environment, that would be fantastic! Enter hemp!

Myths

For many people when they hear the word “hemp” they automatically conjure up images of magical brownies or think that hemp is something that needs to be stashed somewhere inconspicuous. Hemp, or industrial hemp, is from the same plant as cannabis sativa however, hemp manufacturers eliminate all but traces of the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). I guess that can be taken as good or bad news depending on your preferences. Because of this image problem, Canada has really taken the lead in this market capturing a good part of the US market share.

So what’s so great about hemp?

There are lots of things that are great about hemp including the nutritional content, the low environmental impact, its versatility and taste. I have tried just about all of the different hemp products available including the hemp butter, hemp oil, hemp seed, the high fiber hemp powder, the regular hemp protein powder, the high protein hemp powder, hemp beverage and several varieties of the shakes. So in terms of nutrition, hemp has many things going for it: it is vegan, gluten free, soy free, high in omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids which are essential to health and need to be consumed through diet, and is a good source of highly digestible protein. The fats are in a 4:1 ratio which is thought to be ideal for health. Hemp also has two other omega fats, stearodonic acid (SDA) and gamma linolenic acid (GLA) that are absent from many other foods. In addition, most manufacturers certify that their products are organic which means no harsh chemicals or genetically modified organisms. The one thing you have to keep in mind is that hemp oil and butter should not be used for cooking and when baking with the powder the oven temperature should not exceed 350⁰F. High temperatures degrade hemps properties.

Looks good on paper, what about taste?

Personally I love the taste which is earthy and somewhat nutty and don’t mind the green color one bit. For me and for many people, hemp is easier to digest then soy or animal proteins like whey or casein. Hemp is high in fiber too so it digests slowly making it a good food for keeping blood sugar in check. Manitoba Harvest http://www.manitobaharvest.com/ is one brand of hemp products that I use and I was recently given the opportunity to sample their chocolate and vanilla hemp protein powders http://manitobaharvest.com/category/16/Hemp-Protein-Powder.html#trail as well as their hemp hearts http://manitobaharvest.com/category/13/Hemp-Hearts.html#trail (aka hemp seeds). I make smoothies every afternoon and hemp powder is one of the main ingredients. Both the vanilla and chocolate shakes have authentic tastes and they don’t contain any type of artificial ingredients. They contain real sugar which you may think is a bad thing, but it keeps the product wholesome while keeping the calories per serving in check. Each serving has over a quarter of the recommended intake level of fiber and contains as much protein as an egg. Personally, I like my smoothies thick so I add frozen fruit and ice. To make smoothies even thicker, the hemp hearts can be added to a small amount of water and blended into a paste before the powder and fruit, etc are added. You may also want to add some type of alternative “milk” or even peanut butter depending on your calorie needs and goals. Mixed with the High Pro 70 it makes a great exercise recovery drink because the sugar in the flavored powder can help with the uptake of the carbohydrates and protein into the muscles. And the hemp hearts (seeds) are so versatile. I use them in my muffins, on salads, on my dinner, in shakes, on hot cereal, etc. Each serving has a whopping 10 grams of protein and a good dose of those omega fats I was discussing.

I use the high fiber hemp powder for baking. I must have created about a dozen original muffin recipes at this point. I substitute it for about ¼ of the flour. My creations have all been super yummy and nutritious and I have become hooked on creating new recipes just about every week. My plan is to write a cookbook one day and as I was typing this I was thinking that a whole cookbook could be written just using hemp products for each of the different categories of recipes. So you will have to stay tuned for my recipes when/if I find someone to back my venture!

Bottom Line

While some researchers argue that the plant form of the omega fats found in hemp are not converted efficiently in the human body and that it should not be overlooked that the oil, nuts, and butter are nutrient dense (i.e. high in calories), hemp still stands head and shoulders above the many processed foods that crowd our plates. It is an antioxidant powerhouse, allergen free, contains highly digestible protein, is high in fiber, is produced using sustainable agriculture, does not contain harsh chemicals or is organic and is extremely versatile. Have fun exploring hemp and post a comment on which product is your favorite.

‘Tis the season for upping the quality of your diet

Nutrient Density. Do you know what this term means and if you do are your actively apply the principle? A nutrient dense diet is something akin to choosing high octane fuel for your car over the regular unleaded. Octane is a measure of anti-knock properties, i.e. performance and the higher the octane generally the higher the performance. The same goes with your diet: fuel up with nutrient dense choices and power your body through back to back workout sessions, speed recovery time and decrease your risk for a host of chronic diseases.

Make a commitment to add an extra serving of fruit and/or vegetable to each meal and snack:

· Eat the skins of your potatoes and leave them on when making mashed potatoes.

· Substitute spaghetti squash for pasta and top with your favorite sauce and diced vegetables.

· Choose whole fruits over juice the majority of the time.

· Buy whole carrots and eat the skin instead of buying baby carrots.

· Add dried apricots to your whole wheat couscous.

· Grill fruits like peaches and pears along with your vegetables.

· Add fruit to your salad – dried cranberries, fresh raspberries and mandarin oranges work well.

· Add spinach and peppers to your omelet.

· How about adding fruit to plain yogurt instead of buying the fruit yogurt?

· Snack on hummus and veggies.

· Make green smoothies for breakfast or snacks by adding a handful of kale or spinach to some yogurt or protein powder. Throw in a few dried dates to make it thick.

· Start your lunch and dinners with broth based low-sodium vegetable soup or try it as a snack.

· Add a layer of vegetables to your lasagna.

· Make a puree base of vegetables, fruits or beans and add to just about everything. The Sneaky Chef has some great free recipes http://www.thesneakychef.com/free_sneaky_chef_recipes.php

You can also make some targeted changes when it comes to upping the quality of your protein intake:

· Substitute a starch like a potato for a serving of beans.

· Ever try beans for breakfast? In many cultures this is the norm.

· Trade in the dark meat for white meat.

· Grill and broil your meats instead of frying them and use olive oil instead of butter.

· Include fatty fish twice a week.

· Include a vegetarian protein based meal once or twice a week.

Then there are the grains. Aim to make most of your choices whole and unprocessed:

· Choose whole grains for everything: pasta, couscous, rice, barley, pastry and regular baking flour, hot and cold breakfast cereals. You may have to look a bit harder but whole grain versions do exist!

· Mix up your grains and try quinoa, millet, amaranth and bulgur. They can all be substituted in place of rice.

As we embark on a new year, make a commitment to up the quality of your diet. If you have a tip to share I would love to hear it.

The born again cook and the vegan black bean brownie experiment

Now that I have been a doctor for almost a month and finished with school, I am starting to remember and rediscover some of the fun things I used to do. One of my goals now that I don’t have to work like a crazy person all of the time doing rewrites and research while working, is to cook my dinners on the stove – yes the stove – instead of just microwaving everything. The other is to rekindle my creative cooking spirit by experimenting with recipes. When I lived in Fort Collins, CO I cooked from scratch and regularly made all sorts of vegan and vegetarian delights from soups and ratatouille to muffins and quick breads.

To start on my goal, I did my first cooking experiment last Saturday. I literally had this recipe saved to my computer desktop for almost a year and finally had the time to make it. I must say I was a bit intimated by the sound of it: vegan black bean brownies. I found the recipe online from The Happy Herbivore and adapted it to create my own version. In my version the brownies are higher in protein and lower in sugar and could be used in place of an energy bar for a pre- or post-workout snack or anytime you want something healthy.

Since I am easing myself back into cooking I still took some shortcuts. I would have had to stand on a ladder to get my food processor down off of the kitchen shelf so I opted to put everything in my Vita-Mix. Second, I didn’t want to deal with the “do this first, do this next”, so I mixed all of the ingredients together at once and it worked out just fine. Then the last short cut I took involved using a different baking pan than the traditional 8 x 8 pan. I mean who wants to mess with cutting up a pan of brownies into somewhat equal squares? I used a muffin tin – I know – who would have thought? I even used muffin papers and it made things very easy and the bottoms didn’t even stick to the paper.

Ingredients
• 2 scoops soy protein powder (optional)
• 2 medium bananas
• 15 oz organic canned black beans
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa for baking
• 1/4 cup granular Splenda
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon, ground
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup oat bran (or regular oats)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 8x8" pan and set aside (or use muffin tins and paper). Drain and rinse the beans to remove excess salt. Combine all ingredients, except oats, in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, scrapping sides as needed. Stir in the oats and pour batter into the pan. Bake approx 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing. If you find these brownies are too soft or too fudgy, add another 1/4 cup oats or flour.

Note: I was trying to fill the whole muffin tray (i.e 12 muffins) but there wasn’t quite enough batter so I made 11. They turned out pretty small so next time I think I will aim for 9.

Nutrition Facts – based on 9 servings using the soy protein powder. The number in parentheses is without the protein powder and you will see the only difference is in the calories and protein, both of which are slightly lower.

Serving: 1 brownie
Calories: 124 (100)
Fat: 1 g
Carbohydrates: 22 g (21 g)
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 9 g (4 g)

And the taste? They turned out really good with a nice chocolate flavor and consistency. I couldn’t even tell that there were beans in them. Next time I think I will omit the cinnamon as it was a bit overpowering. This was fun! Stay tuned for more easy, healthy recipes and go get baking!

Power up for spring training

Spring has sprung and if you are like most athletes you are planning your racing line up and putting your training plans in order. As you start ramping up your training you will also want to assess your current nutrition plan as it may be in need of a little “spring cleaning”. To help you jump start your fueling strategy I am including a recipe for a great breakfast full of muscle fueling carbohydrates, muscle repairing protein and antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and of course lots of good taste.

Boil water or milk/soy milk
Add: Rolled oats or instant oatmeal (1/2 cup dry or 1-2 packets instant)
Whey protein (1 svg)
Small scoop of dark chocolate baking cocoa ~1 Tbs
Ground flax ~1 Tbs
Blueberries ½ cup
Raisins – travel packet size or bananas

Enjoy before or after your workouts.

Eggs: Good nutrition bang for your buck

Eggs are a naturally nutrient-dense food and contain almost every essential vitamin and mineral needed by humans. A large egg has about 74 calories and more than 6 grams of high-quality protein that is easily digested and absorbed by the body. Eggs are also an excellent source of choline, a nutrient that helps prevent birth defects, and a good source of riboflavin. The egg white consists primarily of protein while the yolk contains protein, choline, folate, lutein, zeaxanthin, fat, and vitamin D.
Each egg is separately wrapped in its own shell requiring no weighing or measuring and can be prepared in thousands of ways. Eggs are also naturally low in sodium and the yolk has a favorable mix of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and just 1.5 grams of saturated fat. And while many Americans still avoid eggs for fear of dietary cholesterol, 30 years of research has never linked egg consumption to heart disease. Additionally, the American Heart Association no longer places a limit on the amount of eggs a person can consume per week.
In an effort to meet consumer demand a number of specialty eggs are currently on the market offering an array of nutritional choices. Omega-3 eggs are laid by hens fed a special diet containing omega-3 rich flaxseed or marine algae. Cage free, organic, free-range and certified humane eggs all have the same nutritional content but the conditions under which the chickens are kept meet specific USDA standards. Brown eggs are no different from white eggs and are just from a different breed of hen.
The high-quality protein in eggs can be part of a balanced sports diet by aiding in muscle tissue repair and growth. So next time you are wondering what to have with that bagel try an egg or two.
American Egg Board (2010) http://www.aeb.org/retailers/nutrition-facts
Egg Nutrition Center (2010) http://www.enc-online.org/