Can Hemp Help Weight Loss?

There are a lot of solutions out there when it comes to losing weight. There are weight loss plans that rely on meals, those that use exercise to burn the right amount of calories, and all kinds of fad diets that promise all sorts of things that you should take with a grain of salt.

But then there are some natural remedies out there that actually do help with weight loss. Hemp is one of those things. There are some pretty compelling reasons to use hemp for weight loss, and they are backed up by actual research. Let’s take a look at some of the things that you need to know when it comes to using hemp for weight loss.

What is Hemp?

So, what exactly is hemp? That’s the first thing that you need to understand when it comes to using the substance to lose weight. In layman’s terms, It’s basically the usable parts of the marijuana plant that do not give you high.

That’s because they contain such a negligible amount of THC that they do not provoke a psychological effect. However, many of the same health benefits that have been found with marijuana still hold true for the other parts of the plant. In states where marijuana is legal, either for medicinal or recreational use, people may have a choice whether they use marijuana with THC or not. However, even in states where marijuana is not yet legal, people still may be able to use hemp for the health benefits legally.

There are several different parts of the marijuana plant that can be cultivated for its health benefits that do not contain enough THC to make them illegal. The leaves are the only parts of the marijuana plant that people cultivate for the psychological effects. Hemp can be beneficial in lots of different ways, including weight loss, which is exactly what we will be discussing here.

How Does Hemp Help Weight Loss?

There are some pretty specific ways that hemp can help you with weight loss. Let’s take a look at hemp seeds in particular and why they are one of the best ways that you can use the hemp plant to get the medicinal benefits from it – as well as how it can help you lose weight.

Hemp Seeds

Hemp seeds are pretty amazing because they contain tons of nutrients and vitamins. Hemp seeds are not necessarily a great source for a filling meal, but they do have plenty of omega-3 fatty acids which help your body to feel full faster and that feeling of satiety to last longer.

You can use them in almost anything to. For example, you can add hemp seeds to a soup or stew, mix them in with your next smoothie or add them to any foods that you plan on eating for a meal. They may make a little bit of a difference to help you feel full faster, but there are other reasons why they promote weight loss.

Carb Content

The carbohydrate content of hemp seeds is one of the reasons why so many experts recommend them. In fact, you only have two grams of carbs with the three tablespoons serving. Since the seeds have a chewy texture and go well with just about anything, they are the perfect thing to add to your oatmeal for breakfast.

There are actually lots of recipes out there that will help you to incorporate hemp seeds into your diet more effectively. There is even hemp seed butter that is lower in carbs than peanut butter and almond butter. If you’re trying to cut down on carbs to lose weight, then hemp seeds might be the perfect solution.

Protein Content

The protein content is another reason that so many people are using hemp seeds as a dietary supplement. You may already know that the more protein you add to your diet the more satiated you will be and the longer you will stay full. That’s because protein takes longer to break down than other types of nutrients.

That’s why when you eat chicken, beef or fish, you stay full longer than if you were to eat carbohydrates or other types of food. In addition, hemp seeds offer nine essential amino acids to make it one of the most complete proteins out there, which is great for vegetarians and vegans looking to up their protein intake.

Hemp Oil

Another method of ingesting hemp is by using hemp oil. Hemp oil is also commonly called CBD oil. This oil is made through various methods, but it is sold fairly inexpensively online. Hemp oil can have nearly as many benefits as regular marijuana. Let’s take a look at some of those health benefits below.

Omega-3

Getting the omega-3 fatty acids that your body needs is important, and most people do not get enough omega-3 fatty acids. However, the American Heart Association recommends that foods that contain these fatty acids should be a big part of our diets.

Oily foods like salmon contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, but so does hemp oil. There hasn’t yet been a great deal of research done on hemp oil yet, but there have been studies on other substances containing the same omega-3 fatty acids.

GLA’s

You also need gamma-linolenic acid, otherwise known as GLA. In the same study mentioned above, GLA was shown to prevent weight gain. Another study was conducted by the University of California and subsequently published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2007. GLA was tested against other supplements and found that GLA was more effective at preventing weight gain.

Metabolism

Finally, metabolism can be a major factor in determining whether you can lose weight and how much weight you will lose. In the same 2007 issue of the Journal of Nutrition, fish oil and a high-fat diet significantly reduced weight gain compared to a high-fat diet without fish oil. In addition, research subjects also had increased metabolic activity in their intestines.

Even though the study was for fish oil, the same holds true for hemp oil which contains the same sort of nutrients in ingredients that make fish oil so healthy.

Things to Keep in Mind about Hemp Oil

There are also a few things that you need to keep in mind when it comes to using hemp oil. First of all, hemp oil is a little easier to use than other oils that contain omega-3 fatty acids because the taste is better. In addition, eating a lot of fish can increase the mercury content of your body and too much can lead to mercury poisoning. You also want to keep in mind that hemp oil has to be refrigerated between uses.

Pain Relief

Another way that hemp can help with weight loss is by offering pain relief. Many people have chronic pain, particularly those that are obese, and this can prevent them from getting the exercise that would allow them to shed pounds. Being overweight can have a major impact on your joints and cause inflammation and pain in those areas as well as back pain, swelling and a variety of other conditions that make it more difficult to exercise.

You may already know that in some states marijuana has been approved for the treatment of chronic pain, but what you may not know is that the non-psychoactive parts of the marijuana plant such as the hemp seeds in hemp oil made from the plant can contribute to a reduction in pain that can result in the ability to exercise more often and for longer periods of time.

Even people who engage in high impact sports and training like CrossFit, powerlifting and weight lifting use hemp to aid in their recovery. Since all these activities put tremendous strain on your muscles and ligaments, using hemp can help you recover faster so you can continue training (and losing weight).

It doesn’t actually take that much exercise to get the benefits of it. There have been some studies that show that just a few minutes of high-intensity exercise can have some of the same health benefits as going to the gym for 45 minutes several times a week. Hemp oil and hemp seeds can definitely help alleviate pain that is keeping you from exercising for short periods of time.

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The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that there are some pretty compelling reasons to use hemp for weight loss. There are a lot of supplements out there that promise weight loss, but very few of them are backed up by actual clinical research. Hemp is one of those substances that have been shown to have a significant impact on weight loss; plus it has a whole host of other benefits.

One of the things that make a unique is that it tackles weight loss in several different ways. For example, not only does it help raise your intestinal metabolism, but also helps you feel full for longer. These factors make it one of the best weight loss supplements available today.