Benefits of the Hemp Plant

By NOMH .

Hemp is the only crop that can clothe you, feed you, shelter you and provide medicine. The earliest uses of hemp date back thousands of years. Often confused interchangeably, hemp and marijuana are chemically different from each other. It is important to understand the difference between both, while marijuana consists mainly of psychoactive properties, hemp can be used to make 25000 end products. 


Let’s take a look at what hemp can be used for:

1. Hemp as food

Hemp was used during the Middle Ages primarily as a food source. The main nutrition comes from the seeds of the plant which in itself is a snack, much like chia seeds and sunflower seeds. However, the seeds can also be used to make Oil and Protein Powder.

 

Hemp seed is packed with nutrients such as:
  • Fatty acids (Omega 3 and 6)
  • Protein
  • Fibre
  • Potassium
  • Vitamin E
  • Iron
  • Calcium.

 

2. Hemp as Clothing
For thousands of years, hemp was used to produce durable textiles in huge quantities. It is believed that the word ‘canvas’ was actually derived from ‘cannabis’.
 
Hemp Fibre for clothes is better than other materials because:
  • It grows quickly
  • It takes 3 times less water than cotton 
  • Every part of the hemp plant can be used, it produces zero waste
  • One acre of hemp can produce up to three times more fibre than cotton
  • It is highly durable and strong
  • It detoxifies soil by removing harmful chemicals and pollutants and enriches it with nitrogen and oxygen.
 
3. Hemp as a building material
Researchers have begun to study how Hemp can be used to build houses. The use of “hempcrete”, a mixture of the core of hemp stalks and limestone for binding takes hemp’s sustainability in-house, with homes insulated with hempcrete exponentially emitting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than those made from regular concrete.

 

4. Hemp as a medicine/cosmetic
Hemp isn’t just good for the planet – it’s good for you too. 
CBD Extracted from the hemp plant is known for its healing & pain-relieving properties, whereas the omega balance makes it great for your heart health, and can hugely benefit the skin by aiding in acne relief, hair treatments, reducing fine lines and wrinkles, and even soothing rough patches of eczema or psoriasis.



Hemp is nature’s purifier. The plant captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, quickly cleaning the air we breathe. In fact, for every tonne of hemp produced, 1.63 tonnes of carbon is removed from the air, making hemp much more effective than trees with its sequestering properties.

Additionally, the yield of hemp happens every four months to grow. This makes it easy for sustainable farmers to add it to their annual rotation, but also helps regenerate the soil, thanks to the nutrients contained within the hemp plant. And not only that but since hemp roots can grow up to nine feet deep, the soil in which hemp grows will always be strengthened by its presence, even helping to restore damaged soil and grow a wider range of crops as a result.