Attempting to source hemp seeds for a couple of new recipes I have stumbled across has confronted the shop assistants in a variety of health food shops I visited today.
All of them became very rude and unhelpful at the mere mention of the word hemp!
This highlighted the ignorance linked with hemp, most people think of hippies sitting around in a circle getting high as they pass a joint around, sadly though, that is only the tip of the many ways the humble hemp seed can assist humanity.
Hemp seeds are high in calcium, iron, chlorophyll, antioxidants and are a good source of dietary fibre, plus, hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids.
Not only that, whole hemp seeds are also a great source of phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and copper. They are also safe for people in tolerate to nuts, (such as myself) gluten, lactose and sugar, the fact is that there are no known allergies to hemp foods.
The seeds can be eaten raw, ground into flour, sprouted and even made into hemp milk (like soy and rice). The fresh leaves can even be added to salads, and there are some companies now producing hemp ice cream and tofu attempting to raise awareness of the beneficial health properties of this medicinal herb.
Unfortunately though, I have discovered that Australia is only country in the world that does not recognise hemp as a food source, frankly, I am not surprise a lot of things here in Perth are years behind the UK and Europe.
So looks like I upset all those terribly rude shop assistants for nothing........................
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