By now, you’ve probably heard about hempseed and how it can be beneficial to your health. Hempseed, unlike some of the other more common seeds, contains a unique combination of both omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are important for a number of reasons, including brain and circulatory health. (See how these fatty acids can battle depression in our article, This Natural Remedy Shown to Battle Depression.)
In particular, in the latest health news, Canadian researchers have found that hempseed could help with blood flow through the arteries.
For their animal study, the researchers — based at the Boniface Hospital Research Centre in Manitoba, Canada — divided rabbits into six groups. The first group was given a control diet, while the following groups received the control diet supplemented with one of the following: five-percent coconut oil; 10% hempseed; 0.5% cholesterol; both 10% hempseed and 0.5% cholesterol; or with 10% hempseed that was partially altered.
Each day for eight weeks, the rabbits were fed 125 grams of the appropriate diet. The researchers performed tests to determine vascular functioning. They tested the response of vascular tissue to both contraction and relaxation stimuli. When your heart beats, there are two main phases: diastole, when the heart ventricles are relaxed; and systole, when the ventricles contract. Therefore, this whole cycle is very important for the proper functioning of your heart and its ability to pump oxygenated blood throughout your body. The researchers also measured the amount of plaque found in the rabbits’ arteries.
Not surprisingly, the team of scientists found that cholesterol supplementation to the diet caused significant aortic plaque development. The aorta also showed defects in their contractile responses and relaxation responses. Test results showed that hempseed had a protective effect on the cholesterol-induced problems with aortic function.
You can get hempseed at most health food stores. Sprinkle a little over your breakfast cereal or yogurt in the morning and it could help to act as a sort of alternative cure in the proper functioning of your heart. Remember to get your doctor’s advice about your cholesterol levels through periodic checkups.