Hemp - The Most Advantageous Plant Known to Man?

If you were to randomly stop 10 different people who were walking along the street and asked them to name 10 commercial uses for industrial hemp, they'd probably struggle to name just one. But as the awareness regarding this amazing plant genus continues to grow on a global scale, it seems that the list of commercial and medicinal attributes that hemp has to offer consumers continues to develop as well. We've taken the time to list just a few different facets in which the astoundingly advantageous hemp plant can be utilized. You can eat and drink it! - Just in case you were unaware, hemp has been added to the ever-increasing register of the world's latest and greatest super foods. Which is the reason it can now be easily obtained on a worldwide basis via numerous suppliers of health foodstuffs, and even at your local grocery stores. Hemp seeds are sold in a wide variety of forms, including protein powders, whole roasted seed and infused oils, with raw shelled hemp hearts weighing in as the most trendy among all of hemp's ingestible offerings. In addition to the seemingly rapid growth in popularity that hemp foods have experienced as of late, it's been shown that hemp seeds may very well be the absolute most super of all foods known to man. The hemp plant's whole seed is approximately 25 percent protein, presenting a great source of calcium and iron, not to mention it offers the consumer more omega-3 than that of walnuts. Even brewers of craft beers have found a way to marry their love of hops with hemp to create an appealing array of flavoursome alcoholic beverages that are sure to satisfy even the fussiest of craft beer-connoisseurs. You can wear it and write on it! - The exploitation of hemp fibres to manufacture clothing items and paper materials may quite possibly be some of the most historic uses of the plant genus that has ever been recorded. In fact, researchers provided us with proof that hemp was indeed being used for textiles as far back as 8,000 B.C. due to the discovery of hemp fabric that was located in China. Although early uses of hemp-derived fabrics were less than wearer-friendly, the market for hemp clothing has witnessed a swift resurgence over the last decade and has made progressive leaps and bounds in terms of the fabric's overall comfort. Today's manufacturers of textiles are combining hemp fabrics with the richness of materials such as silk, which has even managed to launch hemp-blended fabrics into the monarchy of high fashion. Who would have ever imagined high-end articles of clothing made of hemp-derived fabrics being paraded down a runway on the backs of fashion models? Oh how we've evolved! As most of us that are in-the-know are fully aware, the original draft of the Declaration of Independence was written on paper made from hemp fibres. America's forefathers took full advantage of the hemp plants' fibres, using the miraculous by-product to make paper and much more, which warrants the inquiry as to why it's not used on a regular basis in this day and age. Even though hemp offers its users more renew-ability and sustainability compared to that of the industry standard pulp that is used to fabricate paper, today's hemp-derived paper products account for a mere 0.05 percent of the world's paper production. When you take into consideration the fact that our world's natural resources are rapidly on the decline, now couldn't be a better time to explore the seemingly boundless attributes that the hemp plant offers all walks of life. By Erik G