5 Ways to Hemp Your Life (and Why)

Ready to join and support the hemp movement? Our Founding Fathers did. And you can, too.

Hemp is inarguably the most versatile and sustainable crop on our planet.

With roots tied deep into American history, the Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper, George Washington and John Adams grew hemp, and President Abraham Lincoln fueled his lamps with hemp oil.

As useful as hemp was in early America, the right of the people to grow and cultivate hemp was destroyed in 1937 after the Marijuana Tax Act was signed into law, banning the cultivation of hemp and cannabis, and stigmatizing the plant.

Thankfully, Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, giving farmers back the right to grow industrial hemp. This bill was a huge win for the hemp movement and provides a path towards much-needed sustainable plant alternatives.

Let's explore some of my favorite ways you can start hemping your life.

Your Threads

If you're looking for an easy way to up the hemp in your life; start with your wardrobe.

One of the major benefits that hemp clothes offer you is protection from the sun’s powerfully penetrating UV rays. Hemp fibers are natural UV blockers that protect your body against the damaging effects of free radicals that cause your skin to burn, lose water, wrinkle, and become discolored.

Along with the awesome sun protection perks, hemp clothes are more durable than other plant-based fabrics like cotton and take longer to wear down. That literally means more bang for your hard-earned bucks. You can thank the high levels of cellulose in the plant fibers that give hemp threads extended wearability and boost to your bank account.

And, even better, hemp fabrics are biodegradable. Over time your clothes eventually start to wear and tear and the microfibers that form as synthetic fabrics like polyester breakdown are not environmentally friendly.

More earth-friendly clothes are a huge win for our planet.

Your Belly

Hemp is a superfood celebrated by nutritionists across the globe.

Why? The seeds contain essential nutrients , like amino acids and omega fats, that your body must have to make protein and fat, and have the nutritionally coveted 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids.

In case you didn't know, linoleic acid (omega-6) and linolenic acid (omega-3) are essential fats your body needs, serving as building blocks to support your skin, brain, heart, and immune health.

Most Western diets have excess omega-6 fats and lack precious omega-3 fats. And that's a problem because eating too many sixes kicks your immune system into overdrive and can trigger inflammation and disease.

A simple way to boost your omega-3 levels is to incorporate some hemp oil or hemp hearts into your smoothies or salads.

Your Skin

Did you know several skincare products like moisturizers, soaps, shampoos, and conditioners are made from hemp seed oil?

The bountiful amount of fats and vitamins in hemp oil intensely nourishes and protects your skin from drying out , which helps your cells produce more natural lubricating oils by activating your endocannabinoid system.

Just like hemp clothes protect your skin from the sun, hemp-based beauty products do the same. But the key thing here is to use unrefined seed oil.

Cold-pressed hemp seed oil (aka unrefined) is loaded with plant pigments like beta-carotene and chlorophyll. These colorful compounds fight off free-radical damage by UV rays that cause your skin to burn, dry out, wrinkle, and age prematurely.

Wearing hemp oil on your body and skin is a safe way to double down on sun protection.

Naturally, too.

Your Plastics

Hallelujah, hemp plastics are a thing!

From bags to boxes and even car parts, you can thank nature for giving hemp a concentrated cellulose core to make bioplastics .

Like hemp clothes, the benefit of using hemp plastics instead of synthetic plastics is that hemp is biodegradable. Meaning nature has no problem breaking this stuff down.

Unlike bioplastics , human-made plastics can take decades or centuries to decompose, leading to bioaccumulation in our oceans and bodies .

There's no denying that the health of our planet is DWINDLING. And some of the decline is fueled by the lack of eco-friendly plastics.

Think the Great Pacific Gargabe Patch.

So the next time you're out shopping with your reusable bags, consider using hemp-made bags .

Your Furry Friends

Did you know hemp is good for your animals too? That's because all mammals have an endocannabinoid system.

Whether you feed your dog or cat some hemp oil or give your cows and horses some hemp plants to gnaw on, they'll reap the benefits of a completely nutritious diet, and enjoy a lively boost from naturally occurring cannabinoids like cannabigerol (CBG).

There's also a bonus of less pain and better mobility in senior animals suffering from old age and arthritis that comes with eating cannabinoids like cannabidiol (CBD) — another compound in hemp that turns on the endocannabinoid system.

I can personally say (from experience) adding CBD to my senior dog's daily routine significantly improved her mobility. Before cannabis, she wasn't able to use her dog door.

Once I started giving her 100 mg of a CBD tincture daily , she regained her mobility within a few days!

RIP Paris Marie.

Ready to Hemp Your Life?

A plant that can clothe, feed, house, and heal you — hemp has a place in everyone’s life.

So go ahead and support the movement.

Really, what do you have to lose?