The essential supplements for vegan diets in 2021!
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Zen was wondering, “I’ve just started on a vegan diet, are there any supplements I need to take?”'
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Mary wanted to know “Is hemp seed oil the same as CBD oil? Or is there a big difference?”
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Julie was curious “What is hemp honey, and how does it differ from organic honey?”
1. Supplements to take when following a Vegan diet.
Before making any radical changes to your diet, it’s always a good idea to get a blood test done to make sure that diet is right for you further down the track, and to identify any nutritional deficiencies that may arise.
Plant-based diets are becoming increasingly popular for environmental, ethical and even health-based reasons. A plant-based diet may be particularly beneficial for heart disease (1) that caused 1 in 4 deaths in Australia in 2018 (2).
However, with any diet some nutrient deficiencies can arise. In particular iron, vitamin B12 and essential fatty acids.
Iron is required for red blood cell production that supports energy. Iron is found in two different forms haem (found in animal products eg. red meat) and non-haem (found in plant based foods eg: hemp hearts, legumes, soy products, pumpkin seeds and dark leafy greens eg. kale and spinach). Due to non-haem iron’s poorer bioavailability (decreased absorption), vegans are suggested to eat 1.8 x the amount of iron in their diet. (3).
Vitamin B12 is mainly found in animal products and can become deficient in a vegan diet. Vitamin B12 deficiency is a common cause for fatigue (anaemia), and neuropsychiatric symptoms – so if you’re a vegan it’s really important to get this tested with your GP (4).
Essential fatty acids are important in regulating inflammation, immune function and hormone secretion. Essential fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties that can assist in preventing heart disease, autoimmune conditions, arthritis and several types of cancers. The good news is essential fatty acids can be found in our hemp seed oil that is 100% vegan (5).
2. Hemp Seed Oil vs CBD Oil.
The main difference between hemp seed oil vs CBD oil, is that hemp seed oil has little to no CBD content. Both hemp seed oil and CBD oil are made from the cannabis sativa plant.
Hemp seed oil is made by cold-pressing the hemp seeds into a nutrient-rich oil and only contains trace amounts of CBD and THC (psychoactive compounds found in marijuana). While, CBD oil is made by extracting the compound CBD from the leaves, flowers and stalks of the hemp plant.
The confusion lies in that CBD oil is sometimes referred to as ‘hemp oil’ on the Internet that has many different therapeutic claims. We have also covered this in depth in our recent blog post ‘
3. The difference between Hemp Honey and organic honey.
Our hemp honey is 100% Tasmanian leatherwood honey mixed with all the added benefits of our hemp seed protein.
Our hemp infused manuka honey is 100% Tasmanian manuka honey infused with hemp oil. This is particularly high in anti-inflammatory essential fatty acids due to the hemp seed oil, while the manuka honey may play a beneficial role in immune function (6). While, organic honey - is honey that is grown organically!
Have an awesome Christmas guys! Have fun! Don’t forget to Reach out to loved ones!
Sending our love from 13 Seeds 💚
References:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315380/
3. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/199/4/iron-and-vegetarian-diets
4. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2017/0915/p384.html
5. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/199/4/omega-3-polyunsaturated-fatty-acids-and-vegetarian-diets
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6613335/
