Hey all,  

It's Friday and that means we are back with another Friday Q&A. As always, I want to congratulate Jean, Anthony and Juleen for being this weeks winners of a $20 voucher each! 

All you need to do to be next week's winner is send us a question that you have relating to hemp or health and wellbeing and you could be a lucky winner!

Without further a due, this weeks questions were:

1. Jean wanted to know “do you have any advice in getting a good nights rest?”
2. Anthony asked “are vegan diets actually that healthy?”
3. Juleen was curious “I am low in vitamin B12, do hemp seeds contain B12?“

1. Advice in getting a good night's rest and improve sleep?

We get this question quite often in regards to Hemp Seed Oil and improving sleep. While we don’t have any scientific evidence for this we have had many customers explain that their sleep has improved since taking hemp seed oil – so if it works for you, do it!

There are also many other factors to consider when it comes to getting a restful sleep such as diet, lifestyle and your environment.

Stress plays a large role in poor sleep! When we are stressed our mind may think there is an incoming predator (such as a lion in primitive times), while it’s more than likely a stressor part of our everyday lives such as paying a bill or having a busy day (this is called our flight or fight response). Try using the headspace app or calm app for guided meditation and improve sleep (1).

Exercise is a handy tool to help improve sleep too (2), while also trying to avoid caffeine in the afternoons as it can stay in your system for approximately 8 – 10 hours (3)! Alcohol can also affect your sleep in a big way! Despite the fact you feel like you may sleep well on the booze, you are actually more likely to be in a sedated state rather than a deep sleep (4).

2. Are vegan diets actually that healthy?

Yes, just like most diet they can be when done correctly! When compared to an omnivorous diet (that includes both plant foods and animal products), plant-based diets have been associated with reduced weight and reduced risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, type 2-diabetes, and some cancers (5).

However, eating lots of vegan fried and processed foods would not be considered to be healthy. These foods often contain little to no nutritional value! While on a vegan/plant-based diet you should focus on consuming good quality sources of protein (eg. tofu, hemp seeds, legumes, beans) with every meal, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, and use hemp seed oil as a source of essential fatty acids! 

Check out our latest blog post on plant-based diets for more info on why plant-based diets are gaining popularity in Australia

3. “I am low in vitamin B12, do Hemp Seeds contain B12?“ 

Unfortunately not; vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal products. If you’re on a plant-based diet it’s a good idea to get your vitamin B12 blood levels tested at your doctors. The good news is though is that you can easily supplement with vitamin B12.

B12 deficiency symptoms include fatigue (anaemia), dizziness, pins and needles, irritability, and depression. Long-term vitamin B12 deficiency can even result irreversible brain damage (6).

References:

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087079299900977
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087079200901102
3. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.12006
4. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/8/8/479/htm
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466941/
6. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamin-b12-or-folate-deficiency-anaemia/symptoms/