In today’s post I want to focus on what I consider to be one of the coolest things about hemp extract vitamin E. On first glance, this may seem like a really odd thing for me to be excited about, however in the context of my health philosophy this will make a lot of sense.
You see, many people are confused when it comes to polyunsaturated fats. The mainstream media, uninformed doctors, and nutritionists all tout the health benefits of the polyunsaturated fats from vegetable oils. They don’t question any actual scientific basis for this (there is none) and they’re essentially just regurgitating propaganda fed through the grapevine. This assumption about PUFAs being good for humans is so entrenched at this point that very few people have questioned it, or looked into its validity.
Well I looked into its validity, and it is completely unfounded.
PUFAs are, in fact, quite damaging to the human endocrine system, namely androgens and thyroid.
I would even be so bold to claim that the mass consumption of PUFAs in the standard Western diet is one of the major causes of metabolic disease, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes.
For those of you who don’t follow my YouTube channel health advice yet, you’re likely scratching your heads wondering what the hell is a PUFA anyways. Allow me to clear that up here.
What Are Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFAs)
Polyunsaturated fats are lipids where the hydrocarbon chain has two or more carbon-carbon double bonds. They’re most commonly found in seed oils (vegetable oils), nuts, seeds, and fish.
The main problem with PUFAs is that they’re unstable, and when broken become toxic to the human body, namely acting as hormone disrupting agents. The most common sources of food that are high in PUFAs are (per 100g):
- Walnuts – 47g
- Canola Oil – 37g
- Sunflower Seeds – 33g
- Sesame Seeds – 27g
- Chia Seeds – 22g
- Peanuts – 16g
Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids In Hemp
Omega 3s and omega 6 fatty acids are also types of polyunsaturated fats. As I’ve been researching the benefits of hemp extract and CBD I’ve actually been deliberately looking for something, anything, bad about hemp for health. I have not been able to find anything yet.
The first major thing I thought would be bad was the fact that hemp is high in omega 6 fatty acids. Omega 6 consumption can be bad for health, so I thought surely this would be hemp’s downfall in my mind…
Until I found out that hemp extract, when extracted properly from the whole plant, contains a massive amount of the potent antioxidant Vitamin E. In fact, it contains the perfect amount to naturally negate any negative effects of the PUFA content – it’s as if nature built-in a natural antioxidant protection against the pro-inflammatory PUFA content in the plant.
Vitamin E has been demonstrated in research to naturally protect against this free radical damage. Lipid oxidation has been shown to rapidly increase in Vitamin C and Vitamin E deficient people.1 The presence of these antioxidants stops the peroxidation process, leading to more stability and protection from free radical stress on the body. Lipid peroxidation causes any PUFAs present in our body to go rancid. This is when we start to experience the negative stress effects of the PUFA consumption.
Researchers have found that the more PUFA intake you consume, the proportionately more Vitamin E you must consume to protect against the free radical damage the PUFAs will do.2 Vitamin E slows the rate of lipid peroxidation.
Since the requirement for vitamin E decreases as the consumption of unsaturated fats decreases, the requirement, if any, would be very small if we didn’t eat significant quantities of those fats. – Dr. Ray Peat
Conclusion On The Hemp Extract Vitamin E Relationship
It appears as though the natural Vitamin E content found in the hemp plant and hemp seeds is enough to negate any of the PUFA effects from the fatty acids in the plant.
This is great news of hemp and cannabis enthusiasts who are also health conscious.
The presence of one of nature’s most potent antioxidants, Vitamin E, helps to mitigate the pro-oxidant species from the lipid peroxidation of the polyunsaturated fatty acids in hemp. You must, however, be careful to get a high quality full spectrum hemp extract in order to be sure you’re getting the full range of these necessary nutrients like Vitamin E from the hemp plant.
Thank you for all of your work, it has helped immensely.
If I’m reading this correctly, what you’re saying is that there is enough Vitamin E in the full spectrum hemp extract to counter-act the negative effects of the PUFAS is the hemp plant yes?
What does that say about things like hemp seeds, hemp milk, and hemp seed oil that have some PUFAS in them? Is there not enough Vit E to counteract the PUFAS?
Thanks again