Archive for April, 2012

April 25, 2012

Hemp Protein – Is This “Secret” Protein Really Better than Whey Protein for Building Muscle, Losing Fat, and Overall Health?

by Teri Wallace

Hemp Protein – Is This “Secret” Protein Really Better than Whey Protein for Building Muscle, Losing Fat, and Overall Health?.

April 23, 2012

Organic vs. Conventional Foods…1940s the Green Revolution arose & marks history!

by Teri Wallace

Organic foods are those that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as pestisides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain GMOs, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

FACT: For the vast majority of human history, agriculture can be described as “organic”; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new synthetic chemicals introduced to the food supply. The organic farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture known as the Green Revolution.

Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening.

Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food’s total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States, Canada, and Australia) and any non-organically produced ingredients are subject to various agricultural requirements. Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients. Pesticides are allowed so long as they are not synthetic.

Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants. Requirements vary from country to country, and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include:

  • avoidance of most synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc), genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of biosolids;
  • use of farmland that has been free from synthetic chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);
  • keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
  • maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;
  • undergoing periodic on-site inspections.

In some countries, certification is overseen by the government, and commercial use of the term organic is legally restricted. Certified organic producers are also subject to the same agricultural, food safety and other government regulations that apply to non-certified producers.

We love Wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_certification  Not this below we found by google images…speaks for itself, a great chart to see the differences!!!

April 21, 2012

Trending…Hemp is one of the fastest growing in the natural products industry!

by Teri Wallace

Hemp is one of the fastest growing trends in the natural products industry. At Natural Products Expo West, it was found in protein powders, bars, shakes or in seed form.  It will be interesting to see what happens to hemp in the next couple of years. Hemp, unfortunately, still has the stigma which it will have a hard time shaking  (people think it’s a THC product like marijuana).

Hemp Canada Bulk & Branding….on the movement for more growth, go Canada go!!

April 20, 2012

‘Incomplete’ vs. ‘Complete Proteins’…Hemp Education 101:

by Teri Wallace

Hemp Protein a complete vegan source!

Our bodies can synthesize 16 of the 23 amino acids that we need. That leaves 8 essential amino acids (9 for children), which must come from the foods we eat.

Hemp Protein Powder can supply any diet with a vegetarian source of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre, chlorophyll and a complete, balanced gluten-free source of the essential amino acids.
Many plant proteins are labelled “incomplete” proteins as a resulting from the low amounts of one or more of the nine essential amino acids. Truth be told, the “incomplete” label is somewhat misleading as all plant proteins do contain each of the essential amino acids. But in most cases (e.g. grains, legumes), levels of one or more amino acid are insufficient for human needs. However, hemp protein supplies enough of each of the essential amino acids to contribute to the human body’s requirements. In fact, an important aspect of hemp protein is that it is a quality source of the amino acids arginine and histidine, both of which are important for growth during childhood, and of the sulphur-containing amino acids methionine and cysteine, both of which are needed in the production of vital enzymes.

Hemp protein also contains relatively high levels of the branched-chain amino acids that are crucial in the repair and growth of lean body mass, making a hemp protein shake after a workout a worthwhile investment.

Our Hemp 60% Protein

ALL plant-based foods have varying amounts of protein (plus carbohydrates, fats and other good things), and the body will combine proteins from all sources, to make ‘complete protein’. That’s true for everybody, veg or non-veg.

The term ‘complete protein’ means that all eight essential amino acids are present in the correct proportion.

Foods from animal sources have complete proteins  Some foods from the plant kingdom, such as hemp and quinoa, have complete protein.

The term ‘incomplete protein’ refers to foods which have all the essential amino acids, but are low in one or more of them. That’s called the ‘limiting amino acid’.

Most plant foods have one or more limiting amino acids which limit the availability of all the other amino acids in the food. That’s why these foods are called ‘incomplete proteins’.

For example, the limiting amino acid in grains is usually lysine (Lys); in legumes it can be methionine (Met) and tryptophan (Trp). So, the low-level of Lys in grains is complemented by a higher level in legumes, and vice versa, to make ‘complete protein’.

However, vegetarians and vegans don’t need to worry about complete and incomplete protein. It is NOT NECESSARY for vegetarians and vegans to combine specific protein foods at one sitting to make complete protein.

Complementary Protein Theory Debunked:

Scientists used to think that vegetarians, and especially vegans, would develop protein deficiency if they didn’t get eight or nine essential amino acids all together in proper amounts at every meal.

Whenever we eat, our body deposits amino acids into a storage bank, and then withdraws them whenever we need them. So, it’s no longer considered necessary to eat complementary proteins together at one sitting, to make complete protein. Your body does that automatically, from all the foods that you eat over the course of a day or so.

Part referenced from: Frances Moore Lappé, author of ‘Diet For A Small Planet’, is well-known for the theory of combining complementary proteins at each meal. In the 20th Anniversary Edition of her book, she has altered her views in light of new knowledge about amino acid storage.

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