Yes. Hemp seeds contain all of the 21 known amino acids. With the 8 essential amino acids that all of us need, baby, child and parent.
Feeding vegan kids is becoming almost the norm these days. For breastfeeding mothers, the EFAs from hemp can be a big help in replenishing the 11 grams of EFAs that are pulled from the mother daily through breastfeeding. The extra EFAs needs to come from a food source as the body does not replenish them on its own. (1 part omega 3: 3 parts omega 6)
I mean really, a Formula made with cow’s milk, puree potatoes, and corn porridge? If your baby is underweight, substituting your milk, the natural source of nutrition tailored to meet your child’s needs, for overcooked potatoes is definitely not the answer. Actually children and or a baby can be fed Hemp seeds, hemp milk as its perfect ratio of omega’s, high in protein. I’m sure you are aware of the “Calcium myth”. The nurses and doctors will stress that dairy products are the only source of calcium. The national recommendation is giving your child cow’s milk several glasses a day after 10-12 months of age. Did you know that only around 30 per cent of the calcium in animal milk is properly absorbed? Compare this with the 60% of total calcium content of hemp, or plant-based type seeds that is absorbed. Avoid all soy products.
Your baby needs protein, but quality is more important than quantity.
A basic foundation for a healthy meal: 80/10/10
80% parts vegetables (raw or steamed)
10% part quality grain (such as quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, boiled until done to avoid indigestion)
10% part protein (hemp, chick peas, chia seed, lentils etc.)
It’s suggested that nuts should be avoided due to risk of mycotoxins (highly poisonous or deadly compounds from Fungi) until at least 1 year of age, which is why especially vegan families need to be especially careful about adequate protein intake.
Another topic to yet be discussed is Soaking Your Nuts & Seeds. But before I proceed with a bit of the discussion on soaking our nuts, seeds, legumes I like to mention that do not need to be soaked are Hemp Seed & Chia Seeds.
Many of us know the importance of soaking our legumes over night prior to cooking them, but not too many of us know the importance of also soaking our nuts and (most) seeds prior to eating them. Two seeds to mention that do not need to be soaked are Hemp Seed & Chia Seed
Much like legumes, nature designed nuts and seeds with inhibitors (i.e.. enzyme inhibitors, phytic acid) so that they do not come alive (grow) until the right conditions occur. With enough of a soaking (from rain), the essentially dormant seed can come alive and begin to sprout, thus commencing its life cycle.
Unless labeled as ‘sprouted’, nuts found in the supermarket are full of these inhibitors. These nuts can cause inflammation because they actually neutralize the natural enzymes your body would otherwise create to assist with digestion. As if that’s not bad enough, the pancreas has to counteract these inhibitors by producing large amounts of digestive enzymes, thus causing itself stress.
To render these nuts digestible, we must mimic nature’s process to a certain degree. By simply giving nuts a soak then drying them in a dehydrator, a low temp oven or in the sun, we increase the digestibility of nature’s snack food. Not only does their flavor become super enhanced and outstanding but our body isn’t taxed in the process!
Again, your children also need protein, but quality is more important than quantity.
Photo Credit: Vegan Police dot com – We felt it was appropriate for this post!