Basic Marijuana Nutritional Facts
To live is to eat. Our body needs to eat to nourish and survive. Basically speaking, food is life. The food that we eat nourishes the body and has its specific nutritional value.
Now, what has this got to do with marijuana? Some people take in marijuana and may not know the nutritional value it contains. Marijuana has beneficial use in our body. Medically speaking, it has many uses.
Marijuana Nutrients
Average people also have other uses of food such as the following:
- Pleasure
- Means for socialization
- Promotes a healthier life
- Survival
However, for our body to survive, we need to take in nutrients.
But, do you know what nutrients are and why our body depends on these nutrients? Let’s dissect first the article into two parts – overview of nutrients and why our body needs them to survive and then understanding the marijuana nutritional value.
Nutrients and Its Purpose
In a scientific approach, nutrients are just compounds that the living beings like animals, plants, and humans need in order to function well. Although our bodies can create their own nutrients, most are not enough, hence we need to get more nutrients from the food we eat.
Based on the general classification, nutrients are divided into 2 groups and they are the following:
- Macronutrients: these are nutrients that are needed in large quantities.
- Micronutrients: these are nutrients needed in smaller quantities.
Let’s elaborate each group and understand.
Macronutrient
These are nutrients derived from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Another nutrient that our body needs in larger quantities is the water. Each of these macronutrients has its own specific roles in our body and they all give us energy (fats and carbs), helps the cells muscles and tissues develop and repair (this is where protein macronutrients is needed), and one more crucial one is the transportation of oxygen and other essential compounds to our body (this is one of the major roles of water in our body).
<>Micronutrients<>
This nutrient group comprises 13 vitamins and 16 minerals and some of these examples are vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K; and for the minerals, these are the iodine, potassium, and etc. Since these are classified under micronutrients, they are needed in small quantities, but they are as important in our body as the macronutrients as they each have its purpose.
They assist in the creation of enzymes, hormones, cell rehabilitation, and other substances to help the body grow and function well. Missing any of these nutrients can pose a great threat in our health.
Meaning of ‘Nutritional Value’
The term, “nutritional value” refers to the total amount and quality of nutrients in a food product. The particular food nutrient measurement is done in the lab. Food manufacturers use this information to help break up the nutritive value on the food contents on their products’ nutrition label.
Most packed foods sold in the market are required to display a nutrition label. Strict rules are imposed on how the breakup of these nutrients are being displayed on the label and are regulated by the food and drug administration.
So let us get back to our main topic – marijuana nutritional value. We have already gone over the food, nutrition, nutritional food groups, and nutrition value of foods. For marijuana users, not just in the medical field, but as an added nutrition to the body.
Does Cannabis Have Enough to Cover the Nutritional Needs?
Since the use of marijuana has been banned since centuries, there is not enough data to show how it can affect our bodies. This is why there is not enough information on the exact breakdown of nutrients present in the cannabis. However, some consider it as one of the superfoods.
Superfoods are those that are packed with essential nutrients such as kale, spinach, eggs, raspberries, nuts, and etc. Some claimed that cannabis has the most nutrients – they said that in 100 grams of hemp hearts (this is the cannabis seeds that have no shells), there is 32 grams of protein. 32 grams of protein in 100 grams is more than what you find in meat and eggs that are supposed to be the main players in the group of protein foods.
Researchers say that cannabis seeds are a complete protein, meaning that they contain all the 9 amino acids that our body needs as our body cannot manufacture on its own.
In addition to the high protein content, a hundred grams of cannabis seeds contain 49 grams of fat that is a macronutrient, 8 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of fiber. And we all know that fiber is also essential to our bodies as it helps in blood level regulation and also regulates a good bowel movement.
Now, on the side of micronutrients, cannabis seeds have been found to contain Vitamin A, B6, folate, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, and much more.
