Discover the health benefits of adding hemp protein to your diet

Linwoods have teamed up with the lovely Nichola Ludlam-Raine from Nic’s Nutrition to launch their new and exciting Hemp Protein+ range. As a UK Specialist Registered Dietitian, Nichola is an advocate of promoting healthy, balanced living and was delighted when they asked her to try out their new natural plant based protein.

Linwoods have a world class reputation for natural and nutritious foods. Their new Hemp protein range is a great way to supplement your diet with protein – naturally. So what actually is a plant-based diet?

What is a plant-based diet?

A plant-based diet is a diet based on foods derived from plants, including vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fruits but with few or no animal products. Eating ‘plant-based’ has been a growing trend over the last number of years and it’s only going to get bigger.

In general, plant-based eaters don’t label themselves as ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’, instead they prefer to say that they are eating more plant-based sources of protein such as beans, pulses, nuts, tofu, soya and Mycoprotein in place of meat, swapping whey protein for hemp and/or pea protein, and switching to plant-based drinks and yoghurt alternatives in place of dairy milk, yoghurt and cheese.

What are the benefits of a plant-based diet?

A significant convergence of evidence suggests that plant-based diets may help prevent and even reverse some of the top killer diseases in the Western world and in some cases be more effective than medication and surgery.

Replacing animal (derived) proteins with plant-based alternatives has been shown not only to help reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease and many cancers but also as the only way forward for a more sustainable planet .

Government and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reports are focusing on the replacement of animal proteins with plant-based alternatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help with food shortage (check out more information here and here).

Additionally, diets higher in plant foods are also associated with better weight management, possibly thanks to plant-based proteins often providing fewer calories and more fibre. Plant based proteins have also been shown to be as equally effective when it comes to muscle mass/strength in comparison to animal-proteins (check out more information here).

Consuming more plant-based protein seems not only beneficial for health, but to the environment too. Ideally two thirds of our diet should come from plant foods and one third from animal based products (so you don’t need to cut out meat altogether, just cut down on it!).

What is Hemp Protein+?

Hemp Protein+ is the newest addition to the Linwoods family. It’s a mixture of hemp and pea protein with a whole host of other healthy ingredients such as flaxseed, chia seed, cocoa powder and spinach providing added fibre and healthy fats as well as vitamins and minerals to our diets. There’s no artificial flavoring’s or added sugar and the products are both dairy and gluten free.

Hemp protein provides 16 of the 22 amino acids (the breakdown of protein) and 8 out of the 9 essential amino acids. Hemp Protein+ can be added to smoothies, smoothie bowls, juices and yoghurt drinks. Each 30g serving provides at least 15g of plant-based protein and around 120 calories.

In Nicholas own words… ‘I honestly want to say a massive thumbs up for these new products from Linwoods – it’s hard to get a great tasting, and nutritional amazing product containing hemp but I think they’ve cracked it!!’