What Is the Difference Between Hemp Oil vs Hemp Seed Oil?
Jul 7th 2021
Let’s play a game! Add one word to any movie title to create the funniest title. I’ll go first. I’ll change “No Country for Old Men” into “No Country Music for Old Men.” Isn’t it amazing how powerful a single word can be?
“Hemp oil” on paper looks remarkably similar to “hemp seed oil,” and, in reality, they are both oils and are both made from parts of the cannabis plant. How different can they be?
What Is Hemp Oil?
Hemp is legally defined as any cannabis containing less than 0.3% THC. Hemp extracts such as cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids are derived from the leaves, flowers, and stalks of hemp plants to create hemp oils. Often these are referred to as CBD hemp oils or CBD tinctures.
Cannabinoids found in hemp oils interact with the endocannabinoid system found in the bodies of almost every animal. The potential hemp oil benefits come from this interaction. The endocannabinoid system has shown evidence to modulate things such as anxiety and stress, inflammation, pain, metabolism, pulmonary function, neuroinflammation (which has strong links to epilepsy), neurodegenerative conditions, and cardiovascular function, among others.1,2
What Is Hemp Seed Oil?
Hemp seed oils, as their name implies, are created from cannabis seeds. As the cannabis plant hasn’t sprouted and developed, the seeds do not contain large concentrations of cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) or THC if any, and these oils do not interact with the endocannabinoid system.
While hemp seeds lack cannabinoids, they are high in nutritional content. Hemp seeds contain fiber, protein, vitamin E, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, gamma-linolenic acid, omega-6 fatty acids, and omega-3 fatty acids.3 The omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio in hemp seeds is 3 to 1, which studies have shown to be the ideal ratio for human health benefits.4
Sometimes companies label hemp seed oil as “hemp oil” when in fact they contain no cannabinoids whatsoever. This is technically legal since the oil is made from hemp (hemp seeds are considered to be hemp) it can be called hemp oil. Some companies go so far as to have a label stating something like “Hemp Oil, contains X-amount mg,” but the label never defines it to contain any cannabinoids. Commonly, misleading products like this can be found when searching for CBD hemp oil on Amazon, as Amazon does not currently allow CBD to be sold. Be cautious to make sure you know what it is you are purchasing! If the label does not mention “CBD” specifically, it does not contain CBD.
How Are CBD Hemp Oil and Hemp Seed Oil Used Differently?
CBD hemp oils are used to receive the potential hemp benefits provided from the stimulation of the endocannabinoid system by the cannabinoids present therein. Full-spectrum CBD oils contain the full spectrum of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. Different cannabinoids interact with the endocannabinoid system in different ways, providing a variety of different potential effects. In addition, it is thought that the full spectrum allows for the entourage effect, a synergistic effect where the overall hemp benefits received are greater than the sum of each individual benefit.5 Broad-spectrum CBD oils contain a broad spectrum of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids, but not the full spectrum. CBD isolates contain only pure CBD, lacking any other part of the spectrum.
Hemp seed oil is used for the potential hemp benefits provided by the nutritional content of hemp seeds. Hemp seed oil can be included as an ingredient in CBD hemp oils or used on its own.
As you can see, hemp oil and hemp seed oil are completely different things. Try both of them and see why they are becoming increasingly popular! Head over to our shop. Our CBD hemp oils contain hemp seed oil as an ingredient alongside CBD and other cannabinoids, so you will get the best of both worlds!
References:
2Cheung KAK, Peiris H, Wallace G, Holland OJ, Mitchell MD. The Interplay between the Endocannabinoid System, Epilepsy and Cannabinoids. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(23):6079. Published 2019 Dec 2. doi:10.3390/ijms20236079
3https://bespokeextracts.com/blogs/posts/what-is-the-difference-between-hemp-oil-hempseed-oil-and-cbd