Hemp does a body good; this superfood has nothing to do with marijuana--and everything to do with sound nutrition and health.(FOOD: EAT SMART)(Recipe)

When most people think of hemp, they associate it with Woodstock or a Cheech and Chong movie. But what you may not know is that hemp food products are full of ingredients that can keep you healthy without any of the groovy effects that come with an afternoon at a Grateful Dead concert. Plus, the seeds and oils are delicious.

In 2004, after years of legal wrangling, the US Drug Enforcement Administration finally cleared hemp seeds for use in food production. However, since hemp still cannot be grown legally in the US, the seeds are imported from Canada, where hemp is permitted to he grown on the prairies. "Hemp varieties farmed in Canada must contain less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by weight," says Gero Leson, D.Env., a scientific advisor to the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance. In comparison, marijuana typically contains between 3%-15% THC, the substance responsible for its psychoactive properties. There's so little THC in industrial hemp that even if your entire diet were to consist of hemp foods, you still wouldn't consume enough THC to bring about any funky side effects.

7 Reasons to Reach for Hemp

1. Vegetarian Source of Essential Fats Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are not made by the body and must be obtained from diet. The two EFAs are omega-6 and omega-3, which contribute to the health of our hearts, joints and skin--and are both contained in hemp foods. "Hemp oil is easily the most balanced vegetable oil on the market," says Leson.

2. The Right Ratio

Hemp's ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is roughly 3:1, which is recommended by many health agencies including the World Health Organization. Hemp seeds are also a direct source of stearidonic acid, another omega-3 fatty acid. "This is significant because linolenic acid is converted to stearidonic acid on its way to becoming the very healthy fat known as DHA that is found in fish," explains Leson. He points out that by consuming stearidonic acid you bypass the need to make it from linolenic acid.

3. Amino Acid Power