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Mental and physical benefits of hempseed oil Things to do with hempseed oil Dressings of bread and spider webs: 17th-century antibiotics?		Pan Zagloba's Medicine Chest Jan Onufry Zagloba, one of the heroes of Henryk Sienkiewicz's With Fire and Sword, The Deluge, and Colonel Wolodyjowski, was not actually a physician and nothing on this page constitutes medical advice. At least two of his remedies, though, have scientific fact behind them. Note that Sienkiewicz, a nineteenth-century author, could not have known about antibiotics or the health benefits of unsaturated oils. Mental and physical benefits of hempseed oil In the movie verion of The Deluge, King Jan Kazimierez asks Pan Zagloba why he is so cunning. Zagloba answers that the secret is to have a supply of hemp seeds and eat them regularly. (The seeds do not, incidentally, contain the mind-altering substance that is associated with other parts of this plant.) He adds that wine, of which he is fond, causes the oil to rise to the head. 15 ml, or about 0.5 ounce, of hempseed oil contains: 2.5 grams of Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils now associated with HDL or "good" cholesterol) comparable to a six-ounce serving of salmon 8.0 grams of Omega-6 fatty acids 2.0 grams of Omega-9 fatty acids A Google search on "omega," "serotonin," and "depression" yields a large number of pages that suggest that omega-3 oils are required for the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. A deficiency can result in depression and other problems. (Recall the reputation of fish, another omega-3 source, as "brain food." If you are a member of Sam's Club, Omega-3 capsules (and salmon) are available at a very low price. http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/8259.html says that both omega-3 and omega-6 oils are required for good health, although an excessive ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 can lead to depression. The author also says that depression is far less common in Japan because of the large quantity of fish that the people consume. http://www.californiaolives.org/nutritionists/findings/findings_2002q2.html also cites a lower level of depression in countries whose diets include high quantities of fish. http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/cod-liver-oil.htm http://www.body1.com/news/index.cfm/1/211/6 References also warn against too high a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 oils (note that hempseed oil does contain a lot of omega-6). http://www.usaweekend.com/97_issues/970601/970601qaeat_smart.html "We eat 10 to 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3, though the healthful ratio is no more than 4 to 1." http://www.annecollins.com/dietary-fat/omega-6-fats.htm "We should REDUCE our consumption of omega-6 fatty acids and INCREASE our consumption of omega-3 fatty acids." This page adds that hempseed oil has the best balance of omega-6 to omega-3, in comparison to other vegetable oils. Some references, however, say that omega-6 oils reduce LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol, which is the "bad" kind. http://www.logicol.com.au/faqs/cholesterol.asp It is now known that hydrogenated vegetable oils (e.g. hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils) are no good at all. Trans-fatty acids increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Things you can do with hemp seed oil Baked potatoes: use hemp seed oil instead of butter or sour cream Brussels sprouts sauteed in hemp seed oil Corn on the cob: use hemp seed oil instead of butter Rice: use hemp seed oil instead of butter In all cases, the hemp seed oil is very flavorful (nutty taste) and it contains NO saturated animal fats! Dressings of bread and spider webs Pan Zagloba mentions a wound dressing of bread and spider webs in With Fire and Sword, and the movie version of The Deluge shows such a dressing being applied to Andrei Kmicic. A Google search for "moldy bread" and "antibiotics" produces some very interesting results. The penicillium mold is among those that grow on bread. "My uncle, who comes from Slovakia, was telling me that in the old country the villagers would let bread go moldy. They would then apply the moldy bread over a wound to prevent infection. Little did these villagers know but they were making their own penicillin." (source) "Folk medicine is replete with accounts of the use of various materials for the treatment of bacterial infection (moldy bread, moldy cheese, plant and animal preparations), which we now assume were effective due to the presence of some unknown antibacterial agent." (source)

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