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Eat your hemp heart out — the benefits of hemp seeds on gut health

One hundred years ago, fish and shellfish were frequent visitors to dinner plates around the world. While not common knowledge at the time, the fish had oils containing about equal parts omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential components for cell membranes, that are primarily absorbed through the diet. 

While modern civilizations still love a fresh filet or sushi roll, oils from seed and vegetable sources like sunflowers, canola and corn have become increasingly dominant in the global food supply. These oils are easy to cook with and boast many different health benefits of their own, but they also contain significantly more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3. 

Weicang Wang, an assistant professor in Purdue’s Department of Food Science, says this is a classic case of too much of a good thing. The balance of omega-3 to 6 fatty acids is more important than just getting the nutrients.

“The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in human diets has changed substantially over the last century, primarily due to industrialization, changes in food processing and the increased use of vegetable oils rich in linoleic acid (omega-6),” Wang said. “Current Western diets often have ratios ranging from 10:1 to 20:1, with excess omega-6 fatty acids. Many emerging studies have shown that too high a ratio in omega-6 fatty acids in our diet is related with increased risk of many inflammatory diseases.”

Fortunately, the potential solution lies in making small changes to the diet. Some seed oils, like those made from flaxseeds, have a more balanced ratio, and other emergent foods could help supplement omega-3 fatty acids.

In collaboration with Senay Simsek, department head and Dean's Chair in Food Science, Wang’s team is currently exploring the health benefits of dietary hemp seeds, which are derived from industrial hemp—a variety of Cannabis sativa that contains no or only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

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Midwestern field trials suggest overuse of rootworm-resistant corn reduces farmers’ profits

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — An analysis of data covering 12 years and 10 U.S. Corn Belt states reveals that farmers suffer economic loss from the overuse of genetically engineered corn designed to combat rootworm pests.

Christian Krupke, a Dean’s Fellow and professor of entomology at Purdue University, and 19 co-authors from 12 other universities in the U.S., China and Canada reported their results in the most recent issue of the journal Science. The retrospective study demonstrated that the pest landscape has fundamentally changed in many key corn-growing areas of the U.S. since 2004, the initial year of broad adoption of transgenic corn hybrids targeting corn rootworms. The study shows pest pressures in much of the region declined dramatically following introduction of these hybrids, reducing the need for broad deployment of the rootworm-specific traits.