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As worker bees conduct their daily business--maintaining
their hive, providing for the queen bee, collecting pollen--they
unwittingly produce substances that some enthusiasts consider
valuable in healing. Health-food stores and nutrition shops
often carry three of these products: propolis, royal jelly,
and bee pollen.
Propolis is the resin that bees collect from pine tree buds
to seal cracks and sterilize their hives. It's also known
as bee glue.
Royal jelly is the nutritious, creamy white substance that
the worker bees pump out of their salivary glands to keep
the queen bee well-nourished, fertile, and long-living.
Bee pollen is collected by beekeepers from the supplies that
bees have extracted from flowers of certain plants. In some
cases, products labeled as bee pollen have actually been collected
by humans from the plant, without any involvement on the part
of bees.
Another bee product, honeybee venom, is also used medicinally
in a therapeutic process called apitherapy, or bee therapy.
For more information on this, see the WholeHealthMD library
entry on Apitherapy.
Health Benefits
• Provides good protection for your skin, increasing
blood supply to stimulate cell growth, preventing dehydration
and smoothing wrinkles.
• Increases capillary strength with the bioflavonoid
rutin.
• Retards hardening of the arteries, strengthens the
circulatory system.
• Increases energy levels, and some boxers and other
endurance-dependent athletes swear by it. The sugars in bee
pollen are predigested, and they convert easily to glycogen
in the bloodstream, providing the necessary sugar to feed
the muscles quickly.
• Proven to improve impotence in 50% of those men tested.
• Alleviates menstrual pain and restores regularity.
• Improves allergies and controls asthma by helping
build immunity to allergens.
• Aids in proper digestive functions, relieves constipation,
with bee pollen's soothing effect.
• Stimulates sluggish glands, a problem which is linked
to premature aging and decreased immune response.
• Heal abrasions, cuts, and bruises.
Guidelines for Use
• When treating allergy symptoms, keep in mind that
the amount of bee pollen needed varies from person to person.
• If you have allergies, take extra care to monitor
your reaction. Start out with a very small amount daily, perhaps
a portion of a tablet or a few granules. Very slowly then,
in increments over days, increase your dose to that recommended
on the package.
• Warning signs of an allergic reaction to bee pollen
include hives, itchy throat, skin flushing, and wheezing.
Discontinue use immediately if these symptoms develop.
• Stay with a single bee pollen source once you have
determined a dosage, because the pollen content may vary among
products.
• Drink plenty of water with bee pollen supplements.
• When taking bee pollen in fresh or dried form, try
sprinkling it over a bowl of oatmeal or other food or mixing
it with juice.
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Articles > Health Benefits of Bee Pollen and Propolis
