SHOPPING CART

How honey, bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly & bee venom can help us BEE healthy
To most people, bees are annoying little creatures that are best avoided. But to an increasing number of health-conscious people, bees -- or at least the products they produce -- are a godsend. Take U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), for example. Seasonal airborne allergies plagued Harkin, until a friend who had used alternative remedies to rid himself of several ailments suggested he try a bee pollen-based treatment. When his allergies cleared up, Harkin became such a proponent of alternative medicine that he was instrumental in getting the National Institutes of Health to fund the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), where studies are conducted on a wide variety of nonconventional treatments.

Senator Harkin joins a long list of "bee-lievers," if you'll pardon the pun, who have found relief for any number of health problems in bee hives. Apitherapy, the name given to medical treatments derived from bee products, is actually an ancient practice in China and the Middle East, going as far back as 3,000 years ago. The renowned Greek physician Hippocrates, and the Ancient Egyptians, were some of the first people to record the use of bee-related products for health reasons.

Honey -- more than a sweetener
As far back as 400 B.C., Greek athletes ate honey to enhance their performance (just as today's athletes "carb-load" before an event). Many of Cleopatra's cosmetics were honey-based, and honey was also used as a sterile surgical dressing in the Middle Ages.

More recently, rigorous research is bringing to light the science behind many of these so-called "folk medicine" cures. Honey, for example, has been clearly established as a highly effective topical antibiotic, especially useful as a dressing for post-surgical wounds, burns, and other infections. When taken internally, honey has also been shown to eliminate the H. pylori bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers.

Besides fending off colds and infections, though, honey has other benefits. Its unique combination of glucose and fructose provides the body with quick energy that can prevent fatigue and boost athletic performance. Honey also contains a wide range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids. At the University of Florida's Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Dr. Susan Percival found that honey contains vitamins (thiamin, vitamin B-6, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid), minerals (copper, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and zinc), amino acids, and several compounds that work as antioxidants, including one -- pinocembrin -- that is found exclusively in honey.

In addition to honey, though, bee hives produce a number of other products that have shown remarkable curative properties. Some of the most promising -- and intriguing -- are bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis, and bee venom.

Bee pollen beats allergies
Technically speaking, bee pollen is a flower's male reproductive element that collects on bees' legs as they retrieve nectar and pollen from blossoms. Beekeepers use harmless "pollen traps" to collect the tiny balls of pollen from the bees' legs. The pollen is sifted to remove any foreign matter and is frozen for resale.

Studies have shown that, like honey, bee pollen contains vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, and has anti-bacterial properties, as well. Bee pollen also contains a startling amount of protein -- five to seven times more than is found in beef! Many nutrition experts consider bee pollen to be "perfect food."

As Senator Harkin (and others) can testify, bee pollen supplements can provide relief against one of nature's most irritating substances, the airborne flower pollens that cause hay fever.
Research shows that about 17 percent of hay fever sufferers said their symptoms were significantly improved with bee pollen. "But the therapy needs to be started before allergy season begins and people need to remember that, as with many herbal treatments, the results aren't instantaneous. It might take weeks for the bee pollen to work," notes Laura Taylor, D.C., with Oppenheim Chiropractic Clinic in Toluca Lake, California. She adds, "I've also seen improvement in people who have allergies to pet hair and dander."

Taylor also recommends that anyone considering using hive products have an allergy test to make certain they aren't sensitive to these substances. Although rare, anaphylactic shock can result in a person who is highly allergic to bee products. In addition, says Taylor, supplements should be taken in very small amounts at first, as an extra precaution. (Note: Bee products are also not recommended for people with asthma.)

Another benefit of bee pollen is heightened athletic performance. "Bee pollen is used by almost every Olympic athlete in the world," says James Higgins, owner of the Hillsboro, Ohio-based Higgins' Apiary and treasurer of the American Apitherapy Society. "It gives them more energy and better performance for events like marathons, and they aren't as exhausted the next day."

Royal jelly to the rescue
A thick, milky secretion produced by worker bees, royal jelly is fed to all bees during the first three days of life as larvae. Only queen bees continue to receive the jelly throughout their life, though, and, as a result, the queens are 50 percent larger than other female bees and live four or five years, as opposed to the ordinary bee's lifespan of a mere 40 days.

The chemical make-up of royal jelly explains why it is such a potent food. Royal jelly contains royalism (a complete protein), minerals, high levels of vitamins B-5 and B-6, and a rare fatty acid known as 10-HDA. The combination of royalism and 10-HDA fights bacteria, fungus, and viruses. Studies also show that royal jelly stimulates the adrenal glands, which control metabolism. In China, royal jelly is used as a treatment for degenerative conditions, weakness and fatigue, anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, and as an anti-aging supplement.

Medical research has also shown that royal jelly can lower blood cholesterol levels in animals and humans. In addition, it has anti-bacterial and anti-tumor properties.

Propolis power!
Propolis is a waxy, resinous sap which bees collect from the buds of trees and plants to use as a sterile sealant for their hives. The substance contains an amazing range of more than 150 compounds, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and flavonoids. Although it's used in everything from cosmetics to toothpaste, propolis is known in scientific fields as "nature's penicillin" because of its ability to fight everything from bacteria and viruses to fungi and even tumors. Historically, Hippocrates recommended it for curing wounds.

More recent research shows that propolis is an effective treatment for tuberculosis, colitis, and ulcers. But some of the most exciting findings have emerged in just the last few years. One study found that a water-extract of propolis possessed more flee-radical-scavenging abilities than well-known antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E. Another revealed that a substance in propolis known as caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) had not only anti-inflammatory and immune-regulating properties, but cancer fighting abilities, as well.

In fact, the latest research indicates that propolis may one day take center stage as an immune-system enhancer and cancer treatment. Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx, N.Y.) found propolis to be a non-toxic, natural product that reduced HIV-1 cell replication and enhanced immune responses. Similarly, a Japanese study determined that an extract of Brazilian propolis not only suppressed tumor growth, but also activated the immune system by increasing the T-cell counts.

The good side of bee stings
Like all the other products of the hive, bee venom, which most of us have experienced by being stung by a bee, contains a wide range of beneficial substances, including an anti-inflammatory compound 100 times stronger than hydrocortisol. Bee venom has been studied all around the world. In fact, there are more than 1,500 scientific articles on the subject, and bee venom has been used to treat an array of conditions, including arthritis (both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis), chronic and acute injuries and pain, scar tissue, and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Generally, the bee venom is administered via live bees, but it can also be injected, used in a salve or liquid that is rubbed into the skin, or inhaled. Currently, there are a number of ongoing studies involving bee venom in this country. The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, for example, has awarded a grant to a Connecticut immunologist to study bee venom's effect on the disease. Meanwhile, hundreds of MS patients are working with bee-keepers and bee venom therapists to alleviate symptoms like fatigue, muscle spasms, and instability.