Raw honey, royal jelly, bee bread, and even bee venom are bee derivatives which have been utilized in historic techniques of medication world wide. Bee pollen is one other bee byproduct used traditionally to deal with a variety of illnesses, increase power ranges and foster resilience to emphasize.
What Is Bee Pollen?
Bee pollen is an edible byproduct of honeybees that’s collected from their hives. Its creation begins when bees feed on the nectar of flowers. The bees’ leg hairs choose up flower pollen throughout the feed. Combining with flower nectar, bee saliva, and honeycomb wax from the hive, the ensuing combination of bee pollen ultimately falls off the bees’ legs and builds up alongside the sides of the hive.[1]
Modern beehives include pollen traps that enable beekeepers to reap bee pollen as bees re-enter their hives. Many beekeepers harvest the bee pollen for corporations that make the bee pollen dietary supplements present in well being meals shops. However, some beekeepers promote bee pollen regionally earlier than it’s been processed – usually by way of a drying course of that preserves its shelf life.
Bee Pollen Health Benefits
Curious in regards to the medicinal worth of bee pollen? Here are the key bee pollen advantages in accordance with immediately’s scientific literature:
Helps You Combat Stress
Bee pollen has been proven to enhance bodily homeostasis throughout high-stress actions and improve athletic efficiency.[2] Whether you’re coaching for a sports activities occasion or dealing with a high-stress job, bee pollen may stop you from having a persistent “fight or flight” response.
Lowers Inflammation
Certain plant chemical compounds, fatty acids, and different compounds in bee pollen all contribute to its inflammation-lowering impact. One animal examine discovered that bee pollen lowered irritation in circumstances of edema by as a lot as 75 %.
Could Improve Allergy Symptoms
Bee pollen could assist relieve signs of sure forms of allergy symptoms by inhibiting the discharge of histamine in response to allergens. By selling homeostasis and regulating your immune system’s response on this approach, bee pollen may function nature’s antihistamine.
Helps Prevent Prostate Enlargement
Research on bee pollen for decreasing and stopping prostate enlargement in males is minimal. However, human research on flower pollen reveal the substance successfully reduces signs of prostate enlargement. Since flower pollen is present in bee pollen, it’s attainable that bee pollen has related results, or doubtlessly preventative results on prostate well being.[3]
Supports Your Cardiovascular Health
In a examine on animals, bee pollen was proven to forestall coronary heart assaults with its antioxidant actions.[4] Antioxidants are compounds able to neutralizing free radicals, which trigger cell and DNA damage when unchecked. The body produces antioxidants naturally. However, this production declines with age, and free radical damage plays a role in the development of heart disease. While more research is needed, bee pollen’s rich antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties could promote better heart health.
How Do You Eat Bee Pollen?
Bee pollen can be eaten in its raw granule form or taken as a pill like other natural supplements. Most bee pollen found in health food stores has been dried, which gives it a harder texture. Bee pollen tastes slightly sweet with a tinge of bitterness. Like honey, it mixes easily with other flavors. You can sprinkle bee pollen into a smoothie or combine it with honey and add it to hot tea. Spread fresh bee pollen on toast with peanut butter or toss some granules onto a salad.
If you’re using a bee pollen supplement, be sure to stick to the recommended dosage written on the package label. A standard daily dose could range from a pinch to a half tablespoon of bee pollen granules or powder.
Side Effects and Risks of Eating Bee Pollen
With some exceptions, bee pollen is safe to consume, even in its raw granule form before processing. It’s important to take precautions when it comes to bee products due to the potential for allergies. Pregnant women, people allergic to bees, and people allergic to pollen should avoid bee pollen.
If you have an allergic reaction to bee pollen, symptoms could range widely. Some symptoms may include swelling, itching, coughing, and breathlessness. To be safe, start with just a trace amount of bee pollen the first time you try it. If you have any adverse reaction, be sure to stop eating bee pollen. Since the long-term effects of bee pollen in higher doses hasn’t been studied, keep your consumption under a tablespoon of bee pollen per day.
Bee Pollen as a Health Supplement
Bee pollen’s effects on human health are still being studied. Findings so far show ancient civilizations were right to use bee pollen to improve inflammatory conditions, protect prostate health, support heart health and reduce symptoms of allergies. There’s always a risk for allergic reaction to bee pollen, which is why you should treat it with precaution if you’ve never tried it.
References:
- medlineplus.gov/druginfo/natural/78.html
- “Bee Pollen: Chemical Composition and Therapeutic Application” by Katarzyna Komosinska-Vassev, Pawel Olczyk, Justyna Kaźmierczak, Lukasz Mencner and Krystyna Olczyk, 11 March 2015, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
DOI: 10.1155/2015/297425 - “The role of flower pollen extract in managing patients affected by chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a comprehensive analysis of all published clinical trials” by Tommaso Cai, Paolo Verze, Roberto La Rocca, Umberto Anceschi, Cosimo De Nunzio and Vincenzo Mirone, 21 April 2017, BMC Urology.
DOI: 10.1186/s12894-017-0223-5 - “Antioxidative and Cardioprotective Effects of Schisandra chinensis Bee Pollen Extract on Isoprenaline-Induced Myocardial Infarction in Rats” by Zhenhuang Shen, Qianqian Geng, Haibo Huang, Hong Yao, Tianyu Du, Lifu Chen, Zhenhong Wu, Xiaoqing Miao and Peiying Shi, 20 March 2019, Molecules.
DOI: 10.3390/molecules24061090
