Bee Pollen

Bee pollen is among the oldest known dietary supplements. Its use as a rejuvenator and medicine date back to the early Egyptians and ancient Chinese. It has been called many things, from a fountain of youth to an "ambrosia of the gods." The Greek physician Hippocrates, sometimes called the father of modern medicine, used it as a healing substance 2,500 years ago. It is rich in vitamins, especially B vitamins, and contains trace amounts of minerals, elements, amino acids, and enzymes.

The pollen is composed of 55% carbohydrates, 35% protein, 3% minerals and vitamins, 2% fatty acids, and 5% other substances. It contains very small amounts of many substances considered to be antioxidants, including betacarotene, vitamins C and E, lycopene, selenium, and flavonoids.

Proponents of bee pollen offer a wide range of claims regarding its nutritional and healing properties. These include enhancing the immune system, controlling weight, relieving allergy symptoms, increasing strength, improving sexual function, enhancing vitality and stamina, slowing the aging process, and prolonging life. None of these claims have been substantiated by scientific studies.

Bee pollen is said to strengthen the immune system through its antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are used to deactivate free radicals in the body. Free radicals are byproducts of oxygen that can damage cells and are linked to many degenerative diseases, especially those associated with aging. They are also associated with the aging process itself. Antioxidants may block further damage and even reverse much of the cell oxidation already done. Bee pollen is suggested to help counteract the effects of radiation and environmental pollutants that weaken the immune system, supporters say.

In the January 2000 issue of Bee Online, an Internet publication of the American Apitherapy Society, Steve Schecter, naturopathic doctor, said bee pollen is beneficial in reducing the effects of radiation treatment in women with cancer. A group of 25 women undergoing treatment for uterine cancer also took 20 g (about two teaspoons) of bee pollen three times a day. The women reported improvements in their appetites and sense of well being, and less severe nausea associated with radiation therapy. Their serum protein levels increased and red and white blood cell counts also improved.

Although many plant pollens can cause or exacerbate allergies and hay fever, bee pollen can actually help reduce the symptoms of these conditions. Local bee pollen therapy is recommended to start before the allergy season begins and it may take a few weeks for the pollen to work. According to an article in the February 1998 issue of Better Nutrition, an Oklahoma allergist successfully used bee pollen to treat 22,000 patients with allergies. However, those allergic to bee stings may experience severe (anaphylactic) reactions to the pollen.

The inborn instinct of the bee is to collect the highest quality. From "Bee Pollen and your Health" by Carlson Wade, 1978, the breakdown can include (apart from pure life energy):

Vitamins Minerals Enzymes / Co-Enzymes

Provitamin A Calcium Amylase

B-1 Thiamine Phosphorus Diastase

B-2 Riboflavin Potassium Saccharase

B-3 Niacin Sulphur Pectase

B-6 Pyridoxine Sodium Phosphatase

Panthothenic acid Chlorine Catalase

Biotin Magnesium Disphorase

B-12 Iron Cozymase

Folic Acid Manganese Cytochrome systems

Choline Copper Lactic dehydrogenase

Inositol Iodine Succinic dehydrogenase

Vitamic C Zinc 24-Oxidoreductases

Vitamin D Silicon 21-Transferases

Vitamin E Molybedenum 33-Hydrolases

Vitamin K Boron 11-Lyases

Rutin Titanium 5-Isomerases

Pepsin

Trypson

Protein / Amino Acids Other

Isoleucine Nucleic acids Hypoxalthin

Leucine Flavonoids Nuclein

Lysine Phenolic acids Amines

Methionine Tarpenes Lecithin

Phenylalanien Nucleosides Zanthophylls

Threonine Auxins Crocetin

Tryptophan Fructose Zeaxanthin

Valine Glucose Lycopene

Histidine Brassins Hexodencal

Arginine Gibberellins Alpha-amino-butyric acid

Cystine Kinins Monoglycerides

Tyrosine Vernine Monglycerides

Alanine Guanine Triglycerides

Aspartic acid Xanthine Pentosans

Glutamic acid

Hydroxyproline

Proline

Serine