Bee Pollen

Bee pollen benefits anyone who consumes it.
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As an alkaline food, bee pollen benefits and balances the overall PH of your body. People agree that the bee pollen nutritional profile is one of the most complete in the world. I use it as an alternative to a multivitamin. Here's a list of all the bee pollen vitamins and other nutrients:

~25% to 40% vegetarian complete protein (in pre-digested, free amino acid form)

~A variety of fatty acids (70% is the omega 3 ALA, 3-4% is the Omega 6 LA and 16-17% is monounsaturated and saturated fat)

~Simple carbohydrates (many of the same sugars that are found in honey.)

~All the Beeee vitamins (including biotin, folic acid, choline and inositol but not a usable form of B12)

~Vitamin C

~Vitamin D (which is rare for plant foods to contain)

~Vitamin E

~Vitamin K

~Up to 60 major and minor minerals (including some rare elements like gold in amounts as high as 0.9 parts per million depending on the type of flower pollen used.)

~Nucleic acids such as RNA and DNA (a component found in the diets of many centenarians.)

~Steroidal and hormonal substances (natural plant sources of these are safe and beneficial)

~15% lecithin (which lowers cholesterol as well being food the brain.)

~High on the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity) scale due to a wide array of antioxidants (it is scored at 164, while blueberries for example are a 61)

~Rutin (a key antioxidant for strengthening the walls of the vascular system, also helps stabilize vitamin C)

~Carotenoids such as xanthophyll and alpha/beta carotenes (the more antioxidant carotenoids a mammal gets, the longer it can live.)

~At least 11 major enzymes (which are necessary for digestion. Bee pollen benefits and complements a live food diet since the extra enzymes have an anti-aging effect on the cells of the body.)

~Over 5000 minor enzymes and coenzymes (this is the most enzyme rich product on Earth!)

~1-3% of pollen is made up of unidentified "mysterious" compounds... quite likely Ormus minerals which is what makes this food so incredibly valuable and magical!

The bee pollen nutritional content can vary according to the quality of the finished product (how it was packaged etc), as well as the species of flowers that the bees collected the pollen from. Individual bee pollen granules can vary in colour and slightly in size depending again on the sources of the pollen the bee happens to be collecting from. Click this link to find a well priced yet very high quality, wild bee pollen native to the US.

One of the most amazing bee pollen facts is that it takes one bee working eight hours a day, one month to gather just one teaspoon of bee pollen granules.
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That small teaspoon of bee pollen granules contains a whopping 2.5 billions grains of flower pollen! Bee pollen benefits are more apparent when you consider the magnitude of the nutrient density in each little granule. While bee pollen benefits anyone who chooses to consume it in a number of different ways, many world class athletes have been adding this as a staple food in their daily nutritional regimen for many years.

Antti Lananaki who was the coach of the Finish track team that swept the Olympics in 1972, revealed, "most of our athletes take pollen food supplements. Our studies show it significantly improves their performance. There have been no negative results since we have been supplying pollen to our athletes." Some bee pollen studies done in Britain by the British Sports Council recorded increases in strength as much as 40% to 50% in those getting the benefits of taking bee pollen. The British Royal Society has even reported height increases in adults who regularly take bee pollen granules!

Over forty bee pollen studies have confirmed bee pollen to be safe to consume and that it even has therapeutic effects. Bee pollen benefits your body virtually instantly. From the moment you swallow it, the bee pollen granules begin to pass through the lining of your stomach into your blood stream. Within two hours it can even be found in your cerebrospinal fluid! All of these bee pollen facts make it a highly desirable, if not mandatory ;p, addition to anyone's diet for longevity.

Athlete's aren't the only ones who get amazing benefits of taking bee pollen granules. It has been found that bee pollen benefits the following medical conditions and has been used by a variety of health professionals to successfully treat them:

~Acne
~Allergies
~Anemia
~Asthma
~Bronchitis
~Constipation
~Colitis
~Obesity
~Relief of type 2 diabetes symptoms
~Sinusitis
~Wrinkles (due to the whole body anti-aging effect)
It was found in "The Garden of Eden in Caucasus" (mountains of Abkhazia) that their high numbers of super-centenarians seemed to have an affinity for consuming bee pollen, royal jelly and raw honey products on a daily basis.
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Often the beekeepers who knew that bee pollen benefits and preserves every vital function of the body, were the ones living the longest lives out of all of Russia! Nicholai Tsitsin, a Russian biologist, published a report in 1945 on 150 Russian centenarians that returned questionnaires about their diet, age and occupation and he found that all of them consumed hive products. It was specifically the "left over" raw honey scrapings from the bottom of the hive where the bee pollen granules fell to the bottom and got mixed in that they consumed.

After physical examinations, Dr. Tsitin discovered that bee pollen benefits the centenarians through heart attack protection. Many of them had signs and scars of "silent heart attacks", which he determined would have killed anyone at an earlier age who didn't have the protective benefits of taking bee pollen.

It is interesting to note that the natives of the Caucasus region of Russia were known to eat a predominantly plant based diet that also contained a significant amount of raw living foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. When this is combined with the consumption of bee pollen, the body is provided with an abundance of all the necessary enzymes needed to digest food, while avoiding tapping into the body's natural store of metabolic enzymes. Click this link to get a high quality, wild bee pollen native to the U.S. that Zak recommends.
While there are many bee pollen benefits, there are some people who can have an allergic reaction to bee pollen.

It should go without saying that everyone should start with a very small bee pollen dosage to determine if it's safe for you to consume (this is the same for any live superfoods). You should be extra cautious if you have an allergy to insect stings or flower pollen and start by tasting just one single bee pollen granule. If you experience no negative side effects, slowly work your way up to a teaspoon... and then finally up to one tablespoon or more per day. Since the bee pollen benefits come from daily use in larger amounts, take as much as you feel you can tolerate. My personal bee pollen dosage is anywhere from one to eight (plus) tablespoons per day and find it a tremendous staple for my active lifestyle.

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It's interesting that many people are drawn to take bee pollen for allergies specifically. So although you may have a tendency towards having an allergy too bee stings or flower pollen, it could actually be the perfect thing to remedy that allergy for you (organic raw honey can have a similar effect)! Like I said, proceed slowly when experimenting with this and look for any bee pollen side effects that feel negative. A minority of people do have an intolerance to bee pollen and simply can't consume it without negative side effects. If that's the take consume something else from this long list of live superfoods! Taking bee pollen for allergies works by natural chemicals within the pollen that re-educate your body to reduce it's histamine response to an allergen. Histamine is the hormone that causes a reaction in a tissue to a stressor causing irritation somewhere in the body.

Gaining the understanding that bee pollen benefits such a wide variety of biological functions gives a great understanding into why it's so desirable and one of the most talked about of live superfoods. I hope that these bee pollen facts have helped you determine whether you want to incorporate this amazing, sacred and magical whole food supplement into your diet for longevity. Bee pollen nutrition, as well as all of the other hive products, are simply the most bio-available and easily digested of all of Nature's medicines. Have fun experiencing the benefits of taking bee pollen!

Sources:

~www.bee-pollen-buzz.com
~www.worldfoods.net/ARTICLES/beepollen.html

http://homesteadsurvival.blogspot.com/2012/06/bee-pollen-benefits-anyone-who-consumes.html

Oh for the love of bees! Are you as obsessed as I am? Probably not, but I am a little special that way. My passion for bees knows no limits, as the amazing things they produce are infinitely mind-blowing! If you’ve been back in the archives, you’ll know I am a huge raw honey fan, and don’t even get me started on beeswax, but that is only scratching the surface when it comes to the bee products that fill my home, my tummy, and my life.
Let me introduce you to bee pollen. I have wanted to write a post about this for quite some time now because it is one of my absolute favorite superfoods. Not only is it delicious, versatile, and astonishingly inexpensive, but also is oh-so-good-for-you, like times infinity. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

What is bee pollen?
First, let’s distinguish between bee pollen form airborne pollen, the latter being the pollen that causes hay fever and other related allergies.

Bee pollen on the other hand is actually the collected pollen that the bees take back from the flowers and store in the hive for food. The bees obtain it by going from flower, scraping the powdery loose pollen from the stamen with their jaws and front legs. They moisten the pollen with a sticky substance secreted from their stomachs so it will adhere to their rear legs. The jagged bristles of their rear legs are used to comb the powder from their coats and front legs. The outsides of their tibias form concave areas used as pollen baskets, into which they press their golden deposits. When each of these baskets is fully loaded, the microscopic dust has been tamped down into a single golden granule – and that is the bee pollen that you can eat!

Why the heck would I want to eat plant sperm collected by bugs?
Because I said so.
But if that doesn’t convince you, how about some concrete reasons?
First off, bee pollen is a super high-energy whole food that supplies us with nearly every single nutrient the human body needs to survive. Wow. Surprisingly, it is very high in protein, containing between 20-35%, including all 22 amino acids.

Bee pollen is loaded with enzymes, something quite lacking in many modern diets. Enzymes are the little compounds that help us break down and digest food, one reason that eating raw foods is so important. Supplementing the diet with bee pollen is excellent all the time, but especially when we’ve been indulging in, ahem, falafels at 2 a.m. on Friday night. I also find it a great travel companion, as I know that I can give my body all the nutrients it needs if I can’t find the all-u-can-eat organic vegetarian buffet at the airport, for example.

And to top it all off, bee pollen is jam-packed with vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, and phytonutrients – I’m telling you, everything! If you were stranded on a dessert island, theoretically, you could survive off the stuff (although I have yet to meet someone who has tested this out).

Allergy Relief
As illogical as it may sound, many people actually experience relief from seasonal allergies by introducing small amounts of fresh, local pollen in to their diet. This could be due to the high levels of quercitin it contains, which is known for its ability to minimize or neutralize the histamine response . According to the Journal of Allergy, one study of allergy sufferers showed a majority of people with hay fever enjoyed a dramatic improvement after eating bee pollen, while some of the study's participants reported showing a 100% improvement in their condition with supplemental intake of bee pollen.




Okay great, but how does it taste?
The flavour of bee pollen is quite special – I guess I would refer to the taste as floral (go figure). Of course the taste of your bee pollen will depend on where your pollen comes from and the flowers that the bees were dippin’ into.
If you eat bee pollen on its own (which I would encourage at least the first time around), let it dissolve on your tongue to absorb and revel in its amazing complexities of flavour and texture. Mind blowing! And consider the unbelievable concentration of energy that it contains; literally the fertile male element of plant life! Holy cow.

Buying Bee Pollen
Because of its highly concentrated nature, and the fact that it is harvested from flowers, sourcing bee pollen gathered in a pesticide-free environment is important. And it’s also advisable to buy local bee pollen, as it will help to tune your body into your surrounding environment – kind of in line with my “zany” ideas about eating warm food in the winter and cool food in the summer.
Most health food and natural food shops now carry bee pollen. Sometimes it can be found sitting on the shelf right next to the honey, but the best quality bee pollen may be found in the fridge of freezer section of the shop.

Bee pollen comes as small granules in various shades (see photo). One bag from a single source can have a remarkable colour range, which comes from the various flowers the bees collected the pollen from. The granules should be relatively soft (never crunchy!) and dissolve easily on the tongue.
Do not buy bee pollen that comes in tablet form – heating the pollen during compression will destroy its enzymes and vitamin C content. It is a raw food and should be enjoyed as such!

Once purchased, store opened containers of bee pollen in the fridge, and unopened containers in the freezer for the longest shelf life.

The Price is Right
Totally wanting to take supplements, but don’t have the cash? Well, you’ve struck gold with bee pollen, as it’s loaded with the good stuff without the outrageous price tag. Score!

Taking Bee Pollen
Considering it is such very powerful food, it’s best to introduce bee pollen to the body in a responsible manner, (i.e. slowly). Sometimes with supplement and superfoods, we can react in unexpected ways, so it’s best to start off with small amounts and work your way up just to make sure your body is cool with what you’re putting in your mouth.
Adults: Start with 1 teaspoon, and then increase your intake every day by a few grains until reaching 2 teaspoons a day (10 ml). Daily intake should be a maximum of 1 tablespoon (15 ml).
Children : Start from 3 grains, increasing by 2 grains every few days until reaching 1/2 tsp. a day.

***Note: A small percentage of the population is severely allergic to bee pollen (particularly if you are allergic to bees or other bee products). Please use caution and common sense before introducing this food to your diet.