Thursday, September 1, 2016

Bee Pollen


Dear friends of Centers for Healing,
When those May flowers follow the showers of April (well, at least where there isn’t an ongoing drought), many of us suffer from seasonal allergies. The culprit: ragweed. Its pollen literally floods the air we breathe, triggering an onset of sneezing, stuffy noses, and general discomfort.
However, not all pollen is created equal. And, pollen that has been gathered by those busy worker bees we discussed a few weeks ago is even more unique. So, as promised in our last blog post, it’s now time to turn our attention to the second “gift of the hive”: bee pollen.

Health Benefits
Starting as the male seed of flowers, bee pollen is food for baby bees. However, this is not just any other baby food! In fact, the human health benefits of bee pollen consumption are simply amazing. Since bee pollen is 40% protein in the form of easily assimilated amino acids, it is a significant source of this important macronutrient. Dr. Joseph Mercola lists nine substantial benefits of bee pollen:

  • Improved endurance and vitality
  • Bodyweight support during convalescence
  • Building new blood
  • Extended longevity
  • Reduced cravings and addictions
  • Antibiotic protection from infectious diseases
  • Supported recovery from chronic illness
  • Intestinal regulation
  • Assistance in overcoming retardation and other childhood development problems
And, this is not an exhaustive list! I highly recommend reading the full article on Dr. Mercola’s website, at the following link:


Life Sustaining
This leads to bee pollen’s most significant quality. For, if all of the benefits listed above are not impressive enough, just have a look at this statement from the Royal Society of Naturalists, as quoted by J.S. Taylor in his book Natural Healing Remedies From The Hive:
“The nutritional tests supervised by the station at Bures on hundreds of mice have demonstrated that pollen is a complete food, that it is possible to let several generations be born and live without the least sign of distress, while nourishing them exclusively on bee pollen.” (p. 10)

That’s right: bee pollen is a complete food, containing all the nutrients necessary for sustaining life! This easily could account for John the Baptist’s desert diet of locusts and wild honey, since honey in its natural, unfiltered state pretty much always comes with a healthy dose of pollen.

Safe Supplementation

On a final note, it’s important to remember that bee pollen, like honey, is a food, not a “supplement.” However, given the possibility of an allergic reaction, it is wise to begin consuming it in small doses. Generally, experts recommend placing just one granule under your tongue and waiting to see what happens. The next day, place two granules. Continue this process until you are comfortably consuming a quarter teaspoon or so. If everything is going well, you can move to a full teaspoon. At this amount, you are ingesting roughly 5 grams (or 5,000 milligrams) of pollen.

For an excellent explanation of how to incorporate bee pollen into your daily diet, see the article from Bee Pollen Buzz, linked here:

So far, we’ve seen honey and bee pollen. Next time, we’ll turn our attention to royal jelly, yet another amazing “gift of the hive.” Until then, keep well, and have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend!

All the best,

Dr. Blanche Grube