The rosemary season has ended, but sage is in full bloom. In the fragrant hills of the Peloponnese in southern Greece, after a few sharp turns along a path, Nikos Reppas' old car arrives at bee heaven: a field full of violet hyacinths, close to the prehistoric ruins of Mycenae. Since antiquity, when…
We shall examine the facts about allergies caused by
bee pollen. It is a fascinating area especially when we look at allergic
reactions and how sometimes, local is
possible when taking certain precautions. Later, we shall look at the alternatives
to local bee pollen.
Allergic reactions
People who would like to
take bee pollen products are sometimes wary or even alarmed over allergic
reactions. Bee pollen allergies are
true medical conditions and should be treated as such. Fortunately, those who
will have severe allergic reactions to bee pollen are very few. Experts
estimate that only about 2% of those who have allergies will have a severe
allergic reaction, such as anaphylactic shock. Symptoms that a person is
having anaphylactic shock are convulsions, breathing problems, and
unconsciousness. Untreated, it can even lead to death.
People who are allergic to bee stings are advised to
stay away from bee pollen formulas. The most popular bee products on the market
are mainly bee pollen.
Other products are royal jelly, which may contain bee
saliva that is fed to queen bees, and propolis, a resin-like substance that
bees collect from seeds, flowers, and trees and is used as a sealant for cracks
in their hives.
Those who are allergic to bee stings should always
carry emergency medication, such as adrenaline or EpiPen injectors in case of
anaphylactic shocks.
Most of the time the allergic reaction one obtains is
mild. It can range from itchy throat, wheezing, coughing, rash, and skin
flushing. If any of these signs or symptoms occurs, stop taking all bee pollen
products and see your doctor.
Watch the video to see how
local bee pollen may sometimes not be such a good idea after all. It all
depends on how much heavy industry and intensive farming is going on in the
area. That could mean that insecticides and even GM microbes are in the air and
these are damaging to the bees themselves and also affect the purity of the bee
pollen that they produce.
It is worthy to note,
however, that bee pollen is sometimes used to treat seasonal allergic symptoms
such as sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes. The concept is similar to that of
immunization. A controlled miniscule
amount is introduced to the body for the body to react to it and build up
resistance. Once the body recognizes the bee pollen as something that it can
deal with, once the familiar substance enters the body, no allergic reaction
occurs, and the body is now desensitized to that substance.
There is also the factor about the quality of the bee
pollen product. Sometimes, negative reactions occur in people who are taking
bee pollen products not because they are allergic to bee pollen, but that the
product they are taking is contaminated.
Bees collect pollen from flowers that are exposed to
the surrounding air. If the area where the beehive or the flowers are located
is near any industrialized center, it is most likely that the air is polluted.
Pollutants in the air can contaminate the flowers and
the pollen. In some products, traces of heavy metals and toxins were found. It
was also discovered that the sources of these bee pollen formulas usually come
from the USA or China, which are industrial countries.
A quality source of bee pollen products is from New Zealand, particularly The South Island. Here, there are no
nearby industrial areas. Plant life and flora thrive in a pristine environment.
Now, you will not be able to import local bee pollen
from New Zealand. A much safer alternative to organic local bee pollen
is to opt for the capsules.
Basically the bee pollen composition has just about every mineral, vitamin and mineral known to man so it is
no exaggeration to say that it is nature’s complete food.
The complete range of
vitamins has the usual vitamins A, B, C and D but more importantly it contains
biotin, folic acid and rutin. Actually there are sixteen vitamins altogether.
Why rutin is so
important Just let me tell you about
rutin. It is an important part of the whole bee pollen composition. Why? It can
play a vital role in making our capillaries stronger and that can help to
minimize bleeding in emergency situations. It can also help with
coagulation. Actually, we can see when we have weak capillaries if we
bruise very easily. If we increase our intake of rutin, this can help solve
that particular problem.
The work of the scientists
at the Institute of Apiculture in Taranov in Russia have documented the beneficial
effects of an increased intake of rutin which also include a definite improvement
in overall heart health and blood pressure.
The enzymes and
co-enzymes As if the fantastic mix of bee pollen nutrients and all the other good things was not enough, it
also contains the whole gamut of enzymes and co-enzymes. It has all the main
eleven enzymes and these include amylase, lactic acids, pectase and catalase.
Enzymes speed up every
chemical reaction we have in the body which include such basic functions, as
eating, digesting and sleeping. For example amylase is essential in
producing the saliva we need to start the whole digestive process.
It has been shown that a
lack of enzymes can leads to all sorts of health problems and these can range
form birth defects, Alzheimer’s and some of the degenerative diseases.
Bee pollen can also enhance
mood and help with mental clarity. You could save a lot of money by
avoiding some psychotherapy!
Can bee pollen help with the menopause? That is a question a lot of women ask. Let us
look at what is in bee pollen and see how this can help with many of the
troubling symptoms that women have to put up with when they approach this
critical period.
We all know that bee pollen is a super food and has
been touted as such, since ancient times. The reason is that it has no less than
96 nutrients which range from vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids and so
on. Sounds great and in fact all ancient religious manuscripts (the Torah,
Bible and Koran) mention honey and bee pollen.
It is no accident that the bee symbol was used on
ancient Egyptian documents signed by the Pharaohs. In Hindu traditions, it is
widely believed that if you eat honey and bee pollen, you are on the fast track
to happiness and wisdom.
So, bee pollen is nature’s perfect food but how can it
help with menopause? Can it really have a beneficial effect on the hormonal
turmoil in a woman’s body which is causing many troublesome symptoms such as
hot flashes. Then to add to the misery there is a problem of weight gain, poor
quality of sleep due partially to night sweats. It is estimated that many women
in the post menopause period may put on an average of one pound of weight very
year.
The problem with hot flashes
What happens with all the hormonal
storms going on is that the hypothalamus, which is a sort of a
built in regulator, goes a bit haywire. In many ways, it resembles a thermostat.
It also does many other things such as controlling metabolism which is one reason
why putting on weight is another problem.
There is also increased fatigue and exhaustion.
Is hormone therapy the solution?
Many women think that taking supplements with hormones
such oestrogen replacement hormone therapy (HT) can actually help. This may
only be short term relief for hot flashes. Results form The Women’s Health Initiative showed that there was significant
risk of a having a heart attack so many women stopped taking these. That was
about ten years ago when that study was released and women stopped talking the
HT in droves.
But now, hormone therapy is regarded with less
suspicion but many precautions still have to be taken:-
it is only effective just before the menopause. If taken much later
it may be useless
in fact , if taken much later, there may be a risk of cardiac
complications.
it is not suitable for smokers, those who suffer from uterine
bleeding and those who have had breast cancer
there is still the risk (however small) of blood clots.
So, a pretty mixed picture for HT. So why would bee pollen be a much safer alternative and are
there are any studies to show that it can actually help?
Bee Pollen has many advantages for menopausal women.
As I mentioned above we have a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals and so on. First, many
women find that they have greater energy
because bee pollen has a much higher percentage of Vitamin B in the form of
protein and amino acids. Some estimates put that at 35% and that is why it can
lead to greater energy and vitality and can help combat fatigue.
As regards the hot flashes, the fact that we have so many
vitamins and minerals may mean that hormone levels are better regulated and
there is a decrease in hot flashes and general discomfort.
More benefits for women taking bee pollen :-
all major vitamin groups such as E, C and A are in it
lots of zinc and iron
it contains phytoestrogens and bioflavonoids
it has essential fatty acids such as Omega 3 and Omega 6
its complete range of nutrients
can help to reduce food cravings and help combat weight loss
While there are few scientific studies which show that
bee pollen can help with menopause, anecdotal accounts and evidence suggest
that it can be a real help in that it can combat fatigue, help with weight
controls and reduce discomfort associated with night sweats and hot flashes.
One trial conducted at the Sofia Obstetrics and GynecologyHospital, in Bulgaria was conducted on 55 women who
reported improvement in menopausal symptoms. But this study was much criticised
in that it was an open, uncontrolled one.
Apart from some allergic reactions (people with asthma
and allergies) bee pollen is generally a much safer supplement to take as it is
nature’s super food. There are no other health risks associated with it, unlike
many the conventional drugs we are given.
If you want to try bee pollen …..
Make sure you are getting the purest there is on this
planet. The best areas in the world which are free from toxins, radiation, GM
microbes and other pollutants are some areas of Canada and New Zealand It pays to do your homework here!
Have you ever tried bee pollen and what were the
benefits? Did you notice any difference
and would you recommend it? Leave your
comments below.
Did you know that there is a honey bee haven in Bee Biology Road at the UC Davis in California? Well, it has been there for a few years now and is just one of many all over the country. Why should we bother about a honey bee haven? We need to provide a variety of plants, flowers and trees which are a source of food for the bees.
Here are some of the answers:
1. I helps the bees to survive in a hostile environment where bees are disappearing at an alarming rate and especially as they can account for up to 90% of pollination of food crops. That is a value of almost $15 billion! This phenomenon is known as CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder.) This is not the first time this has happened and there have been cases going as far back as 1869.
2. The causes are many and varied and no one is quite sure whether there is one main one. Some of the most common causes cited are:-
* mites,
* parasites
* overuse of pesticides
* too many insecticides
* malnutrition
We know that up to 33% of the honey bee population has disappeared over the last year. The usual symptoms are where the bee simply abandons the hive and seems to be disorientated.
3. Just take California as an example where the almond crop needs to have about a million active hives. These hives are not there and have to be transported from other States and this just adds to the stress of the bees.
4. The climatic havoc of the recent years has hot helped the situation at all. Too much heat and drought can be extremely damaging. The drought of 2006 was felt in the bee population where California for example, had a drop of 30% in honey production.
5. Did you know that honey bees also suffer from diseases just like us? They are subject to viruses too and they may be decimated by a type of virus called the Kashmir bee virus or the Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) which may remain latent and become evident in later life. This is rather similar to the chicken pox virus in adults when it appears later as shingles.
Apart from organising a bee haven in your garden or on your farm, there are reserach projects which should be funded so that we can understand better what is going on and how the bees' lives are being affected. As some one has remarked, if a few thousand cows were found dead in a pasture, people wold be more than concerned. If a few thousand bees die, nobody seems to care!
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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/14/4622372/to-bee-or-not-to-bee-theres-no.html#storylink=cpy
I have just
read a health alert issued by Health Canada about a brand of bee pollen capsules called ZXT Gold
which is produced by Floyd Nutrition. This is usually sold as a weight loss
product
The problem here, it seems, is that the capsules
contain some hidden pharmaceutical ingredients and these may be a health risk for some people. Until further
tests have been carried out, the product will be withdrawn from the Canadian
market. In any case they have not been authorized or evaluated by Health Canada.
They have found that there are two drugs in the mix.
The first one is known as phenolphthalein which is a mere laxataive but this
has long been banned in Canada because it was implicated as a possible cancer risk. There are other less alarming side effects
such as constipation, and lower blood pressure.
The second drug they have found in the mix is sibutramine
which was used to treat weight loss and obesity. This was also previously on
sale in Canada but then withdrawn as there were risks of having a heart attack or a
stroke. This drug also has a tendency to raise blood pressure and causes
insomnia in some patients.
This is the first time that actual pharamaceutical drugs have been found in a bee pollen mix although there is a tendency among some companies to add in a whole range of herbs and vegetable fibers. The most common ones are those such as yams, wolfberry and senna which are all basically laxatives.
The other thing in these concoctions is that there is very little indication of both the provenance and the actual quantity of the bee epollen. That is why their claim as bee pollen capsules is often false becasue there is very little actual bee poollen in them.
This news points up the absolute necessity to order bee pollen capsules from a company which are following GMP practices and have built in checks along the way such as a Certificate
of Analysis for every batch. They will also source only the best and purest bee
pollen which is found in New Zealand.
You really have to do your homework to
make sure that what you are taking is perfectly safe and healthy. The company I
have actually used spends more money on research than on publicity. Enough
said!
Did you know that the WhiteHouseGarden and the ChicagoCity Hall have beehives? This is part of a growing urban beehive movement to help the bees survive in a cleaner and safer environment. That is passed on to the consumer because the benefits of bee pollen and raw honey will be so much greater when they are produced in a cleaner ambience.
Now, you may not think that Washington and Chicago are the cleanest cities in the USA but they are much healthier than many of the countryside areas which are full of pesticides, GMOs, industrial pollutants and contamination from a whole range of toxins.
So, the benefits of bee pollen and bee products in general are now gaining more exposure as people become more knowledgeable. Actually beekeeping in an urban setting is strictly illegal but local authorities are now relaxing their laws and already in New York and Denver it is legal while Los Angeles is campaigning hard to get the ban lifted there.
But the benefits of honey itself may well be exaggerated by the fact that a lot of honey is actually pasteurized and once it is heated, it loses a lot of its nutritional value. Actually this happens in the USA much more than in Europe.
The problem is that, as with many pasteurization techniques, there is a downside and here it is that the enzymes which are so important for the antibacterial function, get destroyed and the honey is practically useless for healing. Raw honey has always been the best option in healing wounds.
The Food Safety News also found that they honey now sold in supermarkets (up to 70% of the samples tested) does not contain any pollen, thereby making it just a highly processed syrup. This is why the bee pollen is far superior but you still have to be careful about what you are buying.
The benefits of bee pollen are now well known and also there is some research to show that they are indeed beneficial for the whole human organism. Theses benefits range from:
·boosting libido in both men and women
·assisting with weight loss because it contains the full range of nutrients
·helping to relieve prostate disorders in men
·relieving symptoms of the menopause in women
·providing great boost in energy (due to Vitamin B enhancement)
·relieving some of the side effects of chemotherapy
Now if you really want to get the benefits of bee pollen, a much better option is to choose the bee pollen capsules because if the pollen is sourced from a safe area and properly processed, then you are well on the way to taking your wellbeing to a whole new level.
Life is sweet for beekeepers in Greece, but for how long? (via AFP)
