South African Journal Outlines Healing Properties of Bee Products

Bee Products
South African Journal of Natural Medicine, 6/8/2006

Bee products constitute one of the most widely applied groups of natural products used by human beings from ancient times. Honeybees are master chemists and chemical engineers. Their success in the animal kingdom is largely due to the chemistry and application of their products: honey, beeswax, bee venom, propolis, pollen, and royal jelly are chemically synthesised by the bees themselves. Honey, propolis and pollen are derived from plants and are modified and engineered for the bees' own use.

Use of these products explains the amazing honeybee success. Honey is used as a stable, reliable food source that serves during times of shortage, enables the bees to warm up their nest during cold weather, and has allowed them to become perennial species that can exploit virtually any habitat in the world. Beeswax is used as a pliable, stable and moisture-proof material with which to construct nests, to store honey safely, and to rear broods. Venom gives honeybees the advantage of a formidable defence that is capable of stopping or deterring all except the most determined and capable of predators; while propolis is an outstandingly good caulking used to seal the nest cavity and is also one of the best anti-microbial agents known. Like honey, pollen is a nutrient-rich food that can be stored in the hive indefinitely to serve as a reserve during times of shortage; and royal jelly is a balanced food source that does not spoil readily and is used to feed bee larvae. Without these unique products it is likely that honeybees would be different from their ancestors, namely solitary bees with each female bee, during a brief season, providing a few cells with pollen and nectar for the next generation...

Conclusion

Bee products are natural, and although originally produced to be used by the bees themselves, humans use them successfully in a wide spectrum of applications. This is clear-cut proof that in nature we can find all we need for our life, health and the curing of illness.