Health Educator Outlines Benefits of Bee Products

Bees Make Magical Elixirs That Help Promote Healthy Lifestyles
Helayne Waldman, Contra Costa Times (USA), 9/12/2006

History informs us of an old Roman saying, "Madam, treat your husband with honey and you will possess his heart."…

Clearly, despite the trepidation they can sometimes invoke, honeybees have won a secure place in our hearts, and in our language, for many centuries. So what is this magic they possess and how can we capitalize on it as part of a healthy lifestyle?

Pollen

From a nutritional perspective, bee products including pollen, are just bursting with phytochemicals, which as you may remember, act as part of a plant's natural immune system to help ward off disease and eliminate toxins…

Propolis

…As an internal tincture, external salve, or a burn paste, propolis can clearly prevent infection, inhibit bacterial growth in the mouth, and unmistakably thwart the ambitions of invading fungi and viruses such as herpes and influenza. Moreover, extracts of propolis have recently been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in both mice and men, which means additional support for conditions such as arthritis, asthma, dermatitis and inflammatory bowel disease.

Royal jelly

…And for generations it's been used not only internally to stimulate immunity, but also as an external salve to soften skin, remove wrinkles, and reverse eczema and dermatitis.

Honey

Honey too, the gooey substance bees produce from the nectar they collect from flowers, has been revered throughout the ages -- from Greece to China, to Sub-Saharan Africa to North America --for its ability to treat sore throats, skin and stomach ulcers, digestive disorders, and for dressing wounds…