Health Benefits of Bee Products Outlined

What's the buzz? Honey terms

From the Backyard Beekeepers Association Nov 23, 2015

Pollination: Agriculture depends greatly on the honeybee for pollination. Honeybees account for 80 percent of all insect pollination. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of fruits and vegetables.

Pollen: Bees collect 66 pounds of pollen per year, per hive. Pollen is the male germ cells produced by all flowering plants for fertilization and plant embryo formation. The honeybee uses pollen as a food. Pollen is one of the richest and purest natural foods, consisting of up to 35 percent protein, 10 percent sugars, carbohydrates, enzymes, minerals, and vitamins A (carotenes), B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinic acid), B5 (panothenic acid), C (ascorbic acid), H (biotin) and R (rutine).

Honey: Honey is used by the bees for food all year round. There are many types, colors and flavors of honey, depending upon its nectar source. The bees make honey from the nectar they collect from flowering trees and plants. Honey is an easily digestible, pure food. Honey is hydroscopic and has antibacterial qualities. Eating local honey can fend off allergies.

Beeswax: Secreted from glands, beeswax is used by the honeybee to build honeycomb. It is used by humans in drugs, cosmetics, artists' materials, furniture polish and candles.

Propolis: Collected by honeybees from trees, the sticky resin is mixed with wax to make a sticky glue. The bees use this to seal cracks and repair their hive. It is used by humans as a health aid, and as the basis for fine wood varnishes.

Royal Jelly: The powerful, milky substance that turns an ordinary bee into a queen bee. It is made of digested pollen and honey or nectar mixed with a chemical secreted from a gland in a nursing bee's head. It commands premium prices rivaling imported caviar, and is used by some as a dietary supplement and fertility stimulant. It is loaded with all of the B vitamins...