Does Bee Pollen Help You Lose Weight?

Healthy Recipes and More, 8/27/2008

As most of us search for the perfect diet, you may be surprised to learn that bee pollen and weight loss have been linked.

Research has found that bee pollen increases the metabolism, thereby speeding up the rate at which calories are burned. In fact, it is thought that pollen from the honeybee is even more potent as a weight loss alternative.

The pollen itself is low in calories, and it contains a substance called lecithin which allows fat to dissolve more readily in the body. In addition, the effect bee pollen has on cholesterol is positive, and can decrease cardiovascular disease as a result.

Another reason why bee pollen is so effective in losing weight is that it suppresses the appetite. Once you have a regular meal, you feel sated and do not require a second portion or snacks later on…

Bee pollen is also known as an energizer and has a domino effect on the body. The more energized you are, the more you will engage in physical activity, which will result in the loss of more weight…

Bee pollen is available in capsule form and can be taken in conjunction with a weight loss program. However, it should be stressed again to consult with your doctor before beginning any weight loss program, as well as ascertain if you are allergic to the pollen itself…

Under-Tongue Therapy May Ease Bee-Sting Allergy

By Karla Gale, 8/28/2008

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For people who are strongly allergic to bee venom, desensitization using sublingual (i.e., under-the-tongue) immunotherapy may be a safer than injection immunotherapy, according to a proof-of-concept clinical trial conducted in Italy.

"Our research opens a new possible application of sublingual immunotherapy, which was never proposed for hymenoptera allergy," Dr. Giovanni Passalacqua told Reuters Health.

The standard way to desensitize patients with bee sting allergy is to administer small, increasing doses of venom by subcutaneous injections. However, there is a "particular risk of systemic/severe reactions" with this approach, the research team notes in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

On the other hand, they say, "systemic side effects are rare, severe adverse events are exceptional, and the common local side effects are mild and self-limiting" with sublingual immunotherapy, or SLIT.

To evaluate SLIT's suitability for hymenoptera allergy, Passalacqua, at the University of Genoa, and his associates conducted a trial involving patients who had experienced large local reactions -- swellings of 10 centimeters or more lasting more than 24 hours -- to bee stings…

New Treatment for Bee Sting Allergy Tested

Sublingual Immunotherapy for Large Local Reactions Caused by Honeybee Sting: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 122, Issue 1, Pages 44-48 (July 2008)

Background: Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) proved effective and safe in respiratory allergy, and thus its use in hymenoptera allergy can be hypothesized.

Objective: We sought to assess, in a proof-of-concept study, whether SLIT might potentially be beneficial in hymenoptera allergy. The sting challenge in large local reactions (LLRs) was used to test this hypothesis...

Conclusion: Honeybee SLIT significantly reduced the extent of LLRs, and its safety profile was good. Although LLRs are not an indication for immunotherapy, this proof-of-concept study suggests that SLIT in hymenoptera allergy deserves further investigation. Trials involving systemic reactions and dose-ranging studies are needed.

Apitherapy Popular in Latvia

A Day in the Life of a Latvian Beekeeper
By Monika Hanley, Baltic Times, 8/27/2008

Even people who don’t insects like this one. The honey bee has had a symbiotic relationship with man for thousands of years but for Baltic people it’s very special. People like to make their own honey. Almost everybody who has lived in the region a while knows someone who keeps bees…

Alvis Gailis has been working with bees for over 20 years. “The process is really simple. You take the rack from the hive, check to see if the comb is capped, and if it is, then it’s ready,” he says.

He warms up a flat knife and cuts off the thin layer of wax capping that seals the honey in. He pops some in his mouth.

“This has many minerals and contains high amount of propolis. You chew it and it cleans out your mouth,” he says. Propolis is a waxy material that bees use as cement for repairs and maintenance on the hive.

This piece of folk medicine is taken seriously throughout Europe. Colgate even makes a propolis toothpaste.

Beekeepers in Latvia use nearly every part of the hive, including honey, propolis, wax, royal jelly and ambrosia, or bee bread. “Bees are the greatest creatures. Everything they produce is important,” says Alvis’ wife Jana…

Indeed, the uses of honey go far beyond the hive and the beekeeper. Beekeeping in Latvia has been documented since the ninth century and has been a sacred thing since the beginning. Many folk songs and sayings revolve around beekeeping and every Latvian, no matter how old, keeps the tradition alive and knows exactly which type of honey or bee byproduct is good for which ailment…

See: Natural Healers Sweet on Health Benefits of Honey

Manuka Honey Increases Wound Healing, Lowers Incidence of Infection

Manuka Honey vs. Hydrogel – A Prospective, Open Label, Multicentre, Randomised Controlled Trial to Compare Desloughing Efficacy and Healing Outcomes in Venous Ulcers
Journal of Clinical Nursing, Published Online: 25 Aug 2008

Objective. Comparison of desloughing efficacy after four weeks and healing outcomes after 12 weeks in sloughy venous leg ulcers treated with Manuka honey (Woundcare 18+) vs. standard hydrogel therapy (IntraSite Gel).

Background. Expert opinion suggests that Manuka honey is effective as a desloughing agent but clinical evidence in the form of a randomised controlled trial is not available. There is a paucity of research which uses Manuka honey in venous ulcers…

Conclusion. The WoundCare 18+ group had increased incidence of healing, effective desloughing and a lower incidence of infection than the control. Manuka honey has therapeutic value and further research is required to examine its use in other wound aetiologies.

Relevance to clinical practice. This study confirms that Manuka honey may be considered by clinicians for use in sloughy venous ulcers. Additionally, effective desloughing significantly improves healing outcomes.

Honey Popular in Traditional Chinese Medicine

A Spoonful of Honey Can Work Wonders
China View, 8/26/2008

BEIJING, Aug. 26 -- It's one of nature's healthiest foods and a favorite in traditional Chinese medicine, writes Zhang Qian

For many Chinese people, it's become a habit to add honey to milk, spread it on bread, or just simply stir some into a cup of warm water for breakfast every morning.

It's not just for the sweet taste but more for its rich nutrition and special function in traditional Chinese medicine, such as dispelling toxins and pathogenic heat, relieving pain and nourishing yin (cold) energy.

Honey, composed of various micro-elements such as vitamins, iron, calcium and copper as well as various enzymes, is a great nutritious supplement. And with about 80 percent of it easily assimilated glucose and fructose, honey is suitable for almost everyone, especially for elderly people with a weak digestive system.

Apart from its widely recognized nutritional value, honey is also Chinese people's favorite as a "neutral" food with medicinal properties. In the "Compendium of Materia Medica," the TCM classic by pharmacist Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), honey can help dispel pathogenic heat, clear away toxins, relieve pain and combat dehydration.

Eating honey often can help nourish yin energy and strengthen the spleen, resulted in clear sight and rosy cheeks. Have honey every morning can help prevent constipation and it is also a good choice for those who suffer chronic coughing…

Apitherapy Featured at Apicultural Conference in China

What: 9th Asian Apicultural Association Conference
When: 1st to 4th November 2008 in Hangzhou, China
Sponsor: Apicultural Science Association of China

Workshops on apitherapy, propolis, Asian bee diversity, and bee products safety.

Video: Why is Manuka Honey Better Than Chemical Alternatives?

Natural Healing

Honey is a natural product, which is good for both patients and nurses.

Why is Manuka honey better than chemical alternatives? What do nurses like about using Manuka honey wound dressings?

Brett Hewlett (Comvita): I think the natural sourcing has a lot of merit, a lot of credibility. Using natural products in the woundcare space is very important for a lot of clinicians because you have much lower risk of toxicology and other side effects.

If you compared this to a pharmaceutically -derived drug or an ointment or something that was being developed and put into a wound dressing, it would take a lot of trials and a lot of clinical evidence to prove that it’s not toxic to end consumers.

Julie Betts (Health Waikato): The big advantages are that you can apply it easily to a wound, and you don’t have to guess how much honey to use so the whole dressing is impregnated with honey…

New Zealand Firm Launches Honey-Based Antibacterial Patch

Honey of an Idea for Treating Wounds
By Nikki Preston, Waikato Times (New Zealand), 2/27/2008

Sugar may be a diabetic's worst enemy but honey could be their best friend, thanks to a manuka-based antibacterial patch launched in New Zealand this month.

Bay of Plenty-based honey company Comvita has spent five years developing the dressing, which contains manuka honey gelled with sodium alginate an ingredient extracted from seaweed, after buying the patent off Waikato University in 2003. The patch was developed the Honey Research Unit at Waikato University…

Peter Molan, who leads the Honey Research Unit at Waikato University, said the patch could be used to heal chronic wounds such as foot ulcers and difficult to heal wounds caused by Type II diabetes. He has also developed a rating system that shows how manuka agents are effective antibacterial substances…

See Also: Dress Your Wound with Honey and Seaweed (The Economic Times, India)

Researchers Turn Honey Into Antiseptic (University of Waikato)

Local Raw Honey Recommended for Allergies

4 Ways to Treat Allergies Using a Natural Approach
By Shari Rudavsky, The Indianapolis Star (USA) , 8/26/2008

…Allergy shots may help, but if you prefer a natural approach, you can follow these tips from Chinese medicine expert Maoshing Ni, a California practitioner and author of "Secrets of Self-Healing."…

Sweet relief: Another way to boost your immunity, Ni says, is to eat locally produced, unfiltered, unprocessed honey or bee pollen (pictured). It's important that the honey or pollen come from a local farm since the bees will have been exposed to the same pollen that bothers you, he says.

Start with a small amount, like a pinch, and slowly work your way up to a heaping teaspoon daily, Ni suggests…

German Coalition Sues Bayer Over Pesticide Honey Bee Deaths

Freiburg, Germany, August 25, 2008 (ENS) - The German organization Coalition against Bayer Dangers today brought legal action against Werner Wenning, chairman of the Bayer AG Board of Management, by filing a charge against him with the public prosecutor in Freiburg.

The group accuses Bayer CropScience of "marketing dangerous pesticides and thereby accepting the mass death of bees all over the world."

The coalition filed the charge in cooperation with German beekeepers who claim they lost thousands of hives after poisoning by the Bayer pesticide clothianidin in May…

UAE Infant Botulism Case Not Caused By Honey

Infant Botulism Type Ba: First Culture-Confirmed Case in the United Arab Emirates
Pediatric Neurology, Volume 39, Issue 3, September 2008, Pages 204-206

We report on a 3-month-old girl with culture-confirmed infant botulism caused by a rare double toxin-producing Clostridium botulinum type Ba. This case was not related to honey-feeding. The clinical course was prolonged, with minimal spontaneous improvement at onset, and a period of fluctuating motor weakness and nasogastric feeding dependence afterward. Neurophysiologic studies produced normal results. Human botulism immune globulin was administered empirically on day 23 of presentation, with rapid full recovery.

This case highlights the importance of pursuing diagnoses of infant botulism despite normal results of neurophysiologic testing and no history of honey-feeding. Our case also demonstrates a favorable response to human botulism immune globulin, despite the relatively late treatment.

Kenyan Beekeepers Produce Honey, Royal Jelly, Bee Venom

Tired of Rustling, Herders Turn to Beekeeping
By Ekwam Nabos, The Standard (Kenya), 8/25/2008

Cattle rustlers may not fear the guns of home guards who try to repel them, but they may be wary of bee stings.

That could be the wisdom behind a new project that strives to convert pastoralists in Samburu District to beekeepers.

Every year, lives are lost in cattle rustling attacks and hundreds of livestock stolen, leaving a region frustrated and fatigued by survival tactics.

But now, deep in the scrublands of Samburu, residents are slowly exploring bee-keeping as an alternative way of livelihood…

Since many locals are nomadic pastoralists, beekeepers in the semi arid area face the challenge of moving with their hives when they relocate in search of pasture.

"They put their hives on their donkeys and move with them to new destinations. But when they harvest their honey they bring it to the refinery," the manager says.

At the refinery pure honey, royal jelly, bee venom, and bee wax are produced using scientific methods…

Propolis Accelerated Healing Following Colon Surgery

Ultrastructural View of Colon Anastomosis Under Propolis Effect By Transmission Electron Microscopy
World J Gastroenterol, 2008 August;14(30):4763-4770

AIM: To evaluate the effect of propolis administration on the healing of colon anastomosis with light and transmission electron microscopes...

RESULTS: The colonic bursting pressures of the propolis group were statistically significantly better than the control group. Ultrastructural histopathological analysis of the colon anastomosis revealed that propolis accelerated the phases of the healing process and stimulated mature granulation tissue formation and collagen synthesis of fibroblasts.

CONCLUSION: Bursting pressure measurements and ultra structural histopathological evaluation showed that administration of propolis accelerated the healing of colon anastomosis following surgical excision.

Video: Demonstration of Bee Venom Therapy for Arthritis