Beekeeping and the Healthful Benefits of Bee Pollen

Yesterday, I met a local beekeeper. He owns 150 hives, 20 of which are on his own property. Mr. Bradfield provides organic raw honey and bee pollen from his hives and I have to say the honey is absolutely wonderful. Now he's "turned me on" to the benefits of Honeybee Pollen as food.

For years I've read and heard, just as you have, of the health benefits to be derived from honey, royal jelly and propolis extract. Eating Bee Pollen was a new concept for me. Turns out that the benefits of eating Honeybee Pollen include natural weight control, increasing vital oxygen-carrying red blood cells up to 25% boosting the blood's nutrient delivery to the cells, skin restorative powers for both aging and acne-prone skin and the reduction of wrinkles and age spots. Hey, I'm a girl and I'm definitely "up" for all that!

Mr. Bradfield explained that the bees don't eat simply the honey they produce but eat the bee pollen they "process" together with the honey instead. The traps he uses to collect the pollen can only be left in place for a short time to prevent the bees from starving.

So what is Honeybee Pollen and how is it made? Glad you asked because I find it absolutely fascinating! Besides collecting nectar from flowers, bees select only those pollens that contain the greatest amounts of protein and other nutrients. The bees mix these pollens with nectar and some of the bee's own secretions and take them to their hives for food. This "mix" of the nectar and the bee's secretions is honey.

Honeybee Pollen looks like tiny roundish grains almost like seeds and they vary in color from yellow to tan to orange to brown depending on the plants from which it comes. Some bee pollen has a slightly sweet and nut-like flavor. Some is bitter. I was fortunate in that the batch I bought yesterday falls in the sweet, nut-like category. That certainly pleases me!

Bee Pollen contains differing amounts of nutrients depending on its source. This is a very good reason to buy it from a beekeeper who controls where his hives are located.

Typical Nutrient Profile of Honeybee Pollen

Typically, Bee Pollen contains eight essential amino acids and ten other amino acids. In addition, the typical composition of nutrients would include Vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B6, B12, Biotin, Folic Acid, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Potassium, Selenium and Sodium. Of course, this got me to thinking about eating the natural, organic raw pollen rather than taking the plethora of supplements I ingest on a daily basis. The food composition is 22% Protein, 7.6% total Fiber, 9% Fat and 51.8% Carbohydrates. Some pretty healthy-looking stuff, huh? I thought so. So, starting today, I began taking 1 teaspoon each morning in my protein drink. I'll let you know what benefits I see as I go.
~ Ari




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