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Bee Healthy, Bee Happy – And Feel Super!

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If you were stuck on a desert island with only one thing to eat, which food would you chose? Chocolate? Nah, sorry. Corn? Doubtful. Brown rice? Maybe. While brown rice is thought to contain the perfect balance of acidity and alkalinity, it might have what you need to survive, but you sure wouldn’t thrive on brown rice alone. So what food do you think you could survive and flourish with, on our imaginary desert island?

Well, the answer might surprise you, but it’s bee pollen. Bee pollen has been shown to be one of nature’s most completely nourishing foods. Bee pollen is a “superfood” and contains nearly all the nutrients required by the human body. Bee pollen can give your energy level a super boost too! About half of the protein in bee pollen is in the form of free amino acids, ready to be used immediately and directly by the body. Bee pollen is the food of the young bee and it is approximately 40% protein.

All of the essential components of life are contained in humble bee pollen. These rejuvenating, health-building elements remarkably exceed the elements contained in brewer’s yeast or in wheat germ. Bee pollen corrects unbalanced nutrition, common in so many of our modern-day diets. Bee pollen is considered an energy and nutritive tonic in many cultures throughout the world. Bee pollen has an amazing number of health applications including improving endurance and vitality, extending longevity, aiding recovery from chronic illness, adding weight during convalescence, reducing cravings and addictions, regulating the intestines, building new blood, preventing infectious diseases such as colds and flu, and helping to overcome developmental problems in children. Bee pollen is a natural anti-biotic, and it is thought to help protect against radiation and to have anti-cancer qualities.

Bee pollen contains all the nutrients necessary to sustain life. Bee-gathered pollens are rich in proteins, free amino acids, vitamins, including B-complex, and folic acid. Bee pollen is truly an amazingly complete food, and it contains many elements that animal products do not possess. Bee pollen is richer in proteins than any animal source. It contains more amino acids than beef, eggs, or cheese of equal weight.
According to researchers at the Institute of Apiculture in Russia, “Honeybee pollen is the richest source of vitamins found in nature in a single food. Even if bee pollen had none of its other vital ingredients, its content of rutin alone would justify taking at least a teaspoon daily, if for no other reason than strengthening the capillaries. Pollen is extremely rich in rutin and may have the highest content of any source, plus it provides a high content of the nuclei’s RNA [ribonucleic acid] and DNA [deoxyribonucleic acid].”

Farmer’s markets that carry honey and bee products often sell fresh bee pollen. You can simply swallow it with water or juice, or you can add it to smoothies, or muffins and sweet breads, or top off your morning cereal with it. It tastes sweet, kind of like crunchy honey. Many people take a spoonful of bee pollen mid-morning and mid-afternoon to naturally and safely balance their blood sugar levels.

So what do carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, pumpkins, onions, apples, squash, blueberries, avocados, cherries and almonds all have in common? None of these delicious and vital sources of vitamins and minerals can grow without the pollinating help of honeybees. Without these hardworking honeybees, none of these fruits and vegetables, or any flowering plants, would be able to survive. We rely on the efforts of healthy honeybees every day of our lives.

The awareness of the health properties of bee pollen seems to be increasing; however, beekeepers have been reporting the strange disappearance of bee colonies over the last few years. It seems that seemingly healthy bees were simply abandoning their hives en masse, never to return. Researchers are calling the mass disappearance Colony Collapse Disorder, and estimate that nearly one-third of all honeybee colonies in the country have vanished.

While scientists have not determined the exact cause of this phenomenon, they do believe a combination of factors could be making bees sick, including pesticide exposure, an inadequate food supply, and a new virus that targets bees’ immune systems. While more research is needed to determine the exact cause of this problem, the Natural Resources Defense Council has a few tips to share that can help the bees, and help humans, since our food source relies on healthy bees.

Bee Friendly, Bee Safe:  Here’s How

Bees play a central role in our food supply. Congress has held hearings on the issue of vanishing honeybees, but needs to take quick action to support further scientific research into Colony Collapse Disorder, and help beekeepers affected by the disorder to revive their hives so our crops can keep growing. You can help keep bees healthy by making your yard and garden colorful, diverse and pesticide free. Here are some tips on how you can Bee Safe:

• Bee Native: Use local and native plants in your yard and garden. These plants thrive easily and are well suited for local bee populations, providing pollen and nectar for bees to eat.
• Bee Diverse: Plant lots of different kinds of plants in your yard. Plant diversity ensures that your garden attracts many different varieties of bees and gives them a range of flowering plants to choose from throughout the year. Make sure your yard plants vary in:
  • Color: Bees have good vision and are attracted to several different colors of flowers.
  • Shape: Different species of bees are better suited for different shapes of flowers. Give your bees some variety!
  • Flowering times: Having a sequence of plant species that flower throughout the year helps sustain the food supply and attract different species of bees.
• Bee Open to Pollen: Pollen is bee food. Genetically engineered pollen-free plants trick bees into thinking they’ll find food, and then leave them hungry. (Don’t worry; flower pollen isn’t a big contributor to most people’s allergies.)
• Bee Pesticide Wary: There are many natural methods to control pests in your garden. Researchers believe pesticides are a contributing factor to Colony Collapse Disorder. Moreover, some insecticides are harmful to bees and wipe out flowers that provide bees with food. If you must, use targeted pesticides and spray at night — when bees are not active — on dry days.

Fortunately, we don’t have to rely on one type of food to survive… but if we did, bee pollen would bee a good choice.