Whoever came up with the expression "busy as a bee" sure knew what they were talking about. This amazing insect makes an average of 10 pollen runs a day, flying from hive to flower and flower to hive as it gathers its bounty. In good weather, the combined efforts of a colony of worker bees can result in as many as 54,000 pollen loads a day. Bee pollen is the male reproductive part of a flower that the worker bees collect. They pack the microscopically fine powder into granules by adding nectar or honey from their honey sacs, then they take it back to the hive, where they add an enzyme to prevent germination and metabolize it for food.
Pollen supplies all the nutrients a bee needs for growth and development. Without an adequate supply of pollen, a colony of bees would perish. Its nutrient content is about 24 percent protein, 27 percent carbohydrates (mainly the natural sugars fructose and glucose), and about 5 percent fat. It contains many minerals, including remarkably high levels of iron, zinc, manganese, and copper as well as potassium, calcium, and magnesium. It’s also rich in most of the B vitamins and carotenes, the precursors of vitamin A.
The question is whether what’s good for bees is also good for humans. Despite a glaring lack of scientific evidence, many people take bee pollen supplements for a range of health problems, including allergies, low energy, and prostate disease. It’s also used to combat aging, indigestion, sore throat, acne, sexual problems, fatigue, and depression.
The Buzz about It
Bee pollen does appear to be helpful for some people with allergies, says Theodore Cherbuliez, M.D., a physician in Scarsdale, New York, and president of the American Apitherapy Society, a nonprofit organization that advances the investigation of the healing use of products from the beehive. But why would something like pollen, which causes allergies in some people, be used to treat those very same allergies? The reasoning is similar to what’s used for immunization: Take a small dose of what ails you, and your body builds up its defenses to fight it off.
There are two types of pollen, says Dr. Cherbuliez: pollen carried by the wind, and pollen carried by insects. "If you take small doses of pollen carried by insects—for example, bee pollen—it builds up your immunity and protects you from having a reaction when you breathe airborne pollen," he says.
Anyone who takes bee pollen should do so with caution, because it can cause adverse allergic reactions in some people. In rare cases, it can cause a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction in which the throat swells shut and inhibits breathing. Do not take bee pollen if you have a history of anaphylactic reactions, says Steve Nenninger, N.D., a naturopathic doctor in New York City.
SUPPLEMENTSNAPSHOT
| Bee Pollen May help: Allergies, asthma, indigestion, sore throat, acne, sexual problems, fatigue, and depression. May increase energy and stamina, promote prostate health, and possibly slow aging. Special instructions: Take with meals. Begin with three pollen granules (they’re small, but you can separate them with your fingernail) and double the dose each day until you’re taking a teaspoon. If you have no adverse reaction, you can take pollen in other forms—capsules, tablets, powder, or liquid. Cautions and possible side effects: Rarely, may cause life-threatening anaphylactic shock in sensitive people; do not take if you have a history of anaphylactic reactions. May cause stomach pain, diarrhea, irritation and itching in the mouth and throat, and less commonly, headache, fatigue, asthma attacks and general feelings of poor health. If you have asthma or diabetes, check with your doctor before taking. Bee pollen contains allergens that can worsen asthma, and it contains natural sugars. |
Another reason that people take bee pollen supplements is to improve physical stamina. In fact, both ancient and modern Olympians have used it for energy, says Dr. Nenninger.
Collecting Pollen
Bee pollen supplements are available as capsules, tablets, granules, powder, and liquids. Extracts of bee pollen are also ingredients in facial and hand creams and lotions. Look for supplements free of preservatives, artificial colors, and artificial flavors, says Dr. Nenninger.
Dr. Cherbuliez, who has kept up to 30 hives of his own, prefers granules over other commercial preparations because they are closest to the original product from the hive. "As with all natural products, I believe that the less you touch it, the less you damage it. That’s why I steer clear of pollen that has been pressed into tablets or otherwise modified or mixed with things like honey," he says.
If you decide to buy pollen granules, select the ones with the widest range of colors, which reflects a variety of plant sources and therefore nutrients.
Because bee pollen is not readily digestible, Dr. Cherbuliez suggests soaking pollen granules for 12 hours in water or orange juice to "crack" the shells of the individual grains of pollen. Without soaking, only 2 to 7 percent of the pollen is absorbed by the digestive system, he says. After soaking, as much as 90 percent may be absorbed.
Whatever form you prefer, Dr. Cherbuliez suggests contacting the producer to make sure that the pollen comes from healthy, unstressed colonies that are located away from fields contaminated with pesticides. Beekeepers typically collect pollen by setting traps outside the colony to remove some of the pollen from the hind legs of the worker bees. Then debris, insect fragments, and floral parts are manually removed before the pollen is made available for human consumption.
Some commercial supplements contain pollen collected directly from flowers, so check the label before you buy the product to make sure that you are getting bee pollen.
