#10: The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth

00Angela00

This is day ten of our education of the 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. Woo Hoo! Some of these you won't be surprised by, some you will. I'll take one out of each food group each day to mix it up a bit.

All information is from the book by jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth".

Day 10: Bee Pollen, Propolis, and Royal Jelly

Advocates of bee pollen can be their own worst enemies, claiming that bee pollen can cure everything from cancer to hangnails. But inflated claims aside, a significant body of literature shows that bee products—particularly propolis—do have significant and documented health benefits that help explain why they have been a staple in folk medicine and healing traditions for more than 2,000 years.
Bee pollen is a phenomenally nutritious and well-balanced food that can be consumed by people and domestic animals. It’s been called nature’s perfect food because it is loaded with vitamins and contains almost all known minerals, trace elements, enzymes, and amino acids. (It actually has more amino acids and vitamins than any other amino acid—containing product like beef, eggs, or cheese.)

•Because bee pollen captures the essence of every plant from which it collects pollen it contains a ton of stuff:

•bee pollen contains eighteen amino acids

•Ten types of enzymes, coenzymes and many other nutritional factors

•Contains flavonoids that have significant antioxidant properties

•Contains hard-to-get trace minerals

•One of the nonmeat sources of vitamin B12

BEE PROPOLIS

•Fights infection

•Anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal effect, and immunomodulatory

•Markedly inhibit the metastatic and invasive capacity of malignant cells

•The anti-inflammatory activities of propolis might make it a novel therapeutic agent for asthma

•Propolis stimulates antibody production, perhaps accounting for its reputation as an immune-system enhancer
ROYAL JELLY

•Royal jelly is a special creamy substance secreted from the nurse worker bees that stimulate the growth and development of the queen bee; without it, she’d just b e a regular old worker bee. When eggs turn into larvae, all baby bees eat this special food for only two or three days and quickly develop into large and healthy bees. But the queen continues to eat this food for the rest of her life, with the results that she grows 40 to 60 percent larger and lives about four to six years, while the worker bees live only about six weeks. These facts may account for the anecdotal reputation of royal jelly as an amazing antiaging substance that can foster health and extend life.

•I’m less enthused about royal jelly than I am about propolis and bee pollen, though it is a concentrated source of nutrition.

•Has the appealing property of being a creamy emulsion that is strongly antibacterial, which makes it an ideal component of cosmetics and skin care products.

•Internal uses are less promising as the antibacterial activities disappear when the pH is raised to above 6 by the natural buffering systems in the body

•One study did show that royal jelly at approximately 50-100mg per day reduced total serum cholesterol and serum lipid levels

•Still greatly nutritious food—contains all the B-complex vitamins, including a high concentration of B5—plus minerals, vitamins A, C, D, and E, eighteen amino acids, enzymes and hormones

WORTH KNOWING
Bee pollen has been touted by enthusiasts for its supposed ability to significantly enhance athletic performance and stamina. There’s no real evidence for this at all. But it may improve recovery time and prevent illness. In one study, the number of missed training days due to colds and upper respiratory infections was reduced in adolescent swimmers who took bee pollen
Note: Allergic reactions to bee pollen have been reported. All bee products are contraindicated in anyone allergic or hypersensitive to pollens.

day one: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57017--1-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day two: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57180--2-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day three: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57278--3-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day four: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57482--4-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day five: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57516--5-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day six: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57602--6-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day seven: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57689--7-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day eight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57791--8-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day nine: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57940--9-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

jb_sweet_99

Just a note to add, I am very allergic to bees and when I spoke to someone in the health food store abuot Bee products they advised me not to use these if allergic to bees at all. He said that it can cause you to have a severe reaction. To test it he put a bag of the bee pollen granules in my hands, had me put my feet together and stand with my eyes closed, I almost fell over!
Anyway, I just wanted to put this out as a warning to those who are allergic and may have been thinking of trying it as I was. Unfortunately we need to find something else.
Thanks again for the posts Angela! :flowerforyou:

00Angela00

Just a note to add, I am very allergic to bees and when I spoke to someone in the health food store abuot Bee products they advised me not to use these if allergic to bees at all. He said that it can cause you to have a severe reaction. To test it he put a bag of the bee pollen granules in my hands, had me put my feet together and stand with my eyes closed, I almost fell over!
Anyway, I just wanted to put this out as a warning to those who are allergic and may have been thinking of trying it as I was. Unfortunately we need to find something else.
Thanks again for the posts Angela! :flowerforyou:

Ooo good post, very important to know! Thanks!

LuckyLeprechaun

hey I am intrigued... what is this stuff? of course I have heard of honey... what's bee pollen? what's propolis?

00Angela00

hey I am intrigued... what is this stuff? of course I have heard of honey... what's bee pollen? what's propolis?

I googled these, don't know if they're the best ways to use it ~
For Bee pollen:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2166560_use-bee-pollen-increase-energy.html

Take 1 teaspoon of bee pollen a half an hour before breakfast, followed by plenty of purified drinking water. After several days, you can increase the dosage to 2 teaspoons. Bee pollen is rich in nutrients, trace elements, amino acids and vitamins, particularly B vitamins known worldwide for their positive effect on energy levels. As far back as ancient Greece, there are reports of athletes that used bee pollen for increased endurance.

Step 2Take your favorite B complex vitamin with meals each day. With the addition of bee pollen and a B complex vitamin, you can expect to feel increased energy levels in an early as the first day on your regimen. Both together act directly on brain fatigue, so people that sit in front of the computer all day or work under demanding conditions will especially benefit from this treatment.

Step 3Try to drink a gallon of purified drinking water over the course of a day. Water increases circulation of vitamins and minerals and everything that you put into your system, allowing the nutrients to work their magic inside of you.

Step 4Start your day with 15 minutes of relaxation and deep breathing exercises. Put in your favorite tape or watch a piece of your favorite yoga or relaxation video before you head out to work each day. Relaxation exercises decrease your stress levels, and stress is a key culprit responsible for robbing your energy supply.

for Bee Propolis:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2330233_use-bee-propolis-improve-health.html

1Treat minor burns with bee propolis. Studies conducted at the University of Texas School of Medicine revealed that is is more effective than treatment with silver sulfadiazene. Burns treated with bee propolis showed less inflammation and a reduced healing time. For this type of treatment a 5 percent propolis ointment is recommended.

Step 2Take a dose of 250 mg capsule by mouth 3 times each day for 3 days to treat urinary infections, as bee propolis has anti-bacterial properties.

Step 3Swish your mouth out once or twice daily for about 60 seconds with 10 milliliters of 0.2% to 10% propolis ethanol extract mouthwash. This will reduce dental plaque.

Step 4Examine the content of bee propolis carefully as the composition of propolis products can vary widely. Typically it is comprised of 60 percent resins, 20 percent beeswax, 10 percent essential oils, 5 percent pollen and 5 percent organic or mineral substances. Propolis is available as a liquid extract as well as capsule and tablet forms. Select a supplement that does not contain fillers such as sugar, starch, gluten or any artificial flavors or colorings.

Step 5Obtain your bee propolis supplement from a reliable health source. The recommended dosage is 500 mg once or twice each day. Propolis is suitable for children at half the adult recommended dosage.

Step 6Learn about side effects and warnings. The most common side effects when using bee propolis are allergic reactions which can range from mild upset stomach to athsma, anaphylaxis and even death for people who are extremely allergic to bee products. If you are allergic to bee pollen, honey or poplar or conifer trees you are at risk of a severe allergic reaction and should not use bee propolis. The effects of propolis during pregnancy and nursing is not yet known so it should be avoided during these times.

JoyousMaximus

I have to admit. I am a little concerned about this one. When I did research about it I found two types of articles: people selling it and doctors saying there is no scientific evidence supporting the claims made by advocates. One site was rather emphatically against the use of it as it can cause fatal allergic reactions.

Don't take this to mean that I think you shouldn't try it but you may want to research it more especially if you have any type of pollen allergies.

Here are some of the websites I found. The one at the end is pro-pollen but I am concerned about the lack of citation:
http://longevity.about.com/od/antiagingfoods/a/bee_pollen.htm
http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69132.cfm
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/bee.html
http://www.alternativescentral.com/beepollen.htm

00Angela00

I have to admit. I am a little concerned about this one. When I did research about it I found two types of articles: people selling it and doctors saying there is no scientific evidence supporting the claims made by advocates. One site was rather emphatically against the use of it as it can cause fatal allergic reactions.

Don't take this to mean that I think you shouldn't try it but you may want to research it more especially if you have any type of pollen allergies.

Here are some of the websites I found. The one at the end is pro-pollen but I am concerned about the lack of citation:
http://longevity.about.com/od/antiagingfoods/a/bee_pollen.htm
http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69132.cfm
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/bee.html
http://www.alternativescentral.com/beepollen.htm

totally agree, even the book questioned some things that people claim that it does. I would suggest before taking it as a supplement, etc to check with your physician first!