https://worldbeeday.org/en/did-you-know/92-honey-and-other-bee-products.html
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Bees and their pollination services contribute to maintaining biological balance in nature and enable various animal and plant species, including humans, to thrive. They also provide bee products that are an entirely natural food source. People have used them since time immemorial, and they are a particularly suitable source of food in today's increasingly faster pace of life.
Alongside honey, which is certainly the most widespread bee product, bees also provide us with pollen, propolis, royal jelly and wax. Bee venom is another product from which people can benefit.
HONEY – a sweetener rich in bioactive substances
For millennia, honey was only considered a sweetener, whereas today we know that it contains many other substances that are beneficial for people. It is an excellent nutrient and calmative. Owing to its antibacterial and antioxidant properties, it is widely used in folk medicine.
Suitable storage is important
Honey does not require additional processing and a beekeeper does not add anything to nor take anything away from it. While mature honey loses some of its nutritional value, it still remains a superior sweetener for many decades, especially compared to plain sugar.
How quickly bioactive substances are lost depends on the temperature and other storage conditions. If honey is stored at room temperature, it remains unspoiled for at least two years, and even longer if stored under different conditions. Honey is best stored in dry, cool and dark spaces.
Crystallization does not affect quality
Sooner or later honey crystallizes. If this happens, no need to worry. This only means that you can be sure that you bought quality, natural honey. The crystallization of honey is an entirely natural process that does not cause any chemical changes in the honey and does not affect its quality.
Because overheating harms biologically active substances in honey, you should not add it to tea until the tea cools down a little.
Crystallized or set honey can be liquefied in a water bath; the temperature, however, must not exceed 40 °C. If honey is overheated, biologically active substances are lost. It can be added to various baked or cooked dishes (sauces, vegetables, meats), usually to infuse them with its special aroma.
Ways of consuming honey
We can mix honey into different drinks or foods, for example tea, milk, cakes, yoghurt, sour milk or natural juices. We can also sweeten Turkish coffee with it instead of using sugar. Honey can fully replace consumer sugar in our diet.
POLLEN – a good source of proteins and vitamins
Pollen is extremely rich in protein. It contains all the essential amino acids, various fatty acids, vitamins B, C, D, E and K, and provitamin A.
Bees get covered in pollen as they collect nectar from plants, then they enrich it with different ferments, hormones and antibiotic substances, and deposit it in honeycomb cells. If we extract these balls of pollen out from inside a honeycomb cell, we get extracted honeycomb pollen or bee bread. If we install a pollen trap at the entrance to the hive, we get trapped fresh pollen. When bees try to squeeze through the wire of a pollen trap, pollen loads fall off their hind legs.
It is recommended to soak pollen before ingesting it
A few hours prior to ingestion we soak pollen in a glass of water in order that the pollen grains swell up and dissolve. This way pollen is more easily digestible and, at the same time, substances beneficial for the organism are absorbed directly into the bloodstream. We can also dissolve pollen in juice or other liquids and it is also recommended to ingest it with yoghurt or fruit.
Pollen can cause allergies in some people. If you are not sure whether pollen is harmful to you, just ingest a very small amount, i.e. equal to a knife tip the first time out!
We can also ingest it in dry form, without soaking it, but we must chew it thoroughly in order for it to mix with the saliva, then wash it down with a liquid.
The best way of storing bee pollen is freezing
It is crucial that pollen remains as fresh as possible and that it is correctly stored. It is recommended to store it in the freezer, since this preserves the largest amount of beneficial substances. Dry pollen should be stored in dark packaging and in a cool space.
ROYAL JELLY – an excellent dietary supplement for the elderly
Royal jelly is secreted by the glands of young worker bees. Nurse bees feed the jelly to the larvae, which are up to three days old, whereas queen bees live exclusively on it. It is this distinctive food that decides whether a worker or a queen bee will hatch from the larva.
When the honeycomb cells contain the largest amounts of royal jelly, beekeepers harvest it. Production of extensive amounts of royal jelly is, however, very demanding.
Royal jelly improves general wellbeing and brain function
Because it alleviates conditions and inconveniences related to ageing, which, among other things, are connected to a deficient diet, it has proven to be an excellent dietary supplement particularly for the elderly.
Royal jelly improves general wellbeing and brain function and promotes the healthy functioning of glands.
We ingest it in small quantities, either fresh or in natural form, or in the form of various preparations. We can mix it with honey, pollen, wax or propolis.
PROPOLIS – natural antibiotic
Propolis in particular is the beehive’s very special treasure, because it is a natural antibiotic . Bees collect resin from a variety of trees and shrubs and blend it with pollen pellets while feeding larvae. Over 360 substances have already been found in it.
Bees coat the inside of the hive with propolis, thus protecting it from moisture, wind and microbes.
We can use it in the form of alcohol- or water-based solutions or mix it with honey or other drinks (yoghurt, sour milk, tea etc.). We know of various pharmaceutical preparations made with propolis, such as ointments, tablets, injections and solutions that can be used topically.
WAX – for softer and younger looking skin
Wax is produced by the glands of worker bees, which they need to build the honeycomb and to seal the top of honey-filled cells.
Chewing vitamin-fortified candy from honey and wax is a fabulous substitute for chewing gum!
Beeswax contains over 300 natural compounds, among which the main component is fatty-acid esters. Fresh wax is almost pure white, whereas later it turns a yellowish brown colour. It has a pleasant scent reminiscent of honey, propolis and pollen.
The cosmetics industry loves it
Wax is often added to creams because it makes skin soft and supple and has antibiotic properties.
The chewing of capping, i.e. the wax covering over honey, is well known, while thermal therapies using beeswax, which are usually carried taken straight after a massage or physiotherapy, are also becoming popular of late.
BEE VENOM – an indispensable ingredient used to desensitise against bee stings
Most people also know bees for their sting. Bees, however, need a very good reason to sting. If you encounter bees in nature, they will only sting if their life is seriously threatened.
But in front of a beehive, a different story holds true. There, guard bees diligently perform their duty of guarding the entrance to their home, which not only hosts larvae but also plentiful reserves of honey and pollen. We should therefore never come too close to apiaries or stand in front of hives.
If we are stung by a bee it is completely normal to have some kind of reaction. In the case of an allergic reaction, however, we should seek medical assistance.
In medicine, bee venom is used to desensitise people allergic to bee venom. Around the world, bee venom is also used to heal various conditions and illnesses, but such treatment is only possible under medical supervision.
Lately, bee venom is becoming increasingly popular in cosmetics industry. It is added to creams and serums, since it is supposed to be a natural substitute for Botox.
