When I read in the stylist that “bee
pollen” was taken by the likes of Victoria Beckham, intrigued, I set out to
find a little more information about this. If the celebs are at it, it is
usually a great beauty product, health wonder or anti-ager!
After some digging around, turns out
that actually it is a superfood and
not just weird celebrity fad.
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| super powered bees! |
Why is it a superfood?
One of the most interesting facts about bee pollen is that it cannot be created in a lab. This is nature showing us that natural wins over manmade! It is as if the bees add some mysterious "extra" magic of their own.
Bee pollen is approximately 40% protein and is considered one of nature's most completely nourishing foods. It contains nearly all nutrients required by humans and has an antibiotic type properties. It also contains free amino acids, vitamins, including B-complex, and folic acid.
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| Green Organics bee pollen |
Cultures throughout the world know the powerful benefits of bee pollen and its uses range from
- improving endurance and vitality
- extending longevity
- aiding recovery from chronic illness
- reducing cravings and addictions
- regulating the intestines
- preventing infectious diseases such as the cold and flu
What
is bee pollen?
Ok I suppose this is pretty obvious to answer
but I wanted a more scientific answer.
Bee pollen is the food
of the young bee, with pollen being
the male seed of flowers, required for the fertilization of the
plant.
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| works well with cocoa nibs for added crunch! |
Gathering pollen is not as easy as it sounds. Once a honeybee
arrives at a flower, she settles herself in and scrapes off the powdery loose
pollen from the stamen with her jaws and front legs, moistening it with a dab
of the honey she brought with her from the hive.
The enlarged and broadened tarsal segments of her legs have a
thick trimming of bristles, called pollen
combs. The bee uses these combs to brush the powder from her coat and legs
in mid-flight. With a pressing movement of her auricle, which is used as a
hammer, she pushes the gathered gold into her baskets. Her pollen baskets,
surrounded by a fringe of long hairs, are simply concave areas located on the
outside of her tibias. When the bee's baskets are fully loaded, the microscopic
golden dust is tamped down into a single golden grain, or granule.
Voila! Bee pollen!
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| just sprinkle on top! |
Expensive?
I paid about £8 for my bag from online
health store Green Organics, and although
it is a light bag, you only use a little sprinkle at a time, so I see this
lasting a little while.
Articles on the internet often highlight
that a one teaspoon dose of pollen takes one bee
working eight hours a day for one month to gather, so when you put it like
that, I see why some bags of bee pollen are quite pricey.
How to consume
If you eat the bee
pollen straight out the bag it is pretty bitter, but is quite tasteless when
sprinkled on something tasty, such as a smoothie or salad. It goes a bit harder
when cold, so have found I prefer it on ice cold protein shakes and fresh
smoothies.
Has anyone else used bee pollen?
X x X
Ps, if you have a hay fever pollen
allergy, I would do an allergy test on this before consuming, just in case
references
http://www.mercola.com/article/diet/bee_pollen.htm
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