Some edibles like acai berry juice get way more credit than deserved. I’ve been scanning studies and data on acai, and it simply does NOT live up to any hype. I would give it the same level of “antioxidant power” as a glass of apple or grape juice. And since it’s not locally grown (if you’re an American reader), it’s never really fresh. Simple fresh-squeezed apple juice would be far superior. If I’m looking at studies and I see a lot of “results are inconclusive” or “It seems to help” I disregard it. Which brings me to the real topic at hand – bee pollen.
Bee pollen is basically the crumbs that fall from a bee hive and are collected in a tray. This should not be cooked and should be purchased as locally as possible. I know some vegans and some vegetarians are firmly against eating honey. I never had a problem with this. And NOT consuming their pollen scraps is simply a wasted treasure trove of nutrition.
I found out about bee pollen by complete accident. I was browsing a used book store last week. (Every time I see a book about diet and health, it’s hard to resist buying! It’s a bit of an addiction.) As I was doing a flip through, I saw a chapter on bee pollen. And the information was quite compelling.
Honey bees live a few weeks. But a queen bee can live up to six years. The difference between the two is the queen lives on a diet of royal jelly, made from this miraculous bee pollen. Honey bees eat, well, honey. Talk about a statement for eating a healthy diet.
Some quotes from this book (which I recommend buying) called How To Fight Cancer And Win, by William L. Fisher.
“Professor Dr. Nikolai V. Tsitsin, Russian botanist and biologist, investigated the lifestyle of the centenarians past 125 years of age living in the Caucasus Mountains of upper Russia. He reported that many were beekeepers and that the villagers all ate the sticky residue found on the bottom of the hives as one of their principal foods. On analyzing this mass, Tsitsin found it to be almost pure bee pollen. After intensive research, he determined that including bee pollen in their regular diet was responsible in a large part for the incredible age these people attained. Tsitsin was also impressed with the quality of their lives in that all these people were actively working and in singularly good health in spite of their advanced age.”
125 years old! AMAZING. And they aren’t sitting around in nursing homes either. Imagine adding 45 years to your average lifespan.
-Dr. William Robinson says bee pollen contains an active anticancer element that has the power to slow the development of mammary tumors. “Tumor growth increased in subjects in the control group not given it,” he says.
-Test on rabbits show a 67% reduction in cholesterol, with liver cholesterol reduced by 45%. (I would highly recommend a bee pollen regiment for anyone with a liver condition such as Hepatitis.)
-Prostate health – German/Swiss team says bee pollen keeps men from needing surgery. I’m all for non-invasive prevention.
-British scientist Dr. G.J. Binding - “Bee pollen provides an increased resistance to infection. It is a giant germ killer in whose presence bacteria simply cannot exist.”
That’s a powerful statement.
Olympic and world-class athletes use it as a way to significantly improve performance.
And some online quotes worth mentioning:
A whole bunch of bee pollen kudos here: Bee pollen helps to overcome retardation and other developmental problems in children. Mentally retarded children often respond to doses of bee pollen and glutamic acid.
You read that right. Eat bee pollen, don’t get cancer. Have Hodgkin’s disease, get cured. Would you rather eat bee pollen in a smoothie, or go through chemotherapy and surgery?
If you are curious about whether bee pollen can assist with a specific disease, I recommend Googling. There does seem to be a plethora of information on the topic out there.
October 9, 2009 at 2:56 am
GOT to get me some o that!
And a hive of my own!
deb
December 31, 2009 at 6:52 am
Having been hit by lymphoma, this was good to see. Thanks for this.
December 31, 2009 at 8:56 am
Actually, I did not like at first but got used of it and love it with my raw vegan smoothies.
Thank you for your article very interesting!
January 29, 2010 at 8:02 am
very interesting. great to know that bee pollen is okay for vegans. never knew this. someone said that vivapura jarrah is the best brand. what is your fav?
February 15, 2010 at 5:16 am
I definitely take bee pollen every morning, especially since I became vegetarian. It’s a great way to start your day with incredible energy. My friend says she never gets sick from taking it.
February 15, 2010 at 5:34 am
Every vegan is different. Some might hairsplit this, and consider it from an animal. I see it more as leftover scraps. I buy it at my local healthfood store. It’s not a brand or anything. Some guy keeps bees and he sells the bee pollen.
February 16, 2011 at 5:41 am
A friend is selling local bee pollen and I’m buying my first batch tomorrow. I have stage 4 Appendix cancer and have exhausted all other options. 15 rounds of chemo, 7 surgeries, hundreds of needle sticks and more CT scans than I can count.
My cancer has been unresponsive to all treatment. So now I’m part of a clinical trial for a cancer vaccine that is supposed to re-train my immune system to attack the cancer cells. I want to help it along as much as possible with a healthy diet and supplements- I’m hoping to add Bee Pollen to the mix. Here’s to a miracle!
February 16, 2011 at 5:56 am
I also recommend you read The China Study so you can get a feel for the types of foods you shouldn’t go near. Don’t give up, keep trying new things. I’ve used natural remedies to cure many thing. They don’t all work but if you’re persistent, you can find what DOES work. Research is key.
June 25, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Bee pollen is certainly not vegan. And claims about its health benefits for humans are dubious, at best.
June 25, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Why do so many vegans have to have such an attitude? It’s 100% vegan. It falls off of bees. No one KILLS a bee. No actual bees are eaten. No bees die. It’s harvested by trays underneath hives. This is NOT the same as putting a bullet in a cow’s head to make a hamburger. This website is NOT about mainstream ANYTHING. Because MAINSTREAM is what makes people fat, sick, unhealthy and full of diseases. This is NOT about the “science” and data provided by pharmaceutical companies or government agencies manipulated by lobbyists. If you’re such a know-it-all, you’ll know that’s all rigged for bottom line profit.
February 22, 2012 at 5:05 am
I have stage 4 Melanoma and I am no vegan but looking for alternate cancer fighting foods. I am on the bee pollen and Goji Juice…brilliant also!
Immunity Immunity Immunity…let’s have it!
February 22, 2012 at 5:15 am
Lynne Mctaggart has a really good book on health that doesn’t require a vegan diet. When all else fails, a good fasting routine.
March 19, 2012 at 5:28 pm
I’m an ethical vegan and, while I eat bee pollen because it comes from flowers, it’s only transported by bees, and it’s the “left over” that falls off the beehive, i don’t eat honey. Honey, you said it yourself, is the #1 food for the bees, the one on which they thrive. In the honey industry, honey is for human pleasure, and the bees are fed a mixture of different sugars, molasses especially. We don’t know exactly why bees are dying and disappearing at such an alarming speed, but I suspect they are not as healthy when they don’t eat what they were meant to eat. This is why I will never consume honey. We have so many plant based sweeteners ( staevia, agave, maple syrup, brown rice and malt syrup), that we don’t have to steal the bee’s honey in order to live a happy sweet life!