How To Use Bee Pollen For Allergies
Start with a little amount every day and progressively increase the amount to 1-3 tablespoons at the end of four weeks. The majority of the time, I have a scoop with my breakfast or mix it into my morning smoothie recipe. It is preferable to take it with meals, particularly fruit. The fibres in the fruit will help to activate the pollen more quickly while also cleansing your gut at the same time. When it comes to the severity of allergies, the health of the gut and the health of the immune system are intimately related.
If you suspect that you may be allergic to pollen or that you have a history of hay fever, you should do this easy test. Place a few grains in your mouth and hold them there for around 2 minutes. Even if you do not feel any symptoms , chew gently and thoroughly before swallowing. Wait another 24 hours and keep an eye out for any signs in your body. If you are not experiencing any, gradually increase the dosage as described above.
Can Help Fight Allergies
I have raw honey on hand to help with seasonal allergies because its thought to help the immune system by exposing it to local pollen. Bee pollen is another bee product that can help with allergies. Researchers concluded in 2008 that bee pollen can inhibit the activation of mast cells, which play a role in allergic reactions.
How To Consume Bee Pollen For Health Benefits
Bee pollen is the primary source of food for the hive. Bee pollen is added to food or drink for humans, such as a salad topping or a smoothie to prevent seasonal allergies and its many health benefits. This includes possible liver health, an immune system boost, and metabolism improvements. While its effectiveness for allergies varies or may not be large, taking bee pollen can be worth it when also looking to reap the other health benefits it may provide.
Coverly says the taste of bee pollen depends on the flowers it comes from. This could be tasteless, bitter, or sweet. You are getting a mixture of all the flowers that are blooming at that time, he adds.
This beekeeper of close to 30 years isnt a fan of the taste. But, he does mix it with yogurt or ice cream for its health benefits. Along with being a smoothie bowl topping as seen in trendy recipes, the bee pollen can also be added to water to help with seasonal allergies.
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Here Are Some Examples Of How People Misuse Bee Pollen:
I take one teaspoon of bee pollen, chew it and swallow it.
I put one teaspoon of bee pollen in the glass of water, add some sugar or honey to make it sweet and drink it.
I grind bee pollen and that way I get pollen powder which more suitable for consumption
The most important reason why this is all wrong is that a human digestive system can not break the celluloid membrane with which the bee pollen grain is covered. In all of the foregoing examples, pollen grain or powder only run through our body without using any single benefit from a rich pollen repertoire. The most drastic case was told by one vegetarian woman who used pollen powder wrongly for years. When my friend explained to her how pollen had to be used, she could only feel sorry for her for all those pounds of bee pollen she consumed in vain.
Bee pollen membrane has to be soaked In order to crack it and makes free all those great ingredients human organism can utilize of a bee pollen grain.
If possible, purchase and use raw pollen. In the drying process, about 20% of the value of the pollen is lost. After drying, the rest of the pollen value is lost linearly over time. After 6 months, such pollen lost about half of its value. My advice is if you are buying dried pollen after January make sure that was stored in the freezer after drying or if it was stored in the raw state and then dried after removed from the freezer.
So the priorities are:
How Do I Take It
Its crucial to start gradually with half a tablespoon a day, working your way up to 1-3 tablespoons by the end of four weeks. If you prefer, you can also add a spoonful of bee pollen to morning smoothies and cereals. Its also best to consume with fruit since the fibers in the plant will activate the pollen much faster, cleansing your colon simultaneously. Gut and immune health are closely connected in regards to the severity of allergies.
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Have You Suffered A Reaction After Taking Bee Pollen When Should You Visit The Doctor
If you have take any bee pollen supplements, and experience any of the following, seek medical assistance:
- Difficulty breathingSwelling for example, around the throat or mouthFeverDiarrhoea
Reactions to bee pollen are thought to be fairly uncommon, however they can be serious, and so if you are going to take it in any format, you should be vigilant.
What Is Bee Pollen And How Does It Work
Its really something to eat. It is one of natures ideal superfoods since it is high in protein, as well as other antioxidants and vitamins, and it is also low in fat. Bees go from bloom to flower gathering pollen to carry back to the hive, where they turn it into granules for use in their honey production. During the process of gathering bee pollen from the hives, no bees are injured or killed.
Bee pollen is a word that is usually used to refer to flower pollen that has been collected by bees outside of the hive. When they return, they use their saliva to bind the powdered pollen together, resulting in the packed pellet form. Pollen is provided to newborn bees as a source of protein, while honey is supplied to them as a source of carbohydrates. The saliva breaks down the cell walls of the flower pollen, making it more digestible and less likely to be inhaled. Science!
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Purchasing Natural Bee Pollen Supplements
Anaphylaxis From Bee Pollen Supplement
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A 30-year-old woman was referred to the allergy clinic after having an anaphylactic reaction. Before the reaction, the patient had recently started taking three health supplements: bee pollen, omega 3-6-9 oil and vitamin D3. Ten minutes after she took her second dose of supplements, the patients eyelids, lips and throat began to swell, she had difficulty swallowing, and hives started to develop. The patient also had shortness of breath and felt faint, lightheaded and weak. The symptoms resolved after emergency treatment with epinephrine and diphenhydramine, and fluids given intravenously. The supplements were stopped and no further reactions occurred.
The patient had a history of seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, particularly during the summer months, but was otherwise healthy. She was a nonsmoker and took no regular medications. She had no history of allergies to foods, drugs, latex or insect venom, and no family history of atopy. The patients clinical examination was unremarkable.
A skin allergy test showed a strong positive result for the bee pollen supplement , and Timothy grass . Results of similar tests for birch, ragweed, foods and the other two supplements were negative. Histamine control testing gave a positive result.
We advised our patient to avoid bee pollen supplements and other products containing grasses or pollens. We prescribed an epinephrine auto-injector and reviewed its correct usage with our patient.
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There Are A Slew Of Other Health Advantages
As a result of the special nutritional composition of bee pollen, it is a fantastic energy booster and digestive help. As one of the 22 finest natural sources of energy, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D., a Denver-based health expert, suggests that it be consumed since it may help rectify hormonal imbalances and nutritional inadequacies in the body. A significant quantity of Rutin is found in bee pollen, which is an antioxidant bioflavonoid that helps to strengthen capillaries and blood vessels while also restoring normal cholesterol levels in the body. Additionally, because of its powerful anti-clotting properties, it may aid to strengthen the Cardiovascular System, which in turn helps your systems capacity to utilise the nutrients it requires for health and vigour. Meanwhile, data suggests that bee pollen may aid in the restoration of ovarian function in women and the reduction of inflammation caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia in men, among other things. Furthermore, it is said to have aphrodisiac properties regardless of gender.
What Does The Research Say
Most research of bee pollen is conducted on animals and in laboratories. Therefore, many of the actual effects on humans remain unknown.
One study looking at how bee pollen supplementation may affect athletic performance determined that it does not seem to improve athletic performance.
At this time, there is insufficient evidence to rate the effectiveness of claims that ingesting bee pollen prevents cancer, balances hormones, promotes weight loss or reduces allergies.
In fact, consuming it can be harmful to some people.
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Here Are Some Ways How To Properly Prepare And Consume Pollen:
The best time to consume bee pollen is late summer and fall so you can prepare yourself for cold, winter days which usually bring a different kind of infections and other health issues.
Let me give you one example so you can understand how bee pollen is important and extremely healthy Bee pollen is the basic material from which young bees create royal jelly highly nutritious food for the queen bee. Due to the lack of pollen in the hive, the queen bee will stop producing eggs and the bees will not be able to make wax and build honeycomb.
About Author: Kirk Wessler
After being a writer for OSF HealthCare for three years, Kirk Wessler retired in January 2022. A Peoria native and graduate of Bradley University, Kirk’s experience included working for newspapers in Missouri, Texas and the Peoria Journal Star.Kirk and his wife, Mary Frances, have five sons, four daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren. Kirk plans to spend his retirement on the golf course, mastering the guitar and traveling.
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Even Topically It Has Use
If youre not yet convinced that consuming bee pollen internally is a good idea, look for ways to include it into your skin care routine. Bee pollen is often used in skin care products that are intended to treat inflammatory skin disorders such as psoriasis and eczema. Bee pollen, which contains 22 amino acids, preserves the skin and aids in the regeneration of cells, resulting in attractiveness on both the inside and outside of the body.
Could Eating Bee Pollen Help With Your Seasonal Allergies
Seasonal allergies have been on the rise! These kind of allergies are airborne and come during the seasons when certain plants & pollen are abundant. In clinic, most people will report spring, summer and fall as their worst time of the year.
There are countless interventions that can be supportive for people suffering with allergies. The first go-tos I use for patients with allergies include specific bioflavonoids, antioxidants and improving their levels of certain vitamins. Interestingly, there is also information linking your hormones to severity of allergies – read about it here.
For the sake of this post, lets talk about bee pollen consumption.
You can purchase bee pollen at many health food stores or apiaries local to your area and consume it with smoothies or sprinkled on your food. For years patients would ask me if eating bee pollen local to their area would help with their allergies. But how exactly would that work?
Bee pollen is collected from bees as they travel from plant to plant and bring pollen to their hive. Pollen is the food of the hive. Bee pollen a mix of honey, nectar, bee secretions and enzymes.
What is histamine?
H O W E V E R.
With that said, I did come across a few studies supporting the improvement of allergic symptoms in individuals with seasonal allergies. These studies were small but the benefits are worth mentioning as areas to further investigate.
A randomized controlled pilot study showed that:
PMID: 21196761
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Bee Pollen A Bit Different Than Pollen
Pollen is a bunch of very small particles which flowers use to reproduce. They are tiny and coarse and contain male microgametophytes, which produce male gametes, or sperm cells. It then transfers to the female pistil or cone, depending on the type of plant. This is a normal part of cross-pollination or even self pollination.
Bee pollen is what bees collect on their legs, body and head, when they descend on a flower to collect pollen. Bee pollen can contain, other than pollen itself, bee enzymes and even some flower nectar. The pollen is covered by beeswax and honey, which makes what people call bee bread, their main food source, mostly proteins. Is bee pollen the real deal with allergies?
Why Is It Good For Me
Okay, so bee pollen is packed full of vitamins and nutrients. How can you benefit? If youre one of those people who finds themselves sneezing nonstop during allergy season, try turning to bee pollen as a natural remedy.
In order to maximize its effectiveness, bee pollen should be taken daily at least six weeks before allergy season begins, as well as throughout the season. Consuming bee pollen actually desensitizes your body to it, stimulating your immune system to produce antibodies which will eliminate the allergic reaction. With bee pollen incorporated into your diet, you might actually be able to function properly during allergy season again.
Bee pollen also works wonders in a weight-control regimen. Through its stimulation of your bodys natural metabolic processes, bee pollen can actually speed up caloric burn.
If any of you have taken any Intro to Bio courses , you might be familiar with the amino acid called Phenylalanine, a natural appetite suppressor that the body requires. When consumed, bee pollens natural phenylalanine content can help to eliminate cravings.
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What Are The Other Benefits Of Bee Pollen
Due to its rich nutritional value, bee pollen is useful in a variety of ways:
Bee Pollen For Seasonal Allergies: A Cure Or Just A Myth
It starts with a sniffle. Next comes a sneeze. And then another one or a few. The worst is the itchy eyes that she rubs until puffy. After that, her eyes get watery, which then makes them itchy again. Its seasonal allergies, and my daughter has it bad.
The problem is, she is only a year and a half old. This means limited options for relief because allergy medication like Benadryl is not recommended for children under two without first speaking with a doctor. This is because it can cause severe or even fatal reactions in some cases. Besides medication like Benadryl causing drowsiness, habitual use can also build up a tolerance.
So while most adults are reaching for over-the-counter medications, I am searching for an all-natural alternative for my daughter. There is one possible solution: bee pollen.
But is bee pollen an allergy cure, or is it just a myth?
Bee pollen is highly recommended by parents looking to prevent and ease their childrens seasonal allergies and symptoms. However, theres also science to back the many health benefits of bee pollen. According to an article published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, bee pollen is used for its many health benefits, including its anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating properties.
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