What's all this about bee pollen!?

So, in my last blog I introduced the idea of bee pollen being a superfood. And it really is as simple as that. Pollen, collected by bees, from the flowers of plants and trees, can be eaten and enjoyed as one of nature's most whole and nutritionally complete foods.

There is a lot of science behind it, but I don't think many of you would be too interested to read the detail around how its molecular composition provides acute levels of almost every vitamin and mineral under the sun. For those that are...although a little basic in layout, this is a good website.

What I've been delighted to discover is that this simple, small product of a beautiful tiny creature is so full of goodness that it blows any man-made vitamin pill out the water! 

There are even bigger claims made by some researchers. Check these out (taken from http://www.mercola.com/article/diet/bee_pollen.htm) ...

• Bee pollen is more rich in proteins than any animal source. It contains more amino acids than beef, eggs, or cheese of equal weight.
• Cultures throughout the world use it to aid recovery from chronic illnesses, to reduce cravings and addictions, to regulate the intestines and in preventing infectious diseases like colds and flu.
• Experiments have shown that bee pollen contains an antibiotic factor effective against strains of bacteria, like salmonella.

It contains high levels of B vitamins, vitamin E, rutin, iron, magnesium, folic acid and potassium.

I tend to add a couple of teaspoons of it to my porridge in the morning. It has a very mild taste, slightly sweet and a little fragrant. You could mix it into salad dressings (it dissolves easily), or perhaps powder it and combine it with cinnamon and add it to toast. 

For those of you that are wondering how they actually collect the stuff, here is a simple break down (taken from www.durhamsbeefarm.com):

Honeybees will travel a two mile radius to retrieve nectar and pollen from flower blooms.  The honey bee has hair on each of its hind legs which collects the pollen as she walks around bloom.  The pollen will literally ball up on her leg and will usually be about the size of a be-be that you see used in a pellet gun.

When pollen is collected for human consumption, "pollen traps" are placed on the hive.  These traps remove the pollen granules from the leg of the bee and allow it to fall down into a tray for removal by the bee keeper.  The honeybee has to crawl up through a series of 1/4" wiring to enter the hive and in the process of doing so, the pollen is scrapped harmlessly from the honeybee's leg and it drops down into the tray for collection later.

WARNING: In some rare cases, consuming bee pollen can induce anaphylactic shock and so is dangerous for anyone that may have shown sensitivities to pollen, asthma or bee stings before. Please be very cautious in using bee pollen as it could give some people nasty side effects or reactions. I would suggest trying a very small amount to begin with and building up the amount you use gradually.

So there you have it! If you're curious to try some, you can buy it in most health food stores or using various online retailers. 

And next time you see a bee...thank her!