When one thinks of bee pollen, one usually thinks of the small black and yellow insects, rather than a source of nutrition. In recent years, people have been adding more and more bee pollen to their diets to take advantage of the many health benefits that the pollen has. Keep reading to find out how bee pollen can benefit you.
How to Do You Get Bee Pollen?
Bee pollen comes as small, grain-like granules, and can easily be added to your food, smoothies, and juice cleanses. The pollen is collected from honeybees; when the bees collect pollen grains from plants it sticks to their legs. Beekeepers attach a small screen in the doorway of the hive, and when the bees come back to the hive, they go through the door and the screen harmlessly removes the small pollen granules from the bees. Since the pollen is the main food source for the bees, the beekeepers take only a small amount of the pollen. The granules are then packaged and sold.
9 Health Benefits of Bee Pollen
Energy Enhancer: Bee pollen is filled with a large range of nutrients, including B vitamins, protein, and carbohydrates, which all help to fight off fatigue and keep you energized longer.
Cardiovascular System: There are large quantities of rutin in bee pollen; rutin is an antioxidant bioflavonoid that helps to balance cholesterol levels, strengthen blood vessels, treat circulatory issues, and prevent clotting, which in turn helps to prevent strokes and heart attacks.
Skin: Bee pollen has some great anti-inflammatory properties, which can help to treat some skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis. Due to the many vitamins found in bee pollen, it also helps to strengthen skin and aid in the regeneration of skin cells.
Stress Reliever: Studies have found that bee pollen is able to relieve stress by regulating blood circulation, as well as strengthen the nervous system and boost mental capacity, which becomes weakened in stressful situations.
Digestive System: Bee pollen contains enzymes that help your body get all the nutrients that you need from food, and aid a healthy digestive system.
Immune and Respiratory System Booster: Bee pollen has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as natural antibiotics, which helps it not only strengthen the immune system, but also aid issues in the lungs, such as asthma.
Addiction Treatment and Weight Loss: Some professionals believe that bee pollen can help suppress cravings. Due to its ability to stop cravings, it is often used to aid weight loss and maintain a healthy weight.
Protects the Liver: Studies have been done that have seen bee pollen as an effective way to detoxify the liver due to natural antioxidants found in it.
Promote Healing: Due to the many essential nutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties in bee pollen, it is used to help heal certain conditions. One condition that bee pollen is particularly useful in healing is burns; the pollen contains kaempferol which helps to decrease swelling. The pollen also helps to improve the blood circulation in blood vessels, and helps to hydrate skin, making it useful when treating skin conditions.