Bee Pollen: A Whole Food Supplement

So last week I put down artificial supplements... so I thought I better be more positive this week! I recently bought some local bee pollen from the nearby health food store. This is why:

**First of all, I want to mention that all of the information summarized below is from peer reviewed published articles. I found the articles on Science Direct or PubMed, which both search for academic papers from many different journals. However, some inferences are mine (marked as *), based on University of Alberta nutrition & science courses.**

Bee pollen has:

• antimicrobial activity
• antimutagenicity properties
• antioxidant activity
• carotenoids (up to 243ug/g of dry bee pollen)
• protein (~20%)
• B vitamins, including vitamin thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and vitamin B6

However, due to different flowers, soil types, weather and handling methods, there is high variability between different bee pollen samples.

So, what is bee pollen good for then?

• Killing (or stopping the growth of) bugs, especially Gram-positive bacteria
• Possibly prevent DNA mutations or unwanted changes 
• may help prevent cancer*
• May help prevent chronic diseases related to oxidative stress (resulting from too little antioxidants) such as:
• cancer
• autoimmune disorders
• cataracts
• rheumatoid arthritis
• cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases
• Antioxidants found in bee pollen can also help slow down the aging process
• Carotenoids reduce risk of diseases, especially certain cancers and eye diseases
• Protein is a required "macronutrient" for energy, strong hair, supple skin, muscle building, and a strong immune system (among many other functions).*
• B vitamins are highly involved in body metabolism, and should be consumed on a daily basis for good health*

(* = personal inferences based on knowledge from science and nutrition university courses.)


You can probably find bee pollen in your local health food store. However, if you are having trouble finding it, keep in mind that raw honey also contains the pollen! 

Important note: Keep in mind that bee pollen comes from flowers! If you have any allergy to pollen or other environmental allergens, please do not eat this product... Search up nutritional yeast instead for a whole food supplement. :)

References:

Almeida-Muradian, L., Pamplona, L., Coimbra, S., & Barth, O. (n.d.). Chemical composition and botanical evaluation of dried bee pollen pellets. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 105-111.

Arruda, V., Pereira, A., Estevinho, L., & Almeida-Muradian, L. (n.d.). Presence and stability of B complex vitamins in bee pollen using different storage conditions.Food and Chemical Toxicology, 143-148.

Arruda, V., Pereira, A., Freitas, A., Barth, O., & Almeida-Muradian, L. (n.d.). Dried bee pollen: B complex vitamins, physicochemical and botanical composition.Journal of Food Composition and Analysis,100-105.

Johnson, E. (2002). The Role of Carotenoids in Human Health. Nutrition in Clinical Care, 56-65.

Pascoal, A., Rodrigues, S., Teixeira, A., Feás, X., & Estevinho, L. (n.d.). Biological activities of commercial bee pollens: Antimicrobial, antimutagenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 233-239.

Pham-Huy, L., He, H., & Pham-Huy, C. (2008). Free Radicals, Antioxidants in Disease and Health. Int J Biomed Sci.,4(2), 89-96. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614697/

<3 Jessica

Thoughts on Vitamin Supplements

I used to take various vitamin supplements every day - at times up to 20 or so pills! All in the name of health. However, when you look past all of the health claims based on questionable studies, and take into account that most pills don't contain what they advertise... you're left questioning whether taking vitamin supplements is even good for you.

My current conclusion:

Due to over-used soils, genetic modification, long produce transportation times and the drive of companies for quantity over quality many of us are vitamin deficient. However, instead of turning to vitamin supplements to maintain health, we should instead consume more super-foods & whole foods.

Foods like:

• Cod liver oils for healthy fatty acids and Vitamin A and D
• High quality butter from pasture fed cows for healthy fats and fat-soluble Vitamins (A, D, E, K)
• Wheat germ oil for Vitamin E (sunflower seeds are a great source of Vitamin E too)
• Nutritional yeast or bee pollen for many B Vitamins
• Liver, for Vitamin B12, Vitamin A, etc.
• Powdered rose hips, acerola berries, or amalaki for Vitamin C

Why whole foods over vitamin supplements?

In short: Because synthetic vitamins can be harmful to your health.

Long Answer: Synthetic vitamin supplements are simplified and highly concentrated, which the body is unable to digest and use as well as naturally occurring vitamins in complex compounds. For this reason, high doses of synthetic vitamins are often required, which may lead to biochemical imbalances and side-effects.

In addition, some Vitamin supplements only provide a single part of the (partly unknown) complex that makes up the Vitamin. This is the case for Vitamin C, in which the supplemental form only provides ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is actually a complex of nutrients including bioflavonoids, rutin, tyrosine, copper etc... The ascorbic acid functions as the preservative for this complex Vitamin. Taking only the ascorbic acid depletes the other compounds of Vitamin C... the exact opposite effect I'm sure you were hoping for.

Unexpected effects are also true for some other Vitamins:

Vitamin A is associated with reduced cancer risk, but supplementation of beta-carotene (a precursor) may increase risk of lung cancer.

Synthetic Vitamin D3 seems to have the opposite effect as naturally occurring Vitamin D2: D3 seems to soften bones and harden arteries.

So in general this just emphasizes the fact that you cannot compensate an unhealthy diet with Vitamin supplements. Focus on whole (unprocessed) foods, stock up on super-foods, and save the chocolate for an occasional treat.

Info from "The Fourfold Path to Healing" by Thomas S. Cowan, MD

<3 Jessica