What are the Health Benefits of Taking Bee Pollen?

I, for one have, found fresh local bee pollen very helpful in combating my own symptoms of hay fever. My eyes begin to itch and water from late April to early June every year. It's a very, very uncomfortable experience, and it began in my 20s.

A few years ago, I tried taking a half teaspoon of bee pollen daily in March, and my allergy season was about 80 percent less uncomfortable. About a cup of local bee pollen costs about $10-$15 and is well worth the expense.

In the past two years, I have used it at the onset of my symptoms, and it works nearly as well as the earlier doses. I buy fresh local bee pollen during my allergy season and freeze some for the next year. If you have not used bee pollen, start with a very small daily dose and work up to a teaspoon per day as needed.

I tried IVF four times. Three times it did not work. The fourth time I invested in simple diet changes. I took supplements, which included royal jelly and bee propolis. The diet change has had a great effect and who's to say that the royal jelly and/or bee propolis actually didn't help?

However, there are medical studies that have taken place already in fertility clinics around the world, which first alerted me to the effects of taking bee propolis especially. One study saw an increase from 20 percent pregnancy rate to 50 percent pregnancy rate. I am convinced of its benefits. I am pregnant for the first time ever and after 20 years of trying.

Further study needs to be done to now go on to prove the effects of these natural supplements, rather than assuming they don't work because of the lack of evidence. The sky is blue due to the sunlight hitting the earth's atmosphere. I don't need umpteen studies and trials to tell me that.

what you don't realize that bee pollen is the universe's way of propagating life.

pollen is nature's primal sperm, the very essence of the sun (and wind, water, and earth's) energy formed into a sperm like substance for the sole purpose of creating life.

the full and all inclusive complex of vitamins, (over 4,000+ known) enzymes, amino acids, minerals, and other phytonutrients are just added benefits to supplementing your days with bee pollen.

bee pollen is the purest form of life energy.

A well balanced diet should give a person all the required food elements-essential amino-acids and fats, vitamins and minerals without the added expense of buying bee pollen. I have no data, but I do have doubts about the other claims made for bee pollen.

Let's look to see whose monetary interest is enhanced by making those claims. It is human to look for easy simple answers to hard complicated problems.

Donald W. Bales, M.D. retired internist

With respect, while bee pollen contains some vitamins and minerals, there is nothing that is not obtainable from a standard diet.

Unless there is something new in the past few months, there is no substantiation for the other allegations. In fact the few properly conducted studies (double blind) have shown no benefit at all. For example the claim about providing extra energy for excise was conclusively debunked in the 1970's.

True, small exposure to allergens can help the body to deal with a larger exposure. That's the whole purpose to getting allergy shots. Importantly, those types of allergy shots are very specific to dealing with the tree and grass pollens which, as a group, are called "hay fever".

Bee pollen however, comes primarily from flowers, not trees or grasses. Not only does that provide no benefit for hay fever but in fact can trigger an allergic reaction if you have sensitivity to flower members of the daisy family. But that's just my two cents worth.

Is bee propolis the same as bee pollen? I suppose I will have to read up for myself. My supplements supplier does not list the pollen, so I suppose it is different.

what about raw honey? Is that also filled with vitamins?