Not only do Bees pollinate our flowers, but they provide fantastic edible compounds, with some great health benefits for humans!

Today we’re teaching you all about propolis – a true superfood that is not to be confused with honey. 

What is Bee Propolis?

This is probably your first question, since propolis hasn’t received the attention it deserves.

Imagine honey, but it’s packed with health benefits, zero-sugar, and you don’t put it on your oatmeal. Okay it’s nothing like honey, but it comes from bees and it’s going to provide you with serious nutritional benefits.

Propolis is a resin that bees use to build their hive and, because of that, it has powerful anti-microbe and anti-tumour benefits.

Bee-autiful: Bee-Based Nutrition

Bees are truly nature's miracle workers. They produce various edible compounds which provide numerous nutritional benefits, so we’ll break them down for you quickly, and you can see how they benefit you and what they’re for.

Honey is the obvious one: it’s a concentrated, high-sugar sweetener that bees use to produce their hives and feed their young.

This is the glamorous product – it tastes great but it’s all sugar. You’ll find some phytochemicals in honey, but it doesn’t provide much actual benefit, being a pure-sugar food.

Bee Pollen is another superfood that is growing in popularity. It is essentially a mixture of pollen, saliva, nectar or honey that is fermented and fed to the bee colony. Studies show that it possesses many health benefits including antioxidant power.

Royal Jelly is another bee-based edible compound that is a great source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fatty acids and amino acids. 

Propolis is the important one we’re going to talk about today. It’s a type of glue-like substance that bees produce to hold hives together. This is the most nutrient-rich compound and isn’t used in the same way as honey.

Nutritional Benefits of Bee Propolis

The main benefits of propolis are about wellbeing and preventing illness. You’ll experience some positive benefits, but a large part of it is maintenance: preventing infections, tumours, and similar issues.

These are tied to the compounds in propolis that are antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-tumour! These are some of the most common – as well as the most concerning – health problems we face.

This isn’t just another “wellbeing” product – the science is all positive for propolis:

 “Unlike many ‘natural’ remedies, there is a substantive database on the biological activity and toxicity of propolis indicating it may have many antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral and anti-tumour properties”

Unless you have an existing allergy to bees - or their by-products - there are no known side effects associated with propolis!

Nutritional Composition

You can easily take advantage of all the benefits of natural bee propolis with an easy, convenient supplement.

An effective propolis formula is fortified with vitamins and minerals

Vitamin C improves the production of key tissues in the body (especially in the joints), and even helps you absorb more iron. Getting this with a well-balanced, mixed meal can be a big boost.

Zinc is a key mineral in a variety of biological processes, but the main ones involve regulating your hormones and keeping energy levels regular.

Other Potential Benefits

On top of the proven benefits mentioned above, recent research is only looking to further the confirmed health benefits of propolis.

One of the most interesting benefits we’ve seen research into is anti-inflammation. Not only is this a general benefit, but it seems to be specifically useful to cardiovascular health – the number one killer in the English-speaking world.

Protecting your heart and arteries with propolis is a great way to reduce the risk of degenerative chronic disease. If you’re looking to live a better quality of life for longer, this is a great addition to your lifestyle.

Final Thoughts: Getting the most from propolis

The first step to getting the best results is to choose a high-quality Propolis source. 

You should also take care to use Propolis in combination with other key compounds – usually with food. This improves the utilisation of iron and other compounds, while making the most of the other compounds in a good propolis supplement.

Take two softgel capsules with a light meal in the morning, and a single capsule later in the day for maximum effect. This  benefits and rapid uptake of key compounds to support longer-duration benefits!

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About the author: Liam Rodgers is a health, fitness and sports science expert from the United Kingdom.