More Health Benefits From Natural Sources
We’ve learned about raw organic honey, organic (but not raw) honey, and royal jelly. But there is yet another wonderful, health-boosting product that comes from the beehive.
Bee Glue
Yep, that is correct! Bee glue, which is actually called propolis, is another immunity-boosting substance that comes straight from the hive. Honeybees make a thick orange sealant that they use as glue. All the cracks in the hive are sealed tight against foreign bugs and cold weather with propolis. If you get it on your hands it is extremely sticky. If you taste it, it tends to taste a little bitter. So, why on Earth would someone want to eat it?
Propolis Has a Multitude of Uses
Scientists have found that propolis has anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation has been identified as responsible for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and heart disease. While using propolis as a tincture, some have found that this bee-glue has cured warts. The antioxidant properties are so strong that athletes have even taken it to ward off heat stress! Ever eat at a restaurant and later wish you hadn’t? Food poisoning is never fun. What if you could find a way to shorten or completely ward off food poisoning? The antimicrobial activity of propolis has proven to inhibit the growth of the three bugs found in food poisoning cases. It even kills bacteria! You can read about how propolis affects the following at BeePollenBuzz.com:
- Colon cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Allergies
- Bone disease
- Blood Pressure
“Propolis has a long history of medicinal use, dating back to 350 B.C., the time of Aristotle. Greeks have used propolis for abscesses; Assyrians have used it for healing wounds and tumors; and Egyptians have used it for mummification. It still has many medicinal uses today,” (webmd.com)
Why No Double Blind Studies?
The biggest setback to propolis being a widely known treatment for so many ailments is a lack of research. There is so much research to either prove or disprove conventional drugs from the pharmaceutical companies, leaving little to no resources left to find and test natural cures. And since research is primarily sponsored by pharmaceutical manufacturers….well you can guess where I am going with that.
Applications & Resources
- Go to Living Green Magazine for some of the other uses of propolis
- Check out what a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner has to say about how she uses Propolis
- Remember that natural remedies react in everybody differently. Always make sure that any medications you are currently taking, or current health conditions you have, will not react with your natural health aid.