WHAT'S ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT ROYAL JELLY?

Royal Jelly 🐝 What is it?

Royal Jelly, sounds like a condiment made only for Kings and queens right. That’s kind of not far from the truth. It’s a substance secreted by the worker honey bees and is used to feed bee larvae, as well as adult queen bees. So, when a new queen is required usually because the old one is either weakening or dead, they choose several small larvae and feed them copious amounts of royal jelly. This type of feeding triggers the development of queen morphology, then... well you get the gist. What does it do? (Benefits)

It is marketed as a supplement which falls under the category of apitherapy (alternative medicine using bee products e.g. honey, pollen, propolis etc). Royal jelly is comprised of mostly B vitamins, 60 to 70 % water, 12 to 15 % protein, 10 to 16 % percent sugars, and 3 to 6 % fats, with salts, free amino acids and other vitamins making up the rest. In addition to royal jelly being used a general health tonic (natures multi-vitamin if you like), people take it for several reasons:

>Slowing the signs of ageing >Used as an anti-inflammathory agent >Stimulating hair growth >Improving sexual performance and sperm production >Reducing symptoms of menopause >Healing bone fractures >Lowering cholesterol and blood pressure >Preventing arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer >Alleviating cardiovascular ailments >Remedying liver disease, pancreatitis, insomnia, fatigue, ulcers, and digestive and skin disorders Extensive list right. Evidence is limited to support most of the above purported health benefits. However, a few studies have linked it to increased conception, increased production of red blood cells, improved mental health and glucose tolerance. It is also commonly found in many beauty products such as creams sue to its anti-ageing benefits. Where can I get it from?

Royal jelly can be purchased from most decent health stores. It comes either in fresh form or in supplement form, and sweet form (suckers). In supplement form they tend to combined with ginseng, for boosting energy (and better taste I think). The dosage in capsules will very from 200 mg plus depending on your needs. Though a bit costly personally I prefer fresh.

You only need less than a third of a teaspoon per day. I must say it doesn’t taste the best, however the benefits out weigh the taste. You can add to food like smoothies, I prefer off the spoon. If you like DIY beauty products, add it to your concoctions e.g. shea butter, essential oils etc. Brands I like and are available at most health stores include: Fresh – Biobees and Queen bee, Capsule form – Diana and Comvita.