Throughout history eating bee pollen has been recommended as a remedy for everything from enhancing the memory to boosting energy and bee pollen uses have ranged from nutritional supplements to softening the skin and communing with the gods. Are there legitimate bee pollen uses? Is eating bee pollen safe?
The popularity of bee pollen either as a remedy or as a nutritional supplement tends to fluctuate depending on a particular society’s view of bees and the value of their pollen. In days gone by there were some cultures which viewed the ingesting of honey or pollen as a way of community with divinity, and others that believed that bee pollen would increase your sexual potency and that honey was an aphrodisiac.
Even our modern society values the value of adding bee pollen to one’s diet or using it in skin products as a means of softening and moisturizing the skin and a host of cottage industries have cropped up for homemade bee products and even larger companies have gotten in on the act by providing bee pollen in supplement form and adding it to various creams and beauty products.
Bee pollen uses today still cover a broad spectrum of uses. Many individuals take it as a means of preventing hay fever under the premise that by ingesting pollens they will be able to build a resistance to them. Keep in mind, however, that there are people who are severely allergic to these pollens and may have severe allergic reactions to the pollen, which is why it is very important to test your tolerance for bee pollen and to be aware of any of the symptoms that could indicate that you have a sensitivity to bee pollen.
Test Your Sensitivity
Testing for tolerance involves putting a granule of bee pollen under your tongue and letting it dissolve completely. If there is no reaction to one granule then repeat this with two granules. Continue to add granules until there is no chance that you will have a reaction. Then and only then should you begin taking bee pollen as a supplement. But be aware of the signs of sensitivity.
Sensitivity to bee pollen includes an itch throat, headaches, a runny nose, inexplicable sweating or tearing eyes. As long as the symptoms do not increase you don’t have to be concerned. Just reduce the amount of pollen you take until you no longer feel the symptoms. It is believed that over time you will develop a tolerance for the pollens.
Which Bee Pollen Form to Take
As a nutritional supplement, eating bee pollen can take one of three forms; you can either ingest it in tablets or capsules, or you can add granules directly to other foods to enhance their flavor and nutritional content. Some people don’t like the taste of it, so they take it in pill or tablet form while others find that they can take it straight while others would rather mix it with drinks or sprinkle it on various foods.
There are so many different bee pollen uses that it may be hard to choose where to start, though beauty products that have been infused with bee pollen and eating bee pollen are two good places to start.