Today's Buzz: This Nutrient Dense Super-Food Is The Bee's Knee's

It's probably not the first time you've heard about bee pollen, but it may be the first time you've actually been educated on all the amazing qualities this magical wonder has. Just looking at the color and color variations, you can see all the vibrancy buzzing off each granule. Bee Pollen has been well documented for it's effectiveness in alleviating seasonal allergies when taken starting 8 weeks ahead of allergy season. This works much like a vaccination would. Slowly putting small amounts of pollen into your body allowing your immune system to begin to build itself up so that it's able to handle it when it's prevalent in our environment. If you plan to do this, make sure you buy locally made bee pollen as every region offers different pollens.

Now..did you know that bee pollen contains more protein ounce for ounce than any other food available to us, including all animal meat? Not only does it contain an amazing amount of amino acids, but they are easily absorbable, meaning the body has to do less work to get the benefits of these proteins. Although all bee pollen has the same 22 amino acids, amounts will vary slightly based on variety/species of pollen. Regardless, Bee Pollen will have 5 - 7 times the amount of protein than in the same weight/amount of beef, milk, eggs, or cheese. Check out the chart below reflecting the amount of amino acids in (100 g) of bee pollen in comparison to (100 g) of many other well known 'complete protein foods':

	Isoleusine	Leusine	Lysine	Methionine
Meat (beef)	0.93	1.28	1.45	0.42
Eggs	0.85	1.17	0.93	0.39
Cheese	1.74	2.63	2.34	0.80
Pollen	4.50	6.70	5.70	1.82

	Phenylalamine	Threonine	Tryptophane	Valine
Meat (beef)	0.66	0.81	0.20	0.91
Eggs	0.69	0.67	0.20	0.90
Cheese	1.43	1.38	0.34	2.05
Pollen	3.90	4.00	1.30	5.70

* chart provided by alternativescentral/beepollen.htm

Bee Pollen is a super food with the richest source of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, hormones, digestive enzymes, essential fatty acids, and significant quantities of natural antibiotics and antioxidants. Most of the vitamins in the pollen are already in perfect proportion to what your body uses and needs. Bee Pollen is full of carotenoids which the body turns into Vitamin A and also B vitamins which are known to give us an energizing effect. Bee Pollen contains up to 59 easily absorbable essential trace minerals and has been shown to be effective in the following conditions:

• Allergies
• Anemia
• Appetite (can act as a stimulant or suppressant depending on need)
• Asthma
• Blood builder
• Capillary weakness
• Chronic fatigue
• Immune system booster
• Impotence/Libido
• Weight loss
  
• Infertility
• Kidney disorders
• Longevity
• Menopausal symptoms
• Prostate diseases
• Ulcers

Bee Pollen is not new stuff Friends....it's been revered for ages for it's health benefits. Go to your local farmer's market and find some pollen from your area. Start taking it slow...especially if you are prone to allergies. (See possible side effects here: http://www.bee-pollen-buzz.com/side-effects-of-bee-pollen.html). Start by taking just a couple granules to test tolerance. If all is well start with 1/4 to 1/2 a tsp and work your way up from there. Optimally you might take 2-4 tbsp a day, however you'll get its amazing benefits at just 1 tbsp a day. You can take it by the spoonful, add it to smoothies, dip your banana in it, stuff it in a pitted date, or sprinkle it into salads and salad dressings.