Bee pollen's therapeutic uses
Bee pollen is a natural substance collected by bees as they gather nectar from flowers, and it has been traditionally used as a nutritional supplement with various proposed therapeutic benefits. It is rich in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, and is often marketed for its potential to enhance energy levels, athletic performance, and immune system support. Other suggested uses include alleviating allergies, supporting memory, aiding in wound healing, and reducing menopausal symptoms.
Despite its popularity, scientific evidence supporting these claims is limited. Clinical trials have generally shown no significant benefits for sports performance or memory enhancement. Some studies indicate promising anti-inflammatory properties of bee pollen, as well as potential roles in wound management and gut health. However, the need for large-scale human studies remains critical to substantiate these findings.
It's important to note that bee pollen can cause severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, particularly in individuals with known pollen allergies. Thus, while it is embraced in various cultures for its nutritional and therapeutic potential, cautious consideration is advised regarding its use, especially for those with allergy sensitivities.
Bee pollen's therapeutic uses
DEFINITION: Natural substance used as a supplement to treat specific health conditions.
PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USES: None
OTHER PROPOSED USES: Allergies, enhancing memory, enhancing sports performance, respiratory infections, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune system support, wound healing, menopause support
Overview
Bee pollen is the pollen collected by bees as they gather nectar from flowers to make honey. Like honey, bee pollen is used as food by the hive. The pollen granules are stored in pollen sacs on the bees’ hind legs. Beekeepers wishing to collect bee pollen place a screen over the hive with openings large enough for the bees to pass through. As the bees enter the hive, the screen compresses their pollen sacs, squeezing the pollen from them. The beekeepers can then collect the pollen from the screen.
Bee pollen is very high in protein and carbohydrates and contains trace amounts of minerals and vitamins. It is used in several traditional Chinese herbal formulas and is sold as a nutritional supplement in the United States and other countries. Although it has been recommended for various uses, particularly for improving sports performance and relieving allergies, little to no scientific evidence backs up any claims about bee pollen's therapeutic value.
Requirements and Sources
Bee pollen is not typically found in a person’s everyday diet unless the person regularly eats the snack bars that include it. Tablets and some food products containing bee pollen are available in pharmacies and health food stores.
Therapeutic Dosages
Athletes using bee pollen report consuming five to ten tablets per day. Tablets can contain variable amounts of bee pollen, usually between 200 and 500 milligrams. The manufacturer’s recommendations may provide more guidance.
Therapeutic Uses
Bee pollen has been touted as an energy enhancer and is sometimes used by athletes in the belief that it will enhance performance during competitions. However, there is no real evidence that bee pollen is effective, and some evidence that it is not.
Bee pollen is also commonly taken to try to prevent hay fever, based on the theory that eating pollens will help persons build up resistance to them. When used for this purpose, locally grown bee pollen is usually recommended. However, it is possible to have a severe allergic reaction to the bee pollen itself. Other proposed uses of bee pollen include combating age-related memory loss and other effects of aging, as well as treating respiratory infections, endocrine disorders, and colitis. No scientific evidence supports any of these uses.
Bee pollen is rich in antioxidants, which may protect against free radicals. This may also help support immune system function and allow the body to fight infection. The anti-inflammatory properties, which aid in relieving allergies, may also help arthritis. Bee pollen's anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties may decrease wound healing time. Bee pollen may also be useful in reducing hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause.
Scientific Evidence
A few clinical trials have tested bee pollen’s ability to increase energy, such as in sports performance, or to improve memory.
Sports performance. According to a 1977 article in The New York Times, two studies on using bee pollen to improve sports performance found it to be of no significant benefit. Both trials were said to be double-blind and placebo-controlled. The first, performed in 1975, involved thirty members of a university swim team. Participants were divided into three groups and given a daily dose of ten bee pollen, ten placebo tablets, or five bee pollen and five placebo tablets. In 1976, the same experimental protocol was used, but this time with sixty participants: thirty swimmers and thirty long-distance runners. Bee pollen did not significantly improve performance in either trial. A third study on bee pollen’s effects on sports performance, also difficult to obtain, reportedly found that breathing, heart rate, and perspiration returned to normal levels more quickly in track team members taking pollen than in those taking a placebo. However, reviewers criticized the methods used in this study. The runners may have known who was taking a placebo and pollen, which could have influenced the results.
Memory. The effects of pure bee pollen on memory have not been investigated, but clinical trials of a Chinese herbal medicine containing bee pollen have been conducted in China and Denmark. The improvements in memory seen in the Chinese study were insignificant, and no improvements were found in the more recent double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study in Denmark. The formula tested was only 14 percent bee pollen, so the results may not reveal much about bee pollen’s effectiveness.
In the 2020s, additional scientific studies of the therapeutic uses of bee pollen were undertaken. Two studies published in 2023 appeared to confirm bee pollen's potent anti-inflammatory effects. One study also confirmed bee pollen's effectiveness in managing gut microbiota, which can affect various health conditions. A 2021 study showed promising results in bee pollen’s usefulness in wound management. Although these studies appear to substantiate many traditional claims about bee pollen, large-scale human studies remain necessary.
Safety Issues
Several cases of serious allergic reactions to bee pollen, including anaphylaxis, an acute allergic response that can be life-threatening, have been reported in the medical literature. The anaphylactic reactions occurred within twenty to thirty minutes of ingesting fairly small amounts of bee pollen—in one case, less than a teaspoon. The majority of these case reports involved people with known allergies to pollen.
Bibliography
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Cohen, S. H., et al. "Acute Allergic Reaction After Composite Pollen Ingestion." Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, vol. 64, 1979, pp. 270-274.
Geyman, J. P. "Anaphylactic Reaction After Ingestion of Bee Pollen." Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, vol. 7, 1994, pp. 250-252.
Iverson, T., et al. "The Effect of NaO Li Su on Memory Functions and Blood Chemistry in Elderly People." Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 56, 1997, pp. 109-116.
Johnson, Jon. "Bee Pollen: What to Know." Medical News Today, 18 May 2021, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/bee-pollen. Accessed 11 Dec. 2022.
Khalifa, Shaden A., et al. "Bee Pollen: Current Status and Therapeutic Potential." Nutrients, vol. 13, no. 6, 31 May 2021, doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu13061876. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
Montgomery, P. L. "Bee Pollen: Wonder Drug or Humbug?" The New York Times, 6 Feb. 1977, pp. 1, 7.
Olczyk, Paweł, et al. "Bee Pollen as a Promising Agent in the Burn Wounds Treatment." Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM, vol. 2016, 2016, p. 8473937, doi:10.1155/2016/8473937.