Bee Pollen



During my childhood I my summers were spent in a world where raw, organic and whole foods, usually vegetarian, were the norm. Especially when skipping an entire food group (like meat), it’s important to make sure the foods you do eat are nutritionally complete. In this place, we put bee pollen on our popcorn and I remember it tasting almost cheesy. It’s been many a year since it was a regular part of my diet but I really started feeling older this year so I’m using this to kick off a whole new set of good health habits, including daily intake of bee pollen, chia and wolfberry (aka goji) superfoods. This is the first installment of the research that led me to these choices as well as updates on my progress. 

I’ve read on a website as reputable as webmd that “years of research… cannot confirm that bee pollen has any health benefits.” With over 96 different nutrients, I have to wonder how hard someone has to try to NOT find evidence of benefit. Do we not have any research to confirm the health benefits of good nutrition?

Bee pollen contains vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, lipids, and protein. It comes from the pollen that collects on the bodies of bees. Bee pollen may also include bee saliva. It contains 22 amino acids, sources of Vitamin C, Vitamin B-complex with folic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids, enzymes, and carotene. It also contains the trace elements iron, zinc, manganese, copper, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, all of which the body cannot produce but are vital components of good health. Bee pollen is made up of 40 % protein almost all usable by the human body without further metabolism.
Bee pollen is comprised of about 13% rutin, which has the ability to make our blood vessels and capillaries more permeable and pliable while also acting to thin our blood. This is important because the hardening of our arteries and blood vessels is one of the major causes of all cardiovascular conditions.

The lecithin found in bee pollen is key to creating myelin, which is the protective covering on nerve cells. Neuropathic conditions related to myelin include MS and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
People report benefits for all kinds of conditions. If you ask me it’s really as simple as the body does well it’s job of homeostasis when given the right tools and building blocks, which is what nutrition is.

*Note on allergies: if you have or think you may have pollen allergies, this truly is a pollen . There are different schools of thought here so please consider doing further research so that you make an informed choice and perhaps ingest just a few grains initially to see if there is any reaction. I do have some pollen allergies which manifests as nasal stuffiness but I do not notice any increase in this when I’m eating bee pollen regularly. I will let you all know if this changes. 

http://hidalgofoods.com/ ; http://wisemensvitamins.com ; http://www.webmd.com

 

AromaReflexology- The science and art of applying Essential Oils to key points on the Hands, Feet and Ears to support the healthy function of the Body, Mind and Spirit.

AROMATHERAPY:

Commonly confused with Aromachology- the study of ODORS and their effects on the mind. Smells enter the brain adjacent to the limbic system, and this aspect alone is a potent tool for controlling one’s mental emotional state.

ESSENTIAL OILS take on a broader meaning when we consider their DESIGN as part of the plant’s cellular transport. They deliver Oxygen and Nutrients inside the cell wall. Nutrients impact form in both preventative and curative ways.

Cell walls and receptor sites can become corroded or covered with mucus as the body contends with toxins in our environment and our diet. As a part of their function, essential oils can eliminate this barrier to make their delivery.

Even if all they did was help oxygenate our bodies, essential oils would be an amazing tool for maintaining health and wellbeing.

In fact they do much more.

All beings vibrate at different frequencies. The higher frequencies carry us all the way to our Spirit state. The lower frequencies indicate imbalances and compromise our physical immunity. The most severe diseases exist only in the lowest frequencies.

Bodies tend to resonate and tune up or down according to the vibrational environment. This means that when we consume toxins, even cooked food, dwell on negative thoughts or even surround ourselves with others who live in a continuous state of negativity, we lower our body’s frequency and become susceptible to increasingly more severe disease. The good news is, this is how the power of positive thinking comes in. We can also raise our frequency with other substances known to be high frequencies.

The essential oil with the highest frequency studied is Rose oil, which vibrates about 3x the rate of a healthy body. A short list of essential oils that vibrate higher than a healthy human body include:lavender, helichrysum, sandalwood, lemon balm, tansy, juniper and myrrh. We’ll talk about these, some other key oils and the body systems they support.

Rose emotional, spiritual, vibrational As the highest studied frequency, this is the first oil we turn to raising the body’s when we are in a state of compromise.

Lavender physical, emotional, spiritual, vibrational This is an amazing oil and considered a “Jack of all trades,” used in almost every application. Its molecular composition allows this oil to actually penetrate the blood brain barrier and deliver its constituents directly to the central nervous system. For this reason scientists are currently studying it as a mechanism to carry pharmaceuticals for the treatment of such diseases as Muscular Sclerosis.

Helichrysum physical, vibrational Aids in DNA repair. When we are recovering from trauma or fighting diseases of the DNA, such as cancer, this is a valuable tool.

Frankincense, Sandalwood, Myrrh physical, vibrational These oils have been used since biblical times. Children of royal or very wealthy parents would be annointed with these oils at birth for spiritual purpose, but there were also some very practical concerns they addressed. Myrrh is quite an antiseptic oil, Frankincense cleansing (especially in the hepatic system) one of the few substances studied to be effective against viruses and Sandalwood (as do most tree oils) supports our skeletal structure. It’s no wonder that the rates of infant mortality were much lower among the upper classes.

Lemon Balm Again we have a jack of all trades oil that even aids in DNA repair, although to a lesser degree than helichrysum.

Tansy emotional, hormonal Here we have something that is calming to the emotions and also the central nervous system. Supports healthy hormone function.

Clary Sage is our go to oil for hormone balancing. Whether male or female, clary sage provides the raw materials our body uses to create hormones. (This oil also blends well with Fir for menstrual issues).

Juniper works with the liver and kidneys to cleanse the body of toxins.

Peppermint is a great multifunction oil. Although all oils oxygenate the body at its cellular level, peppermint is particularly so. You can apply peppermint to the soles of a baby’s feet to bring down a fever in as little as 18 seconds. The mints can also break the chronic pain cycle by confounding the nerve endings.

Oregano is our antibiotic oil. This can be caustic on skin that is not even normally sensitive, so I recommend taking it internally or keeping it to the bottoms of the feet, away from the spaces between the toes.

If at any time an application is hot on the skin, follow with vegetable oil, not water, for relief.

Clove Antibacterial, antimicrobal, antiviral, supports respiratory and immune systems.

Eucalyptus supports our respiratory system and soothes tense muscles.

Marjoram is calming emotionally and also eases tense and achy muscles.

Now that you know some basic oils, apply them for maximum benefit. Use the images to choose reflex points in the feet, hands and ears that can be used to impact particular body systems.

Hello world!

We will use this blog to store information that I have gathered along my journey that I consider relevant to wellness.

Your feedback is more than welcome.  Please feel free to comment or to suggest a subject to explore.