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The Power of the Beehive
Royal
Jelly |
Royal
Jelly is a creamy white substance synthesized by the
common worker bee for the sole nourishment of the Queen
bee.
The
Queen bee is remarkable in its extended longevity and
reproductive capability when compared to the worker bee.
The Queen lives almost ten times longer then the worker
bee: five years for the Queen, and less than six weeks
for the worker bee. The Queen grows to be almost 50%
larger than the worker and has exceptional reproductive
capabilities, laying almost 2500 eggs in a single day.
So
how does the Queen bee achieve this remarkable longevity
– Royal Jelly. The Queen is hatched from the same egg
as the worker bee but is selected to receive a diet of
pure royal jelly, while the common worker bee feeds off
honey and other substances around the hive. Royal Jelly
transforms the queen into an incredible insect,
enhancing its physical performance to remarkable levels.
Not
surprisingly, man has shown much interest in this
substance, regarding it as the ‘elixir’ or ‘crown
jewel’ of the hive. Many studies have been performed
to try to establish its nutritional content and the
effect of its nutrients on living beings.
Despite
these extensive studies, the actual chemical make-up of
royal jelly is still something of a mystery.
Royal
jelly is the only natural source of pure acetylcholine.
It has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties and
has been implicated as beneficial in a wide range of
health conditions. It is associated with benefits to
bronchial asthma, insomnia, and many skin problems. It
is known to support the immune system and may be of
benefit in liver, kidney, and pancreatic diseases as
well as stomach ulcers and bone fractures.
What
is the chemical composition of Royal Jelly? - Royal
Jelly contains approximately 12% protein, 5-6% lipids
and 12-15% carbohydrates. It’s B Vitamin content is
high, and with 17 amino acids, including all 8 essential
amino acids, it is a nutritious hormone-rich substance
with a wide spectrum of potential benefits. Royal Jelly
also contains around 15% aspartic acid, which is
important for tissue growth, muscle and cell
regeneration.
Vitamin
Content
Vitamin B I (Thiamine) .................... 1.5 to 7.4
mcg.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) .................... 5.3 to 10.0
mcg.
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) .................. 2.2 to 10.2
mcg.
Niacin (nicotinic acid) .......................91.0 to
149.0 mcg.
Pantothenic Acid ..............................65.0 to
200.0 mcg.
Biotin ..............................................
0.9 to 3.7 mcg.
Inositol
.............................................78.0 to
150.0 mcg.
Folic Acid ........................................ 0.16
to 0.50mcg.
Vitamin C .......Trace
The
amino acids in royal jelly are of significant interest
to nutritionists. Long associated with the ability to
fight ‘free-radicals’ in the body, amino acids
form the very basis of our chemical make-up, and are
essential to growth and the ability to fight infection
and disease. In most cases we cannot create our own
amino acids, we must ingest them through the foods
that we eat. The importance of amino acids and the
fact that they are so abundant in bee products
warrants special attention. It is in our section ‘Amino
Acids’ that we will reveal the true potential of
Royal Jelly as a nutritive substance that is rich in
amino acids.
Royal
Jelly and our health:-
Royal
Jelly (along with bee pollen, propolis and honey)
contains a natural source of essential nutrients which
the body needs to maintain good health. Maintaining good
health is especially hard in today’s increasingly
toxic environment. Both our food supply and our diet is
often deficient in important nutrients. Therefore, we
need to supplement our diet with products such as royal
jelly and the other products of the beehive
Royal
jelly also has a yeast inhibiting function which may
prevent conditions such as thrush and athlete’s foot.
It is also used to treat muscular dystrophy, MS and
Parkinson’s disease as well as reduce allergic
symptoms and help control cholesterol levels.
Also of significance, Royal Jelly has been found to be
of great help in boosting the body’s resistance to the
harmful side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
These treatments attack the immune system at its very
core, and in many cases the actual treatment delivers a
debilitating blow and not the illness itself. Royal
Jelly with its high amino acid content can help the
immune system and provide a basic defense against
external elements that ordinarily attack the immune
system and reduce our body’s capability for defense.
Supplementing our diet with Royal Jelly helps to rebuild
the good cells that are destroyed by chemotherapy and
helps to strengthen the immune system.
Royal
Jelly also contains the amino and gamma globulin, which
helps your immune system fight off viral infections. It
also contains sterols, phosphorous compounds and
acetylcholine, which is needed to transmit nerve
messages from cell to cell.
Like
propolis, royal jelly also appears to have anti-tumor
properties. A team of Japanese researchers gave royal
jelly to one of two groups of laboratory mice before
transplanting different types of cancer cells in them.
The royal jelly had dramatic effects on sarcoma cells.
The life-span of the mice was extended by about
one-fifth and tumor sizes were about half the size,
compared with untreated mice, according to a report in
the journal Nippon Yakurigaku Zasshji-Folia
Pharmacologica Japonica (Feb. 1987;89:73-80).
Associated
Benefits* - Many
of the benefits of Royal Jelly are associated with its
high concentration of essential amino acids, and we
refer you to our chapter on amino acids for more
information and more possible benefits to explore.
In
short, Royal Jelly has been noted for its positive
benefits on:
-
energy
-
chronic
fatigue
-
skin
/ hair / nails / bones / joints
-
hormonal
regulation
-
asthma
-
sexual
vitality / impotence
-
weight
regulation
-
rejuvenation
- recovery from illness
-
immune
system stimulant
-
cholesterol
levels
-
cardiovascular
health
-
anti-depressive
/ anti-anxiety
-
high
blood pressure
-
mental
condition / memory
-
depression
-
arthritis
-
liver
ailments / conditions
-
eczema
/ impetigo / skin disorders
Can
Man Recreate Royal Jelly? – Evidently
not. Studies have uncovered some of the nutritional
properties of this substance, but much remains
undiscovered.
Dr.
Albert Saenz of the Pasteur Institute in Paris wrote:
"Numerous studies ... demonstrate the existence of
fractions in Royal Jelly which correspond to 97 percent
of the substance, plus an undermined fraction whose very
presence could explain the remarkable and mysterious
properties of Royal Jelly." He continues, "
Here's yet another product of the beehive with a touch
of the bee's magic in it. I suppose some day science
will figure out what these unidentifiable elements are
and some researcher will try to manufacture them. Until
then, the only place to get these mystery nutrients is
from the bees."
How
is Royal Jelly Processed for Human Consumption? – Royal
Jelly is a liquid containing approximately 67% water,
and as such is prone to contamination once it is removed
from the sterile environment of the beehive.
Once
removed from the hive it must be processed quickly to
prevent contamination, ideally within two or three
hours. Processing generally involves one or a
combination of the following steps:
-
Treating
the product with a chemical preservative.
-
Lyophilizing
the product (removing the water, often termed
freeze-drying)
-
Adding
a natural preservative like honey.
-
Freezing
the substance or attempting to maintain it in a
refrigerated state.
The
favored process is lyophilizing or freeze-drying. This
removes the water without effecting the nutrient quality
of the product and creates a white powder which can be
capsulated for human consumption. Once in capsulated
form the product generally has a shelf life of 4 years
and does not require refrigeration.
Many
questions are raised about the nutritional quality of
Royal Jelly, and usually relate to the issue of
processing:- "freeze-dried versus non-freeze
dried".
Freeze
drying ‘locks-in’ the nutritional content of the
product and removes any doubts about handling the
product down the line. For example, if you choose liquid
royal jelly which is sold as ‘requiring
refrigeration’, how do you know that the product has
been stored and transported in a refrigerated state, and
that it isn’t in a partially decomposed state with
diminished nutritive properties?
Summary:-
Royal
Jelly – A
veritable jewel of nutrition and recognized as a potent
bringer of energy, health and vitality.It
is rich in minerals, natural hormones, B vitamins, fatty
acid, and folic acids, along with aspartic acid which is
important for tissue regeneration and growth.It
contains all essential amino acids required to sustain
life.It
is taken as a stress reducer and to promote recovery
from fatigue. Its balancing properties are associated
with many benefits to our important body systems and for
this it is taken by a large number of menopausal women,
and by men looking for improved sexual vitality.
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