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Honey, lemon, a cup of hot water…. Without knowing it, we all do apitherapy when we’re trying to soothe an irritated throat or get to sleep. What is the best way to be treated with bees?
Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, Altai healers and certified European therapists believe that honey is able to overcome many diseases. Honey facilitates digestion, pollen restores health, royal jelly gives strength to a weakened body, and propolis is a scientifically recognized anti-inflammatory agent. A visit to the hive accompanied by apitherapist Dmitry Klimkov.
Honey, perfect in every way
The hive is a kind of medical center. A healing effect is exerted not only by honey, wax, propolis, but also by the air of the hive. Even the bee itself can become a medicine: a drug called “apis totale” (whole bee) is prepared from the bodies of workers and drones, which is recommended to be taken orally for inflammation of the joints and to increase immunity. Actually, honey is the result of a complex process during which nectar is transformed: sucrose becomes fructose and glucose. The metamorphoses that occur with the nectar continue in the combs – the honey “ripens”.
What are its medicinal properties?
Honey is the perfect “fuel” for life. Perhaps it is thanks to the nutrition of honey that bees have not been subject to mutations for many millions of years. It is less caloric than sugar, quickly absorbed, tones the digestive apparatus, regulates cardiac function and restores the nervous system, helps with eczema, erosion, varicose veins and stomatitis.
It contains almost half of the periodic table, as well as a number of vitamins: A, E, C, group B, rare vitamins H and PP, which normalize carbohydrate metabolism, and K, which is responsible for blood clotting.
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How to take it?
When heated, most of the useful components of honey breaks down. In production, it is pasteurized: transparent honey, through the thickness of which the bottom of the jar is visible, is almost useless. Therefore, it is better to buy it from beekeepers who work in an artisanal way in natural conditions.
The ideal way to consume this natural delicacy is sublingual: just take a teaspoon of honey under the tongue and savor it. Best stored in an opaque vessel at a temperature of 15-16°C. High-quality honey retains all properties for six months after opening the jar.
- Adults: two tablespoons daily.
- Children (up to 12 years old): XNUMX tablespoon per day with dairy products – honey promotes calcium absorption.
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Royal jelly, royal food
At the words “royal jelly” many women (and men too) are waiting for a miracle – rejuvenation, sexuality, fertility. This product, both vegetable and animal origin, is produced by young worker bees by glandular secretion. Viscous and whitish, it serves as food for the larvae, and only the queen bee feeds on it throughout her life. In five or six years (which is many times longer than the life of worker bees), she lays countless eggs after a single intercourse with a drone, at the very beginning of her royal career.
What are its merits?
Royal jelly is a bioactive substance with antibacterial and antiviral effects. It has a beneficial effect on the endocrine and nervous systems, normalizes blood composition and blood pressure. This substance regulates the release of adrenaline, which makes it especially effective in combating anxiety and insomnia. Milk slows down the aging of organs and skin – these properties are used in the production of cosmetics.
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How to choose it?
The milk extracted from the hive loses most of its properties after 1,5 hours; to preserve them, the milk is cooled or dried to obtain a dry extract. In any case, this is a very expensive medicine. The main thing is to check the expiration date.
How to use it?
The pure product has a bitter-salty taste. It is ideal to use fresh royal jelly in half with honey – in the morning, on an empty stomach, allowing it to slowly dissolve under the tongue.
- Adults: Average 300-500 mg per day. During the period of overwork – up to 800 mg.
- Children: one third to one half of the adult dose.
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Propolis anti-inflammatory
Propolis is a kind of glue produced by the oldest bees from tree resin, buds, bark and leaves of certain trees. This fragrant resinous substance is used to seal the hive, improve its microclimate and protect the bee swarm from cold, wind and parasites.
What are its medicinal properties?
Its task is to reduce the number of bacteria in the hive; in the human body it does the same. In 1994, Japanese scientists proved the antibacterial and antibiotic effectiveness of propolis. It fights all diseases of the upper respiratory tract: tonsillitis, allergic inflammation of the nasal mucosa, chronic sinusitis, catarrhs and is very effective in the treatment of inflammation of the gums and mouth, herpes on the lips. Harmful microbes and bacteria, calmly adapting to the latest generation of antibiotics, cannot develop immunity against this bee antiseptic. In addition, it affects the cardiovascular system, lowering blood pressure and lowering cholesterol.
How to use it?
For prevention – one month at the beginning of winter and at the beginning of spring. Ideally in the form of a water-alcohol solution that can be mixed with honey, tea or dairy products. Raw propolis (gum) should stay in your mouth for at least ten minutes before you swallow it.
- Adults: divide your weight by two and count the appropriate number of drops (for example, if you weigh 60 kg, you get 30 drops per day: 15 in the morning and 15 in the evening). In acute diseases take a double dose until recovery.
- Children: a quarter or a third of the adult dose for children under 12 years of age, half of the adult dose for those older.
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life-giving pollen
Perga, or “bee bread”, is pollen, which bees collect and press into lumps, and then “preserve” with a honey-enzyme composition and placed in honeycombs. As a result of fermentation, pollen turns into perga and is used as “baby food” for all larvae, except for future queens.
What are its medicinal properties?
It contains more protein than meat, fish, eggs or cheese. Its amino acids help relieve physical and mental fatigue, and selenium (contained in large quantities) slows down cell aging. Perga promotes digestion and muscle development, increases the number of white and red blood cells in case of their shortage, improves the circulatory system and affects the nervous system and brain function (therefore recommended for schoolchildren). Perga acts so effectively on the prostate gland that doctors recommend that all men over 45 take 10-15 g of this substance daily.
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How to use it?
It is taken to maintain tone – daily one week a month or two months in a row, followed by a break for three months. It is better to conduct a course of admission in early autumn or late winter. Moisten the pollen before consumption to avoid the effect of dry mouth and ease the work of the stomach. It can be mixed with water, yoghurts or fruit juices. To enhance the effect, it is advised to mix it with royal jelly.
- Adults: Taken daily, one teaspoon per day for women of average weight and one to two tablespoons per day for men. During treatment or increased physical activity (sports), doses can be doubled or tripled.
- Children: it can be given to children from six months at the rate of a quarter of a coffee spoon per day, adding to food. From 12 years old – from half to one coffee spoon per day.