What Is in Bee Pollen?
As many of us know, bee pollen is one of nature’s “superfoods”: rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, this contains many essential ingredients that are necessary to sustain life. People who are knowledgeable about health foods and healthy diets speak often about bee pollen: but what, exactly, is it?
Sometimes called “ambrosia,” This is the pollen that worker bees collect from flowering plants. These grains contain the mail germ cells produced by all plants as part of the fertilization process. They bring this raw pollen back to their hives, where it is mixed with some honey and eventually fed to bee larvae. (Those larvae that are destined to become queen bees are fed “royal jelly” instead of bee pollen.)
While the composition of it varies slightly from region to region — depending on the flower mix from which the pollen is collected, the climate, and other variables — all this is extremely rich in nutrients. This contains at least 18 vitamins, including most B-complex vitamins, vitamins A, C, D, E, and F, folic acid, choline, inositol, rutin, and more.
Minerals that are found in this include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, copper, iodine, zinc, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, boron, silica, and titanium. Generally, we must consume minerals in a proper balance — if we take a calcium supplement, for instance, then levels of manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc are depressed. This is not only a source of at least 25 minerals, but is a balanced source: these minerals are present� in a ratio that is most beneficial to our health.
The protein content of bee pollen ranges from 10 to 35 percent, averaging about 20 percent. Nearly half of this protein is in the form of fee amino acids: all this 22 amino acids, though proportions vary slightly among bee pollen samples. There is a greater proportion of protein in bee pollen than in beef, eggs, or cheese; this can thus be a great source of protein for vegetarians. About 35 grams of bee pollen taken daily will provide all the body’s protein requirements.
Bee pollen also contains natural sugars, including fructose, glucose, pentose, raffinose, and sucrose; these are the same natural sugars that can be found in honey, and they are present in chains and bonds that are easily digested. Many of these sugars in fact are converted to predigested form by the bees’ salivary glands. Some carbohydrates and fats are also present in bee pollen; fats and oils, specifically fatty acids, account for about 5 percent of bee pollen’s total composition.
Certain enzymes, which are essential in the digestive process, are also present in bee pollen; the enzyme composition of this compares with that of yeast, and the alcoholic fermentation of pollen is identical to that of yeast. Enzymes found in bee pollen include amylase, catalase, cozymase, cytochrome, dehydrogenase, diaphorase, diastase, lactic acids, and more.
In addition, bee pollen contains nearly 60 trace minerals, all in highly digestible form, as well as antiobiotic elements that help counteract bacteria. The shells of the pollen granules contain cellulose and sporonine.
With so many essential nutrients, it’s no wonder that bee pollen is considered a “superfood”!
