Bee Pollen Complex Benefits

Bee pollen complex consists of plant pollen, which are the male gametes found in the stamen of flowers, combined with plant nectar, bee saliva and digestive enzymes. Bee pollen is gathered by worker bees from a variety of flowers, then collected commercially by devices placed at entrances to hives that brush the material from their legs. Bee pollen is considered a super food due to its high nutritional content. The reported benefits of bee pollen are widespread and go back thousands of years to ancient Greece and China.

A Complete Food Source

Bee pollen warrants its label of super-food as it is one of the most complete food sources known. According to "Nutritional Sciences," studies have shown that generations of mice have thrived on bee pollen exclusively, with no signs of malnourishment. Bee pollen contains high concentrations of vitamin B-complex, including folic acid, as well as vitamins A, C, D and E. It contains numerous minerals, trace elements and all eight essential amino acids that your body cannot produce on its own. Bee pollen is also a good source of antioxidants, hormones and more than 5,000 enzymes and coenzymes necessary for digestion and healing.

According to "Biochemistry of Human Nutrition," bee pollen's composition is about 55 percent carbohydrate, 35 percent protein, 5 percent fibrous material, 3 percent vitamins and minerals and 2 percent polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Increases Energy and Vitality

Perhaps bee pollen's best known benefit is as an energy booster. The vitamin B-complex, which bee pollen is rich in, is primarily involved in oxidation and energy production within the mitochondria of cells, according to "Vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health.". Carbohydrates and fatty acids are needed for energy production as they provide the smaller molecules to be oxidized. Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, allow for muscle mass to grow or be maintained.

Bee pollen is a popular supplement for athletes due to its energy boost, but also because it can help increase strength, endurance and speed. It can also help the body recover from exercise, returning breathing and heart rate to normal. Because bee pollen is quickly assimilated within the body and its carbohydrates are rapidly reduced to glucose molecules, the brain has the fuel needed to maintain alertness, clarity and concentration.

Stimulates the Immune System

Due to bee pollen's high content of vitamins, especially vitamin C, and other antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, it is an effective immune system stimulator. Vitamins C and E stimulate white blood cell production, some of which are able to seek and destroy pathogenic organisms, such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Antioxidants seek and destroy harmful free-radicals, which are products of oxidation reactions and thought to cause aging and deterioration of tissues, and play a role in some cancers. Bee pollen also contains propolis, a resinous substance from trees that the worker bees collect to build and repair their hive. Propolis has antimicrobial properties within the human body that can retard fungi, bacteria and viruses. A salve or tincture of propolis can be used externally to speed the healing of wounds.