Attn: Todd & Others: Bee Propolis, Honey, Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly (Questions)

[Golden Hands 0]

Sorry, the forum would not let me post any links because my account is too new.

 

This is a beautiful forum. I'm happy to be here.

 

I've searched this board for posts about honey, royal jelly, bee pollen, bee propolis, and related topics.

 

I've read some of Todd's textbook on Ayurveda (my favorite book on Ayurveda by the way), but it does not go into too much detail on the subject of all things bee. I did find the following post by Todd Caldecott:

 

further to the issue of cinnamon and honey (seriously this time...)

 

in ayurveda honey has a sweet taste, predominant in earth, water and

fire, generally displaying the properties of warmth and dryness,

helping to dispel ama and purify the body (eg. coughs, ulcers), heal

and unite tissues (capillaries/mucus membranes and skin/bone), and to

nourish ojas (with ghee, in particular...) - in chinese medicine it

is much the same except honey has a wetter action, and is used to

treat intestinal dryness - this might be a reflection of regional

differences in the honey supply

 

cinnamon is also very useful herb, predominant is earth and fire,

with a sweet, pungent and astringent taste, good for enlivening the

body, enhancing agni, promoting proper circulation, with an

astringent (grahi) activity in the bowels and useful in hemorrhage

 

taken together and consumed internally they form a reasonable

treatment for kapha and vata conditions, particularly of digestive,

respiratory and circulatory systems, and in a pinch might be helpful

in bleeding and diarrhea - but i would consider it to be a relative

mild therapy for mild conditions

 

IMO this combo is contraindicated in pitta and vata-pitta conditions,

unless, for e.g., mixed with ghee and maybe nagakeshara, licorice etc

- so i would not consider it a panacea, like triphala, shilajatu,

guduchi etc

 

best... todd

 

I found the above post very useful and it answered some of my questions about honey.

also referenced a very interesting article about the topical application of honey

 

Dr. Krishna R. S. also made this post about honey: search for: therapeutic uses of honey

 

The University of Waikato has a honey research unit and they have some decent general information: Search for waikato bee research

 

Also here is a long list of bee research from around the world: go to cyberbee dot net and look for research

 

 

 

 

There is still lots I don't understand about honey:

 

Since it is drying how careful to we have to be when using it in vata disorders?

 

Is honey something that can or should be used everyday? Are there tolerances or the potential to build up an allergic response?

 

Is honey to be completely avoided where there is hypoglycemia?

 

Honey is said to lose some of its potency/nutrional value as it ages -- is this accurate, and at what point should we consider honey expired?

 

I have seen references to fermented honey -- does this have any special characteristics? Anyone have recipes for fermenting honey?

 

Is it the warmth of honey that provokes pitta?

 

Is it proper to use honey like you would vitamin C when you get sick?

 

Other than pitta conditions or endocrine/blood sugar disorders, is there any other contradictions for honey?

 

 

 

And then there is bee pollen, bee propolis, and royal jelly. I am especially interested in bee propolis. I found the following research about bee propolis: vitanetonline.com slash forums slash 1 slash Thread slash 27

 

Some of the qualities of bee propolis read like the qualities of honey. Is anyone aware of an ayurvedic analysis of bee propolis?

 

Does the age of bee propolis matter? Is fresher better? And bee propolis can be so sticky and difficult to consume -- what is the way of consumption recommended by ayurveda? Can bee propolis be used regularily?

 

If a person had a severe allergy to bee products, would gradually increased dose be a safe approach or would even a minute amount of bee propolis, pollen, etc. be enough to set off a severe reaction?

 

If anyone knows good sources of information about bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, or honey, please do share.

 

Much obliged.

 

Golden Hands