Info about Royal Jelly

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ROYAL JELLY-THE ELIXIR OF LIFE*

 

Warning: Royal jelly has been reported to cause severe allergic reactions

and in rare cases fatalities, especially in asthma and allergy sufferers.

Not suitable for children.

 

The following statements are not our statements. You must read our full

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* This article was entirely copied from " BEEHIVE " by M.S. Landis, 1993

ISBN 0 959 2791 0 5

 

 

 

The healing properties of Royal Jelly have been known to folk medicine for

centuries. It was discovered and rediscovered in different parts of our

globe throughout history. The therapeutic use of Royal Jelly was described

in the records of Alexander the Great and in the travels of Marco Polo.

 

The therapeutic properties of Royal Jelly are mentioned in the Bible, the

Koran and the Talmud. The father of medicine, Hypocrites, and Pliny the

naturalist both believed that Royal Jelly protected against disease.

 

Most of us will remember the time when the late Pope Pius XII was very ill.

Royal Jelly as reported by the Popes personal surgeon Dr. Lisi was used and

was mainly responsible for restoring him to health, which he was able to

enjoy for a further four years. In a public speech after his illness the

late Pope referred to Royal Jelly and described bees as " little creatures of

God " .

 

Dr. K. Adenauer, Ex-Chancellor of West Germany, at the age of 84 years, was

taken ill and had to temporarily abandon his position as ruler. He too, was

treated with Royal Jelly and he, too, personally gave credit to Royal Jelly,

enabling him to resume his arduous duties with much of the vigor of his

earlier days, he ruled West Germany until he was 87.

 

It is recorded in ancient Egyptian history that Cleopatra used Royal Jelly

to help her remain so healthy and beautiful and so remain the most beautiful

woman of her day. Her handmaidens were sworn to secrecy in this matter,

otherwise they would be severely dealt with if they divulged the truth.

Fortunately nothing like this happens today. We all realize today that if

the individual is healthy, happy and vigorous, then our nation as a whole,

must be strong. So, everyone has the opportunity of obtaining health-giving

commodities such as Royal Jelly in these more enlightened days.

 

In recent times Royal Jelly has been enjoyed as Nature's own tonic. Like

acupuncture it has become medically respected in many countries.

Royal Jelly is commercially produced in China, Japan, Russia, France, US,

Italy and Austria, amongst other countries.

The most prolific consumers of Royal Jelly are Japan, the United States and

Switzerland. Not only are the aged and the infirm in these countries taking

Royal Jelly, but athletes are increasingly appreciative of the benefits of

Royal Jelly.

 

Russian wrestlers and the entire Finnish Olympic team take Royal Jelly as

part of their training regime.

 

The now well known rejuvenation clinics and health farms in Austria,

Switzerland and Rumania use Royal Jelly in their dietary and recuperative

programs.

 

The British Royal Family are reported to be great fans of Royal Jelly Prince

Phillip takes it regularly to fight arthritis in his wrist, and Princes:

Diana made headlines this year when it was divulged she took Royal Jelly to

cure morning sickness. Princess Anne and Princess Margaret have tried it,

and Princess Diana's stepmother, Barbara Cartland, swears by it.

 

British comedian John Cleese uses it, and Peter Pan singer, Clif Richard,

may owe some of his youthfulness to Royal Jelly. (Australasia Post, April

29th, 1982).

 

Although not new to Australia, few people in this country are fully aware of

the remarkable properties of Peking Royal Jelly. With so many synthetic

medications nowadays, this natural product made by bees is gaining greater

appreciation.

 

For the fit and healthy, Royal Jelly at the very least promotes a feeling of

euphoria.

 

Royal Jelly holds a special position in natural medicines. It is the nearest

substance to the elusive elixir of life, and does have an important role to

play in today's health problems.

 

One can appreciate why Royal Jelly is so nutritious if one examines the

source of this wonderful elixir.

 

Royal Jelly is the only food of a Queen Bee. She is fed on this her whole

life, and because of this highly potent diet she grows far bigger and live,,

twenty times longer than ordinary bees. The Queen Bee also is the only

reproducer in her hive. Royal Jelly activates sex hormones in her body

whilst the reproductive capacity of working bees, which don't eat Royal

Jelly, never develops. (And yet both of them come from exactly the same

eggs.

 

If it can do so much for the bees, imagine what benefits it could hold for

humans!

THE SOURCE OF ROYAL JELLY

 

The larva is chosen and feted if an existing Queen is getting old, or if a

hive needs leaders to begin new hives.

 

To create this `super bee', the workers build a Queen cell, which is much

larger than an ordinary worker cell, and hangs off the comb. Next, an egg is

placed in the Royal cell and saturated in Royal Jelly.

 

The Royal Jelly is produced by a gland in the worker bee's head. A most

unusual place for a nursing gland!

 

Although man has been using Royal Jelly and documenting its benefits for

hundreds of years, it was not until 1912 that the source of Royal Jelly was

actually pinpointed. The great German scientist D.J. Lange discovered that

Royal Jelly was produced by the hypopharyngeal glands of worker bees,

normally 5-15 days old.

 

Royal Jelly is emitted from the gland after being synthesized during the

digestion of nectar and pollen, which bees gather from the stamens of

flowers. It is also widely believed that honey is added to the solution.

Royal Jelly however is not simply digested pollen and honey. Chemical

changes have taken place during digestion, and the metamorphosis produces an

entirely new substance, known as Royal Jelly.

 

Royal Jelly is also fed to drone bees and young worker larva for two days.

They then become tiny bees and switch to a humbler diet of pollen and honey.

The larva selected to become a Queen Bee grows far more rapidly than the

worker bees. She is virtually swimming in Royal Jelly and within 5 days of

hatching grows from an insignificant weight of .1 of a mg. to 300 mg., that

is, about 1800 times its original weight!

 

The Queen Bee is the subject of further miraculous events.The Queen is going

to live 4 or 5 years, while her drones will live the " life of a rose " , i.e.,

not more than 45 days in a working period.

 

Perhaps the most extraordinary evidence of the Queen's physical make-up is

her reproductive capacity. The Queen is able to lay up to 2,000 or more eggs

per day during her entire life. A daily batch of eggs equals more than twice

the weight of the Queen, and it is estimated that she will produce over

3,000,000 eggs during the course of her life.

 

Intensive study of the hive has confirmed, beyond doubt, that in spite of

such achievements, the only difference between the Queen and the average bee

is her diet of Royal Jelly.

 

This is a classic example, that even in beehives, tiny creatures, like human

beings, simply BECOME WHAT THEY EAT.

 

This natural phenomena can be put to practical use in order to serve man.

Through a certain amount of planning Royal Jelly can be produced in a

controlled environment.

 

It is necessary to deprive the hive of the Queen to produce a reaction from

the worker bees. They will build royal cells and begin producing Royal

Jelly.

 

But if the bees are left to produce the Royal cells themselves, it is done

haphazardly. They build in every direction, anywhere, even on beams. As the

aim is to gather the jelly in the best possible conditions of hygiene and

convenience, it is necessary to direct their labor. Using a 50-year old

method, small artificial cups of wax are glued to laths and are introduced

into the hive. Into these cups young larvae aged less than 36 hours have

beer grafted. They are left there for two and a half days.

 

Through precise analysis it has been discovered that during that period the

Royal Jelly produced is more abundant and richer than at any other time.

 

Afterwards the special frame with the cups is withdrawn, the larvae are

taken off, and 150 to 300 mg. of Royal Jelly per cup is gathered. Of course

this is a very tedious and time consuming procedure.

To say the very least, Royal Jelly is a fascinating conversation piece, as

is; bound to be any subject that deals with sex and the prolongation of

life.

 

The author asks the reader to be patient with the briefing on scientific

material. However, no thorough understanding of the subject may be had

without it. Keep in mind that we are dealing with an intriguing if no

mysterious substance that has the power to change the life of a tiny insect

from the humdrum of the life of an unsexed worker bee that will live only

from 2 to 6 months, to a beautiful, large sexually perfect Queen Bee, served

constantly throughout her life by a retinue of attendants and living instead

for from 2 to 5 years. Also remember that it is this food exclusively that

enables this Queen ti perform the incredible feat of laying more than twice

her own weight in egg in a single day, which she does sometimes day after

day for prolonged periods. Thus, we are dealing with a substance whose

influence on sex and the prolongation of life is unapproached in performance

in comparison to anything, else known to man.

 

The scientific literature on Royal Jelly is not voluminous, nor yet is :

merely sketchy. Some good solid work has been done on the subject, most of i

just preceding World War II, with much less of the scientific since. Because

c the limitation of space, all technical terms used have not been defined.

This is nevertheless not essential to a good understanding of Royal Jelly.

Read the book through, and if I have succeeded in what I have tried to do,

you will have an up-to-date comprehension of a challenging subject that has

been causing more discussion than anything since Vergil's " VI Georgics " or

Napoleon' nominating the honey bee as a symbol of his anticipated dynasty.

 

It was less than 40 years ago when scientists decided to pierce the mystery

of the composition of the Royal Jelly.

 

The first reported research on Royal Jelly seems to have been the one

published in a well-known American Beekeepers' Magazine: " Gleaning in Bee

Culture " . The richness of Royal Jelly in the B group vitamin was pointed

out. A little later, M. Aeppler, professor of apiculture in Wisconsin, gave

a global analysis of this substance (which, due to its complicated

formulation, we do not find necessary to reproduce here). However, as we

must know the composition of Royal Jelly, here is an abridged formula, the

details of which will be studied further on:

 

Water 65.05%

Proteins 12.34%

Fats 6.46%

Carbohydrates 12.49%

Ash 0.82%

Undetermined matter 2.84%

Total 100%

 

(R.B. Wilson, American Bee Journal)

 

* This article was entirely copied from " BEEHIVE " by M.S. Landis, 1993

ISBN 0 959 2791 0 5