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Healing From the Hive Bees rarely rest. Once the sun comes up they go to work and they can be seen returning to the hive well after dark. Because of this biologic drive and stamina, they are remarkably productive creatures. They can create up to 300 pounds of honey per hive in a single four month growing season which is amazing in itself. But they also produce up to ten pounds of beeswax per hive as well as a unique substance called propolis or 'bee glue' which may prove to be a remarkable medicine in the future. Two hive products that are not listed here are royal jelly and bee pollen. I don't use them or collect them from my bees but many people do and claim myriad heath benefits from them. I often give lectures to beekeepers and interested community groups called "Healing From the Hive". Read on to find out why.
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 Liquid Gold Honey is the product most associated with honey bees and for good reason. Humans have been consuming it since prehistoric times. Cave painting actually show early humans 'robbing' beehives and the love affair has continued ever since. Honey was really the only sweetener people had until the advant of sugar cane and sugar beet farming which came much later in our history. Bees naturally produce honey in the spring and summer and store it in their hives in preparation for a long winter when the plants are not blooming and no food will be available. Being true overacheivers, they most often produce a large surplus of honey so we as beekeepers 'rob' or extract the excess. It is an art to judge how much honey the bees need for the winter and take only what will be in excess for them. Taking too much can be a deadly mistake. A long cold snap in the winter can cause the hive to starve. Not only does honey taste great but it has many healing properties as well. Eating local honey produced in the same area in which one lives has been proven to lessen seasonal allergy symptoms. Raw, local honey contains trace amounts of local pollen and when it is ingested, the body mounts an immune response. When the real onlslaught of pollen begins flying in the air, the body does not view it as such a foreign substance and thus the full blown allergic reaction does not occur. I urge you to give local honey a try if seasonal allergies are a problem for you. Honey has also been used throughout the ages as a skin softening agent and also as an 'antibiotic' for wounds and burns and it also has remarkable preservative properties. It is the only food that when properly sealed will never spoil. Actually, I think Hostess Twinkies fall into that category too but I wouldn't recommend slathering those on a burn. Alexander the great was supposed to have been embalmed in honey so his body could be taken back home for burial and the ancient Egyptians used honey similarly. Modern medicine is just now catching on and honey is now being used for bacterial resistant wound and burn healing. The process by which honey heals wounds is fascinating and involves the production of hydrogen peroxide at the wound/honey interface. There is more research being done every day on this topic and with more antibiotic resistant bacteria being born every day it deserves much more study. |
 | Beeswax and Propolis Beeswax Beeswax also has a long history as a useful product for humans. Candles have been found dating from the 1st century A.D. and wax figurines survive from Egyptian tombs from 3500 B.C. It's uses both ancient and modern are many including cosmetics, sealing documents, paints, furniture polish, adhesives and bronze casting. Whereas honey is produced with the help of plants, Beeswax is produced entirely by the bees themselves in wax glands on their abdomens. When first secreted, it is pure white but will age to a yellow or brownish color after several years. When I extract my honey I must first take off the wax that is covering the top of the comb. I collect this wax and filter it and then add it to my balms and lotions to thicken them. When mixed with vegetable oils and and healing herbs, the beeswax creates a temporary waterproof barrier allowing the therapuedic properites to be absorbed by the skin thus allowing healing to take place.
Propolis  Propolis is a sticky product made mostly from the resins of trees. Here in my part of North Carolina it is usually the sap of various pine trees or Sweet Gum that the bees exploit but the trees differ depending on the part of the world one is in. Subsequently, the propolis from my hives has different properties than the propolis from say, Texas or Washington state. The bees use it to seal the hive against weather and invaders and also to add strength to the structure of the hive, hence the nickname 'bee glue'. It is also used to sanitize the hive and the bees do this by mixing it with beeswax and painting the inside walls with it. When something gets inside the hive that the bees find impossible to remove, they will often encase it in propolis to keep it from 'infecting' the hive. Mice have been found entombed this way. Propolis has documented antimicrobial properties and so I use it in my products as a natural preservative. It's use as an antibiotic and antiviral agent have long been employed in eastern European countries where beekeeping has a long and revered history. Many studies are now ongoing in the United States to investigate further uses for this amazing product.
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 Bee Venom Bee Venom is a well know 'bee product' but one that usually has a bad connotation for most people. The sting is painful and the swelling and itching associated with it are uncomfortable. But this immune response has now been shown to be effective in treating disease. Apitherapy, as the science is now called, involves using any product of the hive to aid in recovery from disease or to maintain optimal health. Bee venom is one of the therapies used and involves administering bee stings in a controled manner at a specific spot on the body to lessen the symptoms of various diseases namely Arthritis and Mutiple Schlerosis (MS). Accupuncurists are now using bee venom in their practice as well. Apitherapy is becoming more acceptable to mainstream medicine but is still viewed by some traditional medical professionals as voodoo medicine. However, as more studies are done and first hand testimonials are heard, I believe this powerful medicine will gain the respect that it deserves. You can learn more at www.apitherapy.org. |
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