| |
Honeybees really are amazing animals. Apart from
providing a vital role in much of our food supply through their help with
pollination, they also provide us with fantastic, natural, healthy bee
products.
When thinking of bees, for most people it is honey that comes to mind.
Over the past few years honey has been regaining its reputation for its
naturally healthy qualities. Helped by more research effort, this has been
particularly led by the unique healing properties, proven by proper
research, found in some batches of New Zealand’s manuka honey.
Bees do produce another product, that they make use of, which makes a great
natural remedy – propolis.
Propolis is a resin type substance, produced mainly from bees collecting
tree sap, mixed with some pollen. It has antibiotic properties due to its
content of biologically active flavonoids.
The source of your propolis is important, as its actual content varies by
location, based on just what the bees in each area have available to them.
Natural medicine practitioners have commonly used propolis for the relief of
various conditions, including inflammations, viral diseases, ulcers,
superficial burns and scalds. It can also help with some fungal infections.
It is an old beekeepers trick to use a piece of propolis in the mouth as a
remedy for a sore throat. This is now one of the common uses propolis
products are aimed at, the winter ills such as sore throats, coughs and
colds. You can of course now get a rather more pleasant tasting honey and
propolis lozenge (or other flavour) to help with your sore throat.
Some people who are sensitive to bee products do need to take care, as it
may cause allergic reactions in them.
Similar to the situation with many natural remedies, much of the evidence
supporting it is still anecdotal. But with a growing number of scientific
research studies underway around the world, a better understanding of
propolis and what it can help with is occurring.
A significant difficulty in getting good scientific evidence for any natural
remedy such as porpolis is again the fact they naturally vary in composition
and potency. Being produced by mother nature, and not to a set standard in a
laboratory creates obstacles to getting consistent results.
Taking a step towards dealing with this, and having a standard for measuring
potency, New Zealand’s leading health bee products company Comvita has come
up with a test and standard for their New Zealand sourced propolis tinctures
and extracts. Comvita’s ‘PFL’ standard is a measure of Propolis Flavonoid
Levels. An independent laboratory is used to have each batch of propolis
certified. You then have information on the potency of their propolis
products.
Of course there is a wider range of options propolis remedies. You can get
combinations with honey, propolis soaps, and even propolis in a toothpaste.
So next time you are starting to suffer from any of winter’s ill effects,
yes, remember honey is good, but don’t forget there is another health bee
product in propolis that also may help you.
|
|
