Bee Pollen

Bee pollen contains trace amounts of minerals and vitamins and is very high in protein and carbohydrates. Bee pollen is not found in the everyday diet. It is found in nutritional supplements and Chinese herbal medicine products. It comes from the pollen that collects on the bodies of bees. Bee pollen may also include bee saliva.

It's important to avoid confusing bee pollen with natural honey, honeycomb, bee venom, or royal jelly. These products do not contain bee pollen.

Bee pollen is available at many health food stores. You may find bee pollen in other natural dietary supplements, as well as in skin softening products used for baby's diaper rash or eczema.

At this point, medical research has not shown that bee pollen is effective for any of these health concerns.

Common Doses

Tablets of bee pollen usually contain 200 to 500 mg of bee pollen. There is not a typical dosage of bee pollen. Bee pollen has been used to enhance energy, memory and performance, although there is no scientific evidence that it does. Bee pollen is also taken to prevent hay fever. Some people believe that ingesting pollens will help to build resistance to them, although it is possible to have a severe allergic reaction to these pollens.

Safety

Serious allergic reactions to bee pollen have been reported, including potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis. These reactions occurred with small amounts of bee pollen, less than one teaspoon. Most of these case reports were with people with known allergies to pollen.