Do I Need To Start A Bee Hive?

I love honey and I have been doctoring lately and have been told by several of the nurses about the wonderful properties of honey. But today I want to write about another product of the bee, the pollen!

The science behind the benefits of bee pollen is that it is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, protein, and live enzymes. Because of its dense nutrition bee pollen uses included supporting energy needs, muscle strength, healthy digestion, immune support, and allergy relief. Bee pollen is taken as a supplement in its naturally occurring granule form and ground into a fine powder and put in the form of a pill or chewable tablet.

Pollen contains greater concentrations of living enzymes than any other part of the plant. Scientists state that enzymes are absolutely essential for every biochemical function of the body. Enzymes are the essential triggers for the metabolic system of every living thing from the grass in your yard to the cute baby hippopotamus.

Bee pollen has a well-deserved reputation as an allergy relief supplement. It is a natural antihistamine, and it provides immune system support that is believed to help reduce immune responses (such as sneezing, coughing, and itching) to non-threatening external stimuli. Typically it is not necessary to consume local bee pollen to achieve the allergy relief benefits. (But I try to buy locally for many reasons, and I still think local pollen and honey somehow help any symptoms I experience.)

Benefits of bee pollen:

• Pollen helps build and improve muscle conditioning for strength and endurance
• Live enzymes support better digestion
• Natural antihistamine fights allergies
• Immune system booster
• Supports healthy hormonal balance
• Contains whole food antioxidants, vitamins and minerals

If you live near a Health Food Store that happens to have well trained employees, stop in some time and ask about bee pollen. If your experience is anything like mine, you will hope the store has some chairs!

One of my favorite dog resources is the Whole Dog Journal. The article on bee pollen in the Whole Dog Journal is so good that I know I would do it in justice by trying to paraphrase what it says. Here is the link to the bee pollen article. I hope you find is as good of a dog health read as anything you have read lately. I know I did.

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/10_9/features/Bee-Honey-Products-Help-Canines_15967-1.html

Do you have any experience with honey or bee pollen? I would love to hear about it.

Three of My Favorite Supplements

Dogs might not use words, but they do “talk” to us and let us know when they are happy, depressed, in pain or feeling good. There are many articles and papers dedicated to evaluating which are the best dog foods available. I follow these and have learned to read labels and understand what I am reading. However, dog food is meant to meet the requirements for substance, but not nutrient needs for peak health. Therefore, more than 10 years ago I found a veterinarian who understood the need for supplements. It was slightly less than a 6 hour drive one way to see her, but I believe she helped me keep a dog at least an extra 4 years with supplements.

My dog had a runny nose this morning. So the first thing I did was go to his cabinet and look at the supplements I had available. With the internet’s help, I researched each bottle and chose two to add to my dog’s food. Remember I have had vet instruction on how to add these plus I have attended several seminars and do as much research as I can. This weekend, I will pay for a telephone consultation to inquire about what I think I would like to add and see if there is something I do not know about. Sometimes I just need to hear that they need to be added gradually while others can be given 6 tablets at a time.

As of this morning, had about 10 bottles in my dog’s cabinet. Here are three of my favorites.

Boswellia (also known as frankincense) is an herbal medicine made from the resin of the boswellia serrata tree. For thousands of years, boswellia has been regarded as a potent anti-inflammatory nutrient. Modern studies have shown that boswellia is effective for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Gamma Oryzanol is a mixture of antioxidant compounds that occurs naturally in rice bran oil. Gamma oryzanol is believed to improve muscle tone and performance, which has made rice bran oil a popular supplement among athletes and animal breeders. Gamma oryzanol is one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, which are known to protect against heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. Gamma oryzanol was first extracted from rice bran oil in Japan in 1953, and rice bran oil has since gained a reputation as the world’s healthiest seed oil.

Spirulina is a microscopic blue-green vegetable algae that nourishes the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems, and can promote tissue repair and reduce inflammation. Spirulina is a source of highly absorbable protein, mixed carotenoids and other phytonutrients, B-Vitamins, GLA and essential amino acids. Of all the algae, Spirulina has emerged as an especially potent and healthy food source for humans and animals alike.

Do you supplement your dog’s food? What do you use and why? I would love to learn from you.