Bee pollen or honey, which is the better option when it comes to health supplements? The truth is that a lot of people are confused about which one to choose. In fact, many don’t even realize that these are two different substances, often assuming that they are one and the same.
Bee Pollen and Honey – The Difference!
While they may be similar in many ways – both are used by bees as food, for instance – there are also several significant differences between these two.
For example, bee pollen is called the bread of the hive, while honey is referred to as the milk.
It is pollen that actually sustains bees’s lives; without this superfood, bees will not have enough energy to produce honey.
Bee pollen is made of pollen grains mixed with nectar or honey and digestive enzymes secreted by the worker bees. Honey on the other hand is regurgitated nectar.
Bee Pollen or Honey – Benefits
In order to answer the question about which of the two bee products is the healthier option, one must closely examine the health benefits that each substance can bring.
For years, honey has been used widely as a natural remedy for coughs, colds, and sore throats. It is often mixed in with a glass of fruit juice or taken directly with a spoon, just like a regular cough syrup.
But recent studies show that the amount of nutrients contained in a single spoonful of honey is quite negligible. Before you can get the amount that would make a difference, you would have to consume several jars of honey first.
On the other hand, bee pollen is naturally very rich in practically all the vitamins and minerals required by the human body. It contains decent amount of vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K.
It also has high levels of copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium and zinc, plus considerable amounts of folic acid and lecithin as well. All in all, there are more than 90 unique nutrients that have been found in bee pollen samples.
Hence, Pollen is proven to:
- Boost the immune system.
- Prevent and treat several diseases.
- Energize the body and keep the mind alert.
- Detoxify the body.
- Aid weight loss among many other benefits.
Based on these differences alone, one can already answer the question of whether bee pollen or honey is better for the health.
But if these distinctions are not enough to convince you, you may also want to know that honey can be dangerous for very young children to consume. The reason for this is that honey can contain bacteria, which can cause botulism in infants.
Pure bee pollen does not cause any negative side effects, except for people who are allergic to bees or pollen, in which case bee pollen or honey both have to be avoided. Otherwise, only good things are to be gained by using this supplement.
However, you can also use the two bee products together for better result because they complement each other very well.
Now that you have the right information, the only thing left to do is pick a brand to use.
Products from New Zealand, like Natural Energy by Xtend-life, are recommended because they are the purest and most potent. There are no pollution issues in New Zealand so their pollen will be totally uncontaminated as well.