The 12 Health Benefits of Royal Jelly
Royal Jelly is a gelatinous substance produced by young bees exclusively to feed the Queen of the hive. The workers produce between 250 and 300 grams of this liquid, and use it to feed the queen bees throughout their life and larvae in their first three days. Feeding on this jelly, queen bees develop more strength, size and greater vitality for reproduction, which is why queens can live up to five years, while worker bees, which do not live more than 45 days.
While most people know that honey comes from bees, most people don’t know that there is another type of nutritive substance that comes from the same insect. Royal Jelly is actually excreted from the top of a bee ‘s head and is collected in what is called a queen cell (a special honeycomb). When bee larvae are newly hatched, they are fed Royal Jelly in order to get a healthy and nutritious boost to survive their first few days of life.
However, after 3-4 days, the larvae do not consume Royal Jelly . However, for potential bees, Royal Jelly is much more important. In fact, the queen larvae are placed in these special queen cells which are surrounded by Royal Jelly . This is what helps them to develop their “queen morphology”.
There is a unique protein, royalactin, that causes the phenotypic change in the queen larvae. It causes ovaries to develop and grow to a much larger size than normal bees. In addition, Royal Jelly has been known to increase the lifespan of a queen over 20 times longer than that of a normal bee. Also, because bees are such good workers, a single colony can store up to 500 grams of Royal Jelly over a period of 5-6 months.
The queen couldn’t consume that much, which is why there is a developed market for this nutritional supplement. Royal Jelly is commonly found at organic food stores. You can often find Royal Jelly at farmers markets too. In terms of usage, royal jelly usually comes in granules or powder and is commonly added to salads, yogurt or some other cold drink. It is important not to heat Royal Jelly , because it will destroy all the enzymatic properties and some of the proteins that make it so beneficial for human consumption.
Royal Jelly contains a rich variety of nutrients, including minerals such as Calcium , Copper , Iron , Phosphorus , Silicon , Sulfur and Potassium , as well as a wealth of B-family vitamins, Biotin, Inositol, Folic Acid , Nucleic Acids, Gammaglobulin, and 17 different amino acids, including the 8 essential amino acids that the human body cannot produce, and must therefore get from your diet. So, check out the health benefits of royal jelly.
Royal Jelly Blood Pressure Benefits: Research has revealed that some of the proteins found in Royal Jelly have a direct effect on blood pressure levels in humans. This protein hydrolyzate can have a long lasting impact on blood pressure. When this is combined with the potassium found in royal jelly it acts as a vasodilator to reduce stress on blood vessels and the heart.
Benefits of Royal Jelly for Lowering Cholesterol: Although most people associate sweets with high cholesterol levels, this is not the case with Royal Jelly . In fact, research has shown that consistently adding Royal Jelly to your diet can cause a noticeable drop in your “bad” cholesterol levels, thus helping to prevent atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
Benefits of Royal Jelly for Infertility Problems: While the exact role of Royal Jelly in the fertility process is unclear, some suspect that its impact on human fertility is linked to royalactin , which is the protein that affects the morphology of the queen and helps to become sexually viable. Whatever the reason, Royal Jelly has been shown to increase the fertility of men as well as increase the mobility of sperm, thus increasing your partner’s chances of getting pregnant.
Benefits of Royal Jelly in Cancer Prevention: There are a number of antioxidant agents found in Royal Jelly , but specifically, it shows an ability to inhibit bisphenol A, also known as BPA. This is an environmental estrogen that has been linked to high levels of breast cancer.
Benefits of Royal Jelly for Inflammation: The impressive range of active vitamins and enzymes in Royal Jelly make it a potential anti-inflammatory agent. However, excessive heat will break down the enzymatic properties. In general, Royal Jelly cannot be ingested in order to obtain these benefits.
Benefits of Royal Jelly in Preventing Early Aging: Just as Royal Jelly helps to significantly extend the lifespan of the queen bee, the antioxidant compounds found in Royal Jelly can also work to scavenge free radicals that normally cause our cells to age prematurely. . Antioxidants can eliminate wrinkles, maintain a healthy glow to your skin, prevent hair loss and prevent macular degeneration.
Royal Jelly Weight Loss Benefits: Lecithin is one of the components of Royal Jelly , which can effectively lower cholesterol, improve liver function and promote healthy digestion. All these things can help with weight loss efforts. When combined with the good metabolism and protein content of this nutritional supplement, it can work as a definitive weight loss booster!
Royal Jelly Benefits on Metabolic Activity: The fact that Royal Jelly contains all 8 necessary amino acids that humans cannot produce makes royal jelly an important food source. These 8 amino acids can be difficult to acquire, but they are necessary to forge new proteins in the body and keep metabolism working properly. Royal Jelly can therefore increase cellregeneration, boost muscle development and growth, provide increased bone strength, optimize hormonal/enzymatic processes in our body, resulting in dozens of other healthy lifestyle boosts!
Benefits of Royal Jelly for Brain Health: A study revealed that Royal Jelly has the ability to stimulate the growth of neural stem cells and glial cells in the brain, which could mean that it can help prevent diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Other Health Benefits of Royal Jelly
- Studies carried out have shown that Royal Jelly has healing properties when applied to the skin.
- Royal Jelly contains an antibiotic called 10 – hydroxy-Dgr2-decenoic acid, which is effective against many bacteria.
A Final Word of Caution: A number of people are allergic to honey, bee pollen and royal jelly . The allergic reaction can also be quite severe, even causing rapid anaphylaxis. Before adding royal jelly to your diet, it’s a good idea to speak with your doctor or allergist.