Bee Bread vs. Bee Pollen
Bees pollinate more than 70% of the food we eat and they produce the wonderful golden liquid we call honey. But did you know bees produce more than just raw honey? They also make bee superfoods rich in nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins, including bee bread and bee pollen.
Let’s take a look at the differences between bee bread and bee pollen and how you can benefit from each of these bee superfoods.
Bee bread or pollen?
Bee pollen grains are a mixture of flower pollen, nectar, enzymes, honey and bee secretions tightly packed together by worker bees. The nutritional density of bee pollen varies greatly from pollen grain to pollen grain based solely on where the pollen grains came from and how they were harvested.
Bee bread is a fermented mixture of plant pollen, honey and bee saliva that worker bees use as a source of protein for larvae, and for young bees. Bee bread is rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antibiotics, enzymes, and many other essential elements for the body.
Both bee bread and pollen can range in color, based on the flower source.
What makes bee bread unique?
The only way you can source bee bread is directly from the honeycomb! That’s right, bee bread is a unique product that can’t be reproduced in a lab. In fact, making bee bread is a pretty complex process.
First, the worker bees collect pollen and mix it with a small amount of honey and saliva. Next they pack the mixture into the honeycomb and seal it with a drop of honey. While in the honeycomb, this mixture undergoes a natural chemical change to reach a fermentation stage which turns the pollen mixture into protein rich bee bread.
What nutrients are in bee bread?
Bee bread is a natural source for many essential vitamins, including vitamins A, B, C, E, and K. It’s also a great source for enzymes and minerals, including magnesium, calcium, iron, selenium, sodium, zinc, potassium and phosphorus. Bee bread also contains lactic acids and essential amino acids which allows it to be stored at room temperature.
Other benefits of bee bread include:
- Potent detoxifying properties to revitalize the body.
- Great source of energy (the Myans and Aztecs used bee bread for vitality thousands of years ago).
- Boosts the immune system.
- Helps protect against mineral deficiencies.
- Naturally helps regulate triglyceride levels and cholesterol.
- Naturally regulates the digestive tract.
Will bee bread trigger my pollen allergy?
Can I consume bee pollen and bee bread?
It’s safe to consume both bee bread and bee pollen. However, it’s important to consume bee bread in moderation, as it is an essential food for young bees and the general survival of bees. To experience the maximum benefits of bee bread, we recommend 1 tsp/day. We also recommend supplementing your bee bread intake with 10mg of raw pollen per day.
Where can I find bee bread?
Unless you have a honeycomb in your backyard, you’ll need to purchase your bee pollen or bee bread from a reputable source. Due to the environment and climate, bee bread is very rare, especially in the UK. However, in Lithuania, we are fortunate to have vast amounts of unspoiled nature which provides excess amounts of bee bread.
At Bee Baltic, recognize how rare and unique this bee super and we only harvest the excess bee bread. We never take too much and always leave plenty for the bees. Our bee bread is made from a 70% pollen and 30% honey mix which ferments over the whole season in the beehive to produce a bee superfood that helps to regenerate energy and builds a stronger immune system. All of our organic honey, bee bread, and raw pollen is unpasteurized and unfiltered so retains all it’s delicious healthy nutritional properties.