Eating Bee Pollen – 5 Important Things You Need To Know

Bee pollen can be a great way to improve general health or deal with specific health complaints but you need to know a few things before you start eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

1. Dosage

It is not easy to set a specific correct bee pollen dosage. Some people take just a few granules a day, while others take it by the cupful. The right dosage for you depends on lots of factors, including the form you’re taking it in (capsules versus granules), why you’re taking it, and what your experience with bee pollen has taught you.

The first rule of thumb is to start with a small dosage and work your way up. With granules, for instance, you may want to start with only a single granule or two your first day. You can chew them up or let them dissolve in your mouth. If you experience no adverse reaction, you can double the amount on the next day and repeat the doubling process for a week.

2. Types of Bee Pollen

Bee pollen is available in several forms, including granules, capsules, tablets, and blended with raw honey. Each form has a different potency, and potency will also depend on the source from which the supplement was made. But there are a few rules of thumb about figuring out your dosage.

Even with tablets, it is a good idea to start off with a small amount. If the tablet it scored, you can break off a small piece for the first day and start with that. Double it the next day as with granules. You may want to take as long as a week until you’re consuming an entire tablet in a day to be sure that you suffer no adverse effects.

Ramping up the dosage with capsules is trickiest because you have to open the capsule and pour out some of the powder. You can mix it with water or juice if you want. Like with tablets and granules, you should slightly increase your intake over the course of a week.

Once you work up to a full dose and are comfortable that you can tolerate it well, you can continue to take a full dose every day. The “full dose” may be what the label recommends, or what you find out from other information sources. With granules, a good dosage is a teaspoon or two every day mixed in with yogurt, cereal, or juice. You can also simply chew them up and swallow them if you’re accustomed to the taste.

Bee pollen tablets or capsules should generally be taken at a dosage of 1000 to 2000 mg per day with water or juice. However, for treating specific health problems, larger dosages may be appropriate.

3. Using Bee Pollen For Training

Athletes may need to adjust their bee pollen consumption to help their bodies cope with the demands of training. It is well known that training requires increased nutrients beyond those required by the typical sedentary adult. Heavy training can generate increased levels of free radicals in the body, thus upping the need for antioxidants. Additionally, vitamins and minerals are lost through sweat.

Bee pollen is a terrific supplement for athletes for several reasons. For one thing, it’s 25% protein, containing all essential amino acids. Some of these amino acids are the so-called branch chain amino acids (BCAAs). The reason BCAAs are important is that they’re the “go to” sources for muscles during intense training. The protein content of bee pollen makes it an especially appealing supplement for athletes who are lactose intolerant. Plus, it tastes better than rice, soy, and hemp protein.

But besides protein and amino acids, bee pollen contains vitamins and minerals too, including powerful antioxidant vitamins like vitamin A, C, E, and beta carotene. And in bee pollen, these vitamins are totally bio-available, so your body can readily use them. Bioavailability of vitamins can vary with synthetic vitamins. Bee pollen is also a good source of the mineral magnesium, which aids in muscle function, and which can be lost through sweat.

Athletes can consume up to two cups of bee pollen per day, at the rate of half a cup an hour before working out and another half cup within an hour after a workout. With capsules, athletes can take up to 12 of the 500 mg dosage capsules per day, taking half before a workout and half afterwards.

4. Bee Pollen for Allergies

Allergy sufferers can benefit from bee pollen too. Seasonal allergies can respond very well to the addition of bee pollen to the diet, and there are typically no side effects (other than allergy relief). It’s a good idea to start taking bee pollen well before seasonal allergies start so that your immune system can adapt over time. Many people with allergies find that their second allergy season after taking bee pollen is easier to take than the first, because effects are cumulative. Some allergy sufferers take it year-round.

For people with allergies, it is important to start with a small dosage and work up to a daily dose of one tablespoon of granules or 2000 mg of bee pollen in capsule or tablet form. Raw honey is another great addition to the diet if you have allergies.

5. Using Bee Pollen To Improve Energy
People looking to increase their overall energy find that bee pollen helps them cut out their dependence on common stimulants like caffeine. Between hectic schedules, too much processed food, and too little rest, modern life takes its toll on the energy level of the average person, and that’s not even mentioning all the chemical pollutants the average person is exposed to every day.

But bee pollen is packed with minerals, amino acids, and vitamins, and is considered by many experts as the most perfect food that nature offers. Adding bee pollen to your daily routine is like giving your car a super fuel that makes it run as efficiently as possible. For extra energy, a tablespoon or two of bee pollen granules every morning with a balanced breakfast is a great way to start off the day. A balanced breakfast ensures that you don’t experience energy spikes and crashes during the morning.

You can also eat bee pollen straight up for a filling and energizing snack. Taking a tablespoon of bee pollen granules before a workout is a great way to boost energy so that you can get the most out of your workout. With capsules, up to six capsules half an hour before a workout works best. Another round of capsules (or granules) after a workout helps your body do the amazing repair work that gets you fitter when you workout regularly.

With bee pollen, you get all the benefits of perfect nutrition, plus a terrific source of energy that keeps your immune system working optimally, even as you get older. You simply can’t find a manmade equivalent of bee pollen, with its vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, co-enzymes, and fatty acids. For most people, a tablespoon or so of bee pollen granules, or at least 200 mg per day of bee pollen in capsule form provide a great source for vitamins, minerals, and energy in a super-healthy, bio-available form that no substance made in a laboratory can match.