Propolis & it's amazing health benefits  

Bees are so amazing huh! Not only do they make liquid gold (literally….Ancient Egyptians regarded honey right up there with gold, silver and jewels etc) their honey making skills also provide us with some amazing by-products which can be super helpful for our bodies.

Today I will be telling you about Propolis and its amazing health benefits.

So it turns out that aside from making Honey, Bees also need to build and protect the home for the Queen Bee, so they collect resin from trees and create propolis, the sticky stuff that helps to fill in and protect gaps within the bee hive and make the hive stronger. However it’s not just structural protection Propolis offers but the ability to protect the hive and all of its bee workers from disease, fungal infection, parasite infection and bacterial growth.

It is this reason that for century’s propolis has been used for medicinal purposes, Ancient Greeks and Egyptians understood the health benefits as did Ancient Chinese. As a result even now in the new Millennium Propolis is still being dissected, researched and trialled showing many positive health benefits.

Because of its ability to protect against disease, Propolis supplement should be considered for the immune system. It has the ability to stimulate immune function, increasing production and activation of important immune cells as well as being anti-inflammatory. So not only good for boosting immune function but may also help to balance auto-immune dysfunction.

It is also AMAZING for the skin. Because of the anti-inflammatory effects it is great for acne prone skin, excellent to promote wound healing and because of the high antioxidant effect may help to keep our skin looking clearer, younger and fresh!

Propolis may also help you with:

• Mouth ulcers (canker sores)
• Gum disease and general oral health
• Gut parasite elimination
• Coldsores and other herpes virus
• Skin infections

What to look for:

If you want the ‘Bees Knees’ (GREAT PUN!!) of Propolis supplements look for one which has Flavanoid Content information. This will essentially tell you how strong the antioxidant activity is.

We have online and instore the Manuka South High Strength Propolis Softgel and the Manuka South Premium Bee Propolis Capsules both of which have high flavonoid content.

We also have Propolis Extract and Throat Spray which is great for those travelers out there who are prone to getting sore throats from exposed to bugs on planes.

References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19128266 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17580109

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22784552

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15974482

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/flavonoids