Indications
| Reduce menopausal symptoms |
| Lower cholesterol levels. Treat severe foot ulcers. |
| Preventing chronic rhinitis |
| Reduce physical and intellectual fatigue and stress, strengthen immunity, support convalescents |
Royal jelly food supplement: the benefits of a royal jelly cure
Also called bee milk, royal jelly contains sugars, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, and trace elements. As a dietary supplement, royal jelly is used to reduce menopausal symptoms, physical and intellectual fatigue, and stress, but also to strengthen immunity.
Depending on the pain to be relieved, the recommended dose of royal jelly varies. It is therefore necessary to consult your doctor before undertaking a cure. Because it has a high allergenic potential, it is advisable to consume low doses of royal jelly first, then increase it if all goes well. However, its use is not recommended for pregnant women.
Dosage of royal jelly
Fatigue, stress, convalescence
Take 100 mg to 250 mg daily of freeze-dried royal jelly or 300 mg to 750 mg of fresh royal jelly. Traditionally, it is recommended to take royal jelly before breakfast, for 4 to 6 weeks. Some authors suggest consuming up to 1.2 g per day of fresh jelly (400 mg of freeze-dried jelly) at the beginning of treatment in case of severe fatigue.
Careful. Because of theallergenic potentialof royal jelly, it is best to start with a low dose and gradually increase it.
Description of royal jelly
Royal jelly is a whitish, gelatinous substance secreted by certain glands of young nurse bees. It is intended to feed larvae at the first stage of their development and is the exclusive diet of queens throughout their existence. Also known as “bee milk”, it contains 50% to 65% water and many other substances, including:
– sugars (15%), mainly fructose and glucose;
– protein (18% to 13%);
– fat (3% to 6%);
– minerals (1.5%);
– vitamins, especially those of group B, in particular, B1 and B5;
– trace elements (minerals in the form of traces).
Royal jelly is partly attributed to the fact that the queen, who feeds exclusively on it, is much larger than other bees and lives 5 or 6 years, while the active life of workers hardly exceeds 45 days.
Some manufacturers and distributors take the opportunity to tout the supposedly miraculous effects of their products, a dubious extrapolation. Indeed, other insects grow very quickly without royal jelly and the longevity of insects is not the same mechanism as that of humans.
Normally, the amount of royal jelly produced in a hive is barely enough to ensure the growth of the larvae and the feeding of the queen. To obtain the desired quantities, beekeepers remove the queen from the hive.
They encourage workers to raise several larvae to produce queens and therefore to produce more royal jelly. Before these techniques were developed, royal jelly remained a rare and relatively unknown product.
History of royal jelly
It is said that the rulers of ancient China attributed royal jelly the power to ensure longevity and sexual vigor. However, it is only in the last 70 to 80 years that it has become really popular with the Chinese.
It is present in several preparations for the treatment of arthritis pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic hepatitis, menstrual disorders, infertility, and fatigue. in Traditional Chinese Medicine, this substance is considered a tonic in case of yin deficiency.
A similar folk tradition can be found in Eastern Europe and Russia where the royal jelly is considered an adaptogen. An adaptogen is a substance that increases, generally and non-specifically, the body’s resistance to the various stresses that affect it. While causing minimal adverse effects, an adaptogen would exert a non-specific normalizing action on many organs or physiological functions.
At the beginning of the XXe In century, beekeepers developed techniques that allow the production of royal jelly on an industrial scale. This industrial production and the use of freeze-drying (cold drying process) have helped popularize royal jelly around the world. In Japan, for example, is consumed ingenki, an invigorating drink that is particularly popular with office workers. China is the world’s largest producer of royal jelly.
Royal Jelly Research
| Very few rigorous scientific studies regarding the therapeutic effect of royal jelly in humans have been published. In vitro and animal, tests are mainly available. However, the product has long been used in a traditional way to reduce physical and intellectual fatigue and stress, strengthen immunity, support convalescents, and treat sexual and menstrual disorders. |
Menopause. According to in Vitro and animal data, royal jelly contains compounds with estrogenic activity, which may partly explain its traditional use for menstrual disorders in women.
Two Japanese clinical trials dating from the 1970s seem to indicate that royal jelly may have a positive effect on the hormonal balance of postmenopausal women, but no details are available to judge their methodological quality.
Two more recent preliminary clinical studies, including one without a placebo, of a preparation containing royal jelly, pollen and vitamin C (Melbrosia®) have shown good results in reducing several menopausal symptoms. However, since it is a product containing other ingredients (e.g. ginseng, evening primrose oil), it is difficult to know if this effect is due to royal jelly.
Hyperlipidemia. Although the treatment of hyperlipidemia is not part of the traditional indications for royal jelly, some researchers have looked into this indication. The current science is not convincing.
A series of preliminary studies conducted in Europe in the 1960s gave positive results at doses of 50-100 mg per day, but their methodological quality leaves much to be desired. Two more recent trials have given interesting results on cholesterol levels, but their methodology is also weak (no placebo group, in particular).
Rhinitis (hay fever). Oral intake of a product containing royal jelly (Bidro, 300 mg/day for 3 to 6 months) was shown to be ineffective in preventing and treating chronic rhinitis in a sample of 64 children (Andersen).
Foot ulcers. An ointment based on royal jelly and vitamin B5 (Pedyhar®), in addition to other usual interventions, promoted wound healing in 60 diabetic patients with severe foot ulcers.
Immunity. A number of animals and in vitro studies have found the immunostimulating and immunomodulatory activity of royal jelly. These actions are common to adaptogenic substances and have been attributed to certain fatty acids and proteins that royal jelly contains.
Diverse
In a preliminary human trial, a single dose of royal jelly reduced blood sugar levels in healthy subjects.
Several researchers, mainly in Japan, are exploring the effects of royal jelly on animals. Some examples: protection against toxicity of cisplatin (an anticancer drug); Protective effect on cognitive function in mice exposed to a neurotoxic substance; accelerated healing of oral inflammation (mucositis); Anti-fatigue effect22and hypotensive; Stimulating effect on the thyroid gland; Treatment of colitis.
Immunity. A number of animal and in vitro studies have found the immunostimulating and immunomodulatory activity of royal jelly. These actions are common to adaptogenic substances and have been attributed to certain fatty acids and proteins that royal jelly contains.
Image Credit : Photo by Bee Naturalles on Unsplash
