The Health Benefits of Royal Jelly

Only the best for Queen Bee

This nutrient rich, milky white treasure gets its name from the fact that worker honey bees produce it and the queen bee and newly hatched royal larvae feed on it exclusively. Royal Jelly gives the queen bee energy to lay thousands of eggs every day and for the royal lavae energy to grow rapidly. Interestingly, diet is the only difference between the worker bees and queen bee – the queen bee consuming royal jelly and the worker bees consuming pollen and honey. Yet the queen bee lives 50 times longer, grows bigger and is fertile whereas the worker bees are sterile.

For centuries people have taken Royal Jelly for the same reason worker bees feed it to their Queen, to give long life, stamina, fertility and promote resistance to disease. Full of rich proteins, twenty amino acids, lipids, minerals, folic acid, fatty acids and an abundance of B vitamins it is clear why Royal Jelly is considered a ‘superfood’. It’s on a par with spirulina and goji berry and it is hard to find a richer and more complete food supplement. Because of this, its health benefits are wide ranging;

• Stamina, vitality and fertility: Royal Jelly can assist in increasing energy, vitality, strength and stamina. It can speed recovery from fatigue. In terms of fertility, it is considered to be one of the best superfoods to assist in this area. With regular consumption of high quality Royal Jelly it can increase libido, support egg and sperm health and increase pregnancy rates.
• Hormonal balance, stress and memory: Many women take royal jelly to support hormonal balance during menstruation or around the time of the menopause. Royal Jelly is also believed to reduce stress, improve mental alertness and memory abilities due to its abundance of B vitamins.
• Anti-disease and immunity: Royal Jelly, like Manuka Honey, is a natural shield that is believed to increase resistance to viruses and fight off disease. It boosts the immune system and it is recommended to take Royal Jelly throughout the cold and flu season every year.
• Skin, hair, nails and bone: Pure Royal Jelly has been used for thousands of years. It is known to have been extensively used by the Egyptians for its rich beauty benefits, usually by royalty and high ranking individuals. It is thought to promote healthy skin, nails and hair and can help alleviate skin problems and fight ageing. It is also thought to promote bone health as it increases your body’s ability to absorb calcium which is great for those looking to prevent or treat osteoporosis or osteopenia.

How to find the best Royal Jelly?

Royal Jelly contains a totally unique and powerful essential fatty acid that is called 10-HDA (10-Hydroxy-2-decenoic acid). It is the levels of 10-HDA that determine the quality and potency of Royal Jelly. The higher the content the faster the benefits will work and this is highly influenced by the products origin. A good quality fresh Royal Jelly should contain between 1.4% to 2.3% 10-HDA. Any higher than this is exceptional and it is only in New Zealand that the highest level of 10-HDA in fresh Royal Jelly can be found. New Zealand’s royal jelly has higher potency than European and Asian jelly. This premium in its nutritional properties is considered to be an effect of the unique and pure New Zealand environment in which the bees thrive and the harvesting methods used. It is a highly involved manual process that takes time as the milky liquid has to be removed from the queen bee’s chamber in a careful manner so as not to disrupt the work of the hive. To give us some perspective we found out that a working hive produces only around 100 grams of royal jelly a month! Along with the health benefits this explains the price premium we pay for authentic, pure Royal Jelly. Coming soon is our review of New Zealand’s best Royal Jelly product. In the mean time check out our Top 10 Manuka Honey Brands.