Perhaps you have heard all about the wonderful health benefits that bee pollen has to offer, but you aren’t quite sure how to begin finding and taking it. Knowing which form of bee pollen you would like to take will go a long way in helping you begin improving your life with bee pollen supplements. Let’s begin by describing the different forms of bee pollen.
Raw Bee Pollen versus Freeze- and Heat-Dried Bee Pollen
If you have already begun checking out bee pollen online or in your health store, you will notice that most – if not all – were probably a freeze-dried or heat-dried variety of pollen rather than raw bee pollen.
Freeze- and heat-dried pollens come in several different forms, whether it is a capsule, a tablet, a liquid or a powder. The way that the pollen is dried allows the bee pollen to have a longer shelf life, so it will not become moldy and become poor in quality while it is in your refrigerator. The downside, however, is that the way the pollen is dried may actually kill off many of the beneficial enzymes, thus making the bee pollen less effective in improving your health.
Raw bee pollen, on the other hand, is fresh and has not been dried in any way other than air dried. Just as eating fresh fruits and vegetables are better for you than eating a canned variety, raw bee pollen is also arguably better for you as well. Raw bee pollen has not been over processed, bleached, colored, heated, ground up, preserved or crushed. Leaving the raw bee pollen in its natural state prevents the destruction of essential nutrients.
You can find raw bee pollen in a few different forms: in raw unpasteurized honey, in royal jelly, or in the form of granules. The only drawback to buying raw bee pollen is that it tends to go bad fairly quickly, even when refrigerated, so be sure to only buy small quantities, and to buy it often.
How do I Buy Raw Bee Pollen?
Many natural health stores in your area will offer “raw” bee pollen, though be sure to check out other resources too such as the Internet and local bee keepers. The products on the Internet and from a bee keeper may either be a better deal or of better quality than those that line the health store shelves.
Next, it is important to avoid any pill or tablet form of bee pollen if you are looking for genuine raw bee pollen. Buy raw bee pollen that is bottled or bagged, and be sure that you can actually see the granules inside. It is important for raw bee pollen to have a wide variety of colors. If the raw bee pollen you’re buying only has a couple of different colors in it, go find yourself raw bee pollen of better quality.
It is important to also find out how the raw bee pollen was dried. As discussed, the freeze- or heat-drying of bee pollen may very well kill off many nutrients, so the best way for raw bee pollen to be dried is air dried.
Lastly, it is important to know when the raw bee pollen was bagged and/or bottled after it was dried. Look into how long it took for it to be stored (it should be within a couple days of harvesting) and whether or not it was frozen or refrigerated.
I hope these tips help you on your raw bee pollen journey!
